The Beaver, by Lukas Slothuus - Colonial exploitation is often presumed be a relic of the past. Yet there remains a colony in Africa, one which the world has long abandoned. In what is often called ‘the forgotten conflict’, more than a third of Western Sahara’s population has been displaced from their home into Algerian refugee camps.
Many of the remaining two-thirds are subject to systematic abuse, violence, and torture from neighbouring Morocco’s police and military. This is the same Morocco that for most people is only known as a tourist destination with great beaches and a good cuisine. The violence is nothing new, though. After Spain withdrew from the territory on the coast of the Canary Islands in 1975, Morocco has held the area occupied ever since. If you carry the flag of the Western Sahara people, the Saharawis, in public, you are in great danger of being beaten up or persecuted.
The outside world has shown nothing but deliberate apathy. The European Union recently signed new fishing agreements with Morocco, effectively exploiting the coast-line of Western Sahara, one of their biggest natural resources. Not only does this prevent the Saharawis from attaining economic independence, it greatly increases Morocco’s incentives to maintain the stalemate. Despite being one of the world’s most phosphate-rich areas, the Saharawis see none of this money falling into their pockets either. Reduced to being a minority in their own country after Morocco’s extensive relocation and housing projects, the Saharawis have been forgotten internationally.
The geopolitical situation makes it very difficult for European leaders to condemn Morocco’s occupation, which according to a ruling from the International Court of Justice is illegitimate. Since the close of the Algerian war of independence, France has sided with the traditionally Western-friendly Moroccans. Sarkozy is utilising this partnership to postpone the accession of Turkey into the EU by promoting the Union for the Mediterranean, gradually bringing the Four Freedoms of movement of goods, capital, services, and people to the North African countries. As such, Morocco plays a key role in this issue. Spain is in support of the Union, but is torn between its perceived responsibility of supporting the Saharawis and its economic interests of co-operating with Morocco. On the whole, no European state has much to gain from siding with the Saharawis. It is easier for all involved parts – except Western Sahara – to downplay the situation and carry on with business as usual. This is a blatant disregard for Human Rights and the right to sovereignty, however.
When Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, hopes were high for the Saharawis to achieve major backing in their pursuit of independence. But they are left empty-handed. Morocco is the only African state to have a free trade agreement with the US, and they were the first country in the world to recognise the United States in 1777. This undeniably impairs American possibilities as well as interests in supporting the Saharawis.
However, after 9/11, Algeria has increasingly caught American attention as a strategically important nation. Their economy is the third largest in Africa, and their hydrocarbon reserves are among the biggest in the world.
Recently US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton was in Morocco, endorsing the bilateral relationship and reaffirming American support for the Autonomy Plan. This plan is Morocco’s idea for a solution to the conflict, proposing Western Sahara autonomy within Morocco, not unlike Catalonia within Spain. Polisario, Western Sahara’s official governmental representatives, however, are not interested in a solution which rules out the possibility of independence.
They gave in to a compromise known as the Baker II plan, named after James Baker, Kofi Annan’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara from 1997 to 2004. The Baker II plan proposed autonomy for the first five years followed by a referendum in which the Saharawis would be given the chance of voting for independence. The UN endorsed this plan, but Morocco subsequently rejected it. The main stalling point is on who will be eligible to vote. The Saharawis are traditionally nomads, meaning that no early settlements can provide the foundation for eligibility, and as Morocco continuingly gives incentives for its citizens to migrate to Western Sahara through tax breaks and cheap housing. Through this, it distorts the overview of who should be permitted to vote.
James Baker resigned in frustration of lacking progress. Since the Moroccan dismissal of the Baker II plan, no formal plan has replaced it. Yet there is hope for a better future, characterised by dignity and liberty for the Saharawis. The main opposition party in Sweden, the Social Democrats, have announced that if they win the 2010 Swedish parliamentary elections as predicted, they will officially recognise the Western Sahara Democratic Republic and work for further recognition within the EU. This would be the first EU member state to do so. It would be a historical moment for Western Sahara.
At the LSE, we cherish scholarship. It would therefore be fitting for the students of LSE to make a point of being better informed. Go to the internet. Google Western Sahara. Read. Read up to bring the issue out of obscurity and bring justice a tiny step closer to the Saharawi population. It is about time the world made an effort to alter the “forgotten” nature of the conflict
Africa's last colonySince 1975, three quarters of the Western Sahara territory has been illegally occupied by Morocco. The original population lives divided between those suffering human rights abuses under the Moroccan occupation and those living in exile in Algerian refugee camps. For more than 40 years, the Saharawi await the fulfilment of their legitimate right to self-determination.
Since 1975, three quarters of the Western Sahara territory has been illegally occupied by Morocco. The original population lives divided between those suffering human rights abuses under the Moroccan occupation and those living in exile in Algerian refugee camps. For more than 40 years, the Saharawi await the fulfilment of their legitimate right to self-determination.
