Western Sahara News

Algiers - Sofiane SiyoucefAlgerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika has said that Western Sahara's people should decide for themselves whether to be independent or subject to Morocco's rule. The comment is perceived as an implicit rebuke to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's praise of a Moroccan plan to give the area autonomy but still keep it under its control.  Morocco annexed the mineral-rich territory in 1975 and then fought against the rebel Polisario Front (PF) until a truce in 1991.  UN-supervised talks on a potential referendum on independence have since yielded nothing.  Morocco has offered wide-ranging autonomy, and in Rabat on Sunday, Clinton called the plan “serious, realistic and credible.”  But Bouteflika reiterated his country's backing of the PF's desire for a referendum. He expressed hope UN talks be restarted.  He also insisted that his country was committed to the implementation of UN resolutions on decolonisation, while expressing hope t

Havana , Feb 24 (Prensa Latina) Negotiations with Morocco are being fostered through formal and informal ways, but the Sahrawi people put their wish to self-determination first, Malainine Etkana, ambassador of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), stated in this capital. Prior to the celebration of the 36th anniversary of the proclamation of that state on February 27, the diplomat expressed the Sahrawi people's interest in going ahead with a free and democratic referendum to show the popular wish. Etkana recalled that since 1976, the SADR government has had to face Moroccan occupation in most of the territory, because only one third of the country has been liberated. Interviewed by Cuban television, Etkana stated that for 37 years, an important part of the Sahrawi population has lived in refugee camps, while another important group does it on the occupied territories, always in difficult conditions. Since 1991, a year in which the ceasefire was proclaimed under the auspi

Press Release: United Nations UN Announces Next Round of Talks to Try to Resolve Western Sahara Dispute New York, Feb 24 2012.- The next round of United Nations-backed informal talks aimed at reaching a settlement in the Western Sahara dispute will take place next month, the UN announced today. Delegations from the parties to the dispute – Morocco and the Frente Polisario – and the neighbouring countries of Algeria and Mauritania will gather just outside New York for three days of discussions starting on 11 March. The participants are expected to deepen their discussions on their respective proposals for a settlement to the dispute, and to also further discuss the ideas associated with governance put forward by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his latest report on the issue, according to a spokesperson for Mr Ban. He added that the meeting is being held at the invitation of the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Christopher Ross. During the meeting the parti

After decades of inhumane treatment under Moroccan rule, the indigenous Saharawi people continue to demand their independence. Numerous demonstrations denouncing occupation of the Western Sahara by Morocco since 1975 has resulted in widespread discrimination and police brutality. Last month, several dozen Saharawi activists were injured after a police crackdown outside the office of the ruling Justice and Development Party where protestors gathered to voice outrage over the postponement of a verdict on the continued detention of Saharawi people in the notorious Sale prison. History of the Western Sahara  The Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Despite recognition of the Saharawis’ right to self-determination by the International Court of Justice at end of Spain’s colonial rule, the 1975 Madrid Agreement handed over two thirds of land in W

El mayor campo de minas del mundo El Centro de Cultura será el próximo martes, día 28 de febrero, punto de encuentro para aquellos que quieran conocer más a fondo la realidad del pueblo saharaui. Los 36 años de la proclamación de la RASD (República Árabe Saharaui Democrática) es el tema del que hablarán Juli Raneda, miembro de la Asociación de Amigos del Pueblo Saharaui de las Islas Baleares, Mohamed Tleimidi, delegado del Frente Polisario en las islas Baleares y Yago Monserrat Berenguel, director de cine. República Árabe Saharaui Democrática En 1976 España abandona los territorios que formaban la antigua colonia del Sáhara Occidental y el pueblo Saharaui proclama la RASD. Aquí empieza la guerra entre el Frente Polisario y el Reino de Marruecos y el éxodo saharaui hacia la región de Tinduf (el desierto del desierto). 36 años después, más de 200.000 personas, en gran parte mujeres y niños, viven en el exilio, en condiciones precarias y de extrema dureza a la espera de la realizac

The UN mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is the only contemporary UN mission that does not monitor human rights. Last year, following pressure from across the world, language on human rights was introduced into the resolution.  This has failed. Torture, false imprisonment and violence continue.  The Security Council has a responsibility to protect the people of Western Sahara and to hold Morocco to account.  Please TAKE ACTION to tell the Security Council to monitor human rights. For organisations: Please contact (in order of priority) • The President of the Security Council – see below for details (and ask that your letter is circulated to all members) • Your own national mission and government • The French mission to the UN For Individuals: • Your MP asking them to raise this with the Minister • The President of the Security Council – see below for details ( and ask that your letter is circulated to all members) Key points • Last year measures on human rights

In my recent post about J. Peter Pham’s hypocrisy on the Western Sahara, I mention that he is prominently listed as an expert source on the Moroccan American Center for Policy’s website, Morocco on the Move.  I thought it might be illuminating to take a look at the whole list. Here it is : Dr. J. Peter Pham, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center Professor Yonah Alexander, Director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies’ International Center for Terrorism Studies Leila Hanafi, Staff Attorney and Programs Manager, The World Justice Project Professor I. William Zartman, Professor Emeritus, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University Professor Lahcen Haddad, Morocco Country Representative, Management Systems International Ambassador Edward M. Gabriel (ret.), President, Moroccan American Center Jean R. AbiNader, Executive Director of the Moroccan American Trade and Investment Center Robert M. Holley