Published on Al Akhbar English (http://english.al-
People take a part in a protest called by Association of the Sahrawi community in France on 27 February 2013 in Paris. (Photo: AFP – Kenzo Tribouillard)
By: Bassam Alkantar
During a recent press tour of Western Sahara organized by the Moroccan Ministry of Communications, and attended by Al-Akhbar, the Moroccan officials spoke about the territory with one voice. The typical reply: “Our problem is with Algeria, not with the separatists. As soon as Algeria decides to end the conflict, it will end.”
Morocco’s Sahrawi provinces are a hive of activity. Whether alternative energy or desalination, phosphate mining or water-sports tourism, there’s always something going on. Yet the giant wind turbines imported here via the port of Laayoune in Western Sahara testify to one fact: Morocco made up its mind long ago to never give up its ‘territorial unity.’
In this southern gateway to Africa, the heavy Moroccan army presence is a reminder that the conflict over this territory with the separatist Polisario Front could flare up at any moment.
Each side has its own proposals for resolving one of the world’s oldest Cold War problems, and reaching what the UN calls “a political solution to the permanent status of Western Sahara.”
In Morocco, King Mohamed VI stresses his country’s willingness to pursue a settlement as long as it’s in the framework of his proposal for autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.
In Tindouf, Polisario Secretary General Mohamed Abdel-Aziz says his movement, which he has led ‘democratically’ for decades, is ready to strengthen its commitment to a solution that includes a proper referendum on self-determination.
In Algiers, President Bouteflika maintains that Algeria is not – and never will be – party to the conflict, but that nevertheless, Algeria believes that any solution that does not include a proper referendum is no solution at all.
Pressure has been mounting on Polisario to take the difficult step of agreeing to the ‘expanded autonomy’ proposed by Morocco. Meanwhile, Bouteflika has resorted to the time-honored Algerian tactic of circumventing domestic problems by deliberately stoking disputes with Morocco.
With both sides becoming increasingly disillusioned, they blame not only each other other’s refusal to negotiate on their terms, but also the lack of decisive action by the international community.“Algeria considers the management of this issue to be one of the prerogatives of the People’s National Army, which are above questioning and cannot be debated or disputed by anyone,” remarked an Algerian dissident based abroad.
UN-sponsored negotiations on Western Sahara have been stalled for the past five years. With both sides becoming increasingly disillusioned, they blame not only each other other’s refusal to negotiate on their terms, but also the lack of decisive action by the international community.
Moreover, as the UN is dealing with the issue in the absence of an international consensus, not much can be imposed on the two sides. Hamid Chabar, wali or governor of the region of Oued Eddahab-Lagouira, and a former Moroccan ambassador to the UN who helped formulate the expanded autonomy initiative, is the most effective spokesperson for pro-autonomy Sahrawis.
He defends the proposal by referencing current conditions in the Sahrawi provinces, particularly in the city of Laayoune, where he is based. He concedes that the territory needs more development, but dreams of turning it into a tourism hub, especially for watersports, like the nearby Canary Islands.
Chabar rejects claims by Morocco’s critics that Sahrawis are disaffected. While he concedes that many support independence, he speaks mockingly in local dialect of ”those who receive their salaries from the kingdom, travel to Algeria to hold a pro-separatist press conference, and then return before the end of the month for their next paycheck.”
Pro-autonomy Sahrawis refer to the separatists in the Tindouf camps as cousins and charge that many are there against their will. They say that when camp residents want to make family visits to Western Sahara, Algerian intelligence only allows half the members of each family to visit, arguing that if entire families were allowed to leave they would never return.
For their part, a number of former Polisario members who broke with the movement and fled to Mauritania have spoken of human rights abuses in the Tindouf camps and described their remaining residents as “hostages.”
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
