Could the Western Sahara Blow Up?

Could the Western Sahara Blow Up?


Bill Fletcher, Jr. - Back Commentator Editorial Board

October 4, 2012

http://www.blackcommentator.com/488/488_aw_western_sahara_share.html

In the northwest corner of Africa, an on-going
conflict against an occupation could be entering a
new stage. The Western Sahara, known as the
Spanish Sahara prior to the withdrawal of Spain,
has been the site of a bitter struggle for national
liberation. Currently led by the organization

POLISARIO, a movement for the independence of
the Western Sahara began to take shape in the
1960s and early 1970s. When Spain was finally
forced to withdraw from its colony, there was open
season for Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania, each
country claiming that it should have possession of
the territory.

Insufficient pressure has been brought to bear on



Morocco to withdraw.







Algeria was the first to end its claim to the territory,



then turning to support POLISARIO. Mauritania



eventually abandoned its claims. Morocco, on the



other hand, set out to seize the territory, including



the sending in of thousands of Moroccan settlers.



After years of fighting a truce was called, but it has



always been an uneasy one. Saharawis (the people



of the Western Sahara) have been largely displaced



from their lands, many living in refugee camps on



the Algerian border or going into exile. Repeated



efforts at finding a just and lasting solution to this



crisis have largely been frustrated by Moroccan



intransigence, an intransigence backed by Morocco's



ally, France. At each moment when it has appeared



that a peaceful settlement has been within reach,



the Moroccans have undermined the effort.







Recent polls of Saharawi youth have set off alarms



for all those willing and interested in listening.



These polls indicate that Saharawi youth are



increasingly dissatisfied with the stalemate and are



tending to look for a renewal of the armed struggle.



Despite being an armed movement, most observers



have indicated that POLISARIO has respected the



truce, but the pressure from angry Saharawi youth



may force a shift in the strategy of the national



liberation movement.







Though many African countries, and even more



African social movements, support POLISARIO and



national self-determination for the Saharawi people,



insufficient pressure has been brought to bear on



Morocco to withdraw. Forcing a Moroccan



withdrawal and respect for Saharawi national self-



determination will necessitate not only pressure on



Morocco, but an insistence that France cease its



own level of interference. While the USA, in the



1990s, attempted to mediate a solution, it found



itself confronting Moroccan obstinacy and was,



itself, unwilling to put the right sort of pressure on



its North African ally.







Saharawi youth are increasingly dissatisfied with



the stalemate and are tending to look for a renewal



of the armed struggle.







The northern and western regions of Africa are in



considerable turmoil. The Libyan Revolution,



hijacked by NATO, has led to a flood of arms into



the region, promoting great instability (such as in



Mali, and in Libya itself). Al Qaeda-aligned groups,



sometimes supported by various governments in the



region, have been destabilizing forces. Morocco has



attempted to avoid dealing honestly and directly



with the Saharawi by unsuccessfully painting



POLISARIO as one of those terrorist or terrorist-



aligned groups. The Moroccan government's refusal



to address this question of their illegal occupation of



the Western Sahara may result in further



destabilization of the region and a return to all-out



war. Such a prospect is more than Africa needs, but



such a result will be completely understandable in



light of the continuous frustrations experienced by



the Saharawi people. This is a situation where there



is a desperate need for both an "honest broker" as



well as public pressure on both Morocco and



France. Morocco has been very successful in hiding



this issue from much of the world's population. It is



time this cover is lifted.



___________________







BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member



and Columnist, Bill Fletcher, Jr., is a Senior Scholar



with the Institute for Policy Studies, the immediate



past president of TransAfricaForum, and the author



of "They're Bankrupting Us" - And Twenty Other



Myths about Unions.