Links

Western Sahara: Morocco's repression continues

On October 31, Morocco's allies on the United Nations Security Council - including France, the United States and Britain - blocked a motion to condemn human rights abuses against the people of occupied Western Sahara. Earlier that month, Moroccan officials rejected as "biased" and "completely erroneous" a report from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that revealed the use of torture and violent repression against pro-independence demonstrations and activists. (Simon Cunich, Green Left Weekly, 22 November 2006)

http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/925/

(Added: Wed Nov 29 2006   Hits: 47)

Behind the Moroccan wall of shame

The Moroccan Wall, which for 20 years has perpetuated Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara, continuously mined and surveilled by thousands of soldiers, is 60 times longer than the Berlin Wall. The Saharawis wait. They are condemned to perpetual anguish and perpetual nostalgia. The refugee camps carry the names of their kidnapped cities, their lost meeting places, their haunts: El Aaiun, Smara. They are called children of the clouds because they have always chased the rain. For more than 30 years they have also pursued justice, which in our world seems rarer even than water in the desert. (Eduardo Galeano, Mail and Guardian, 5 June 2006)

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=273635&area=/insight/insight__comment_and_analysis/

(Added: Mon Oct 02 2006   Hits: 70)

Burden or benefit? Morocco in the Western Sahara

It is 30 years since Morocco took control of a major portion of the Western Sahara. Despite 16 years of armed conflict and a subsequent fourteen years in which its claim of sovereignty has been recognised by no other state, Rabat remains in place, its cries of 'caduc' enabling it to reject a UN-sanctioned solution. The text of this lecture is intended as an initial assessment of what Morocco has gained and lost by holding and settling the Western Sahara. It touches on political, strategic and economic, and domestic issues. It concludes that a legitimation of its control of the Western Sahara would prove more dangerous to Rabat than managed withdrawal. (Toby Shelley, at Oxford University, 18 February 2006)

http://www.arso.org/TSh180205.htm

(Added: Tue Jul 25 2006   Hits: 42)

Deserted in Western Sahara

Thirty years since the declaration of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic the people of this "non-country" are still waiting for peaceful independence and expecting war. In this open democracy article Saeed Taji Farouky joins a grim anniversary celebration.

http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-africa_democracy/deserted_3327.jsp

(Added: Mon Mar 13 2006   Hits: 94)

Has the UN betrayed us?

The UN's latest report stipulates that the UN is giving up its efforts to resolve the issue of Western Sahara through the implementation of its resolutions and the several plans it had outlined during 15 years of presence in the Non-Self-governing Territory. The UN is 'taking a step back' and is encouraging direct negotiations between the parties to achieve a 'compromise between international legality and political reality'. This article argues that the UN mandate is not to reward the aggressor that violates international legality and refuses to abide by UN resolutions. And it is an affront to ask the Saharawi people who have suffered immensely from Morocco's occupation of their homeland and been denied their basic human rights, to accept this. (Kamal Fadel, New Internationalist, July 2006)

http://www.newint.org/columns/viewfrom/2006/07/01/betrayed/

(Added: Tue Oct 24 2006   Hits: 36)

How the US and Morocco seized the Spanish Sahara

Last November marked the 30th anniversary of the Sahara crisis, triggered when Morocco successfully pressured Madrid out of its desert colony in autumn 1975. Despite the United States' denials, declassified records reveal that King Hassan's success was made possible through US intervention. (Jacob Mundy, Le Monde Diplomatique, January 2006)

http://mondediplo.com/2006/01/12asahara

(Added: Tue Jul 25 2006   Hits: 27)

Western Sahara - Sahara Occidental

Web-site regarding the situation in the Western Sahara, and the plight of its people.

http://www.arso.org/index.htm

(Added: Fri May 30 2003   Modified: Mon Dec 05 2005   Hits: 113)

Western Sahara Online

Includes a comprehensive collection of information about Western Sahara: history, culture, news, and the struggle of its people for independence.

http://www.wsahara.net/

(Added: Fri May 30 2003   Modified: Mon Dec 05 2005   Hits: 103)

Western Sahara: 30 Years is Enough

On 31 October 1975, Morocco and Mauritania invaded Western Sahara as Spain (the former colonial power) looked on. The Saharawi people were expelled from their homes by force, including the use of napalm. Most fled to the Algerian desert. Mauritania withdrew its claim to Western Sahara in 1979 and left. But Morocco stayed. The Saharawi people declared their own Republic in exile, which is now recognised by 60 other states. Yet the world still refuses to uphold international law and bring the Occupation to an end. This is War on Want's campaign to help the Saharawi get their homes back. The website includes background information, links, and ways to take action.

http://www.waronwant.org/?lid=396

(Added: Thu Jul 13 2006   Hits: 54)