Western Sahara

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Western Sahara President conducts a working visit to the Wilaya of Aaiún​

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Wilaya of Aaiún, Dec 28, 2021 (SPS) - The President of the Republic ,Secretary General of the Frente POLISARIO, Mr. Brahim Gali, began on Tuesday a working visit to the Wilaya of Aaiún.

During his visit, which has the objective of supervising the work and inspecting the progress of the programs at the regional and local level, he was received by the Governor of Wilaya, Mr. Brahim Mojtar Bumajruta.

Brahim Gali reiterated the importance of improving the services provided, whether in the supply of water, environment, transportation and security, as well as taking advantage of his stay to pay a visit to the Wilaya regional hospital, where he emphasized the need to improve the levels of care, by supplying the necessary equipment and medications to treat patients.

On this visit, the President was accompanied by the Prime Minister, Bucharay Hamudi Beyún, and the President of the National Council (Parliament), Hamma Salama. SPS

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SPLA (Sahrawi People Liberation Army) bombards entrenchments of Moroccan occupation soldiers in Mahbas sector​

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Bir Lahlou (Liberated Territories), 1 January 2022 (SPS) - Advanced units of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army (SPLA) bombed sites of the Moroccan occupation forces entrenched behind the berm in the two regions of Laâked and Amitir Lemkhinza in the sector of Mahbas, according to the military communiqué No. 415 of the Ministry of Defence.

According to the communiqué, "advanced units of the SPLA intensified Saturday their bombardment on the entrenchments of soldiers of the Moroccan occupation in the region of Laâked in the sector of Mahbas".

The units also bombarded "the headquarters of the enemy's 34th regiment in the Amitir Lemkhinza region in the Mahbas sector," the communiqué added.

The units of the Sahrawi army intensified Friday its attacks on the entrenchments of the forces of the Moroccan occupation in the two sectors of Haouza and Mahbas.

The SPLA attacks "continue against the Moroccan occupation forces which are suffering considerable human and material losses along the wall of shame," stated the military communiqué.

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SPLA attacks Moroccan occupation in Auserd and Mahbes sectors​


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Bir Lehlu (Sahrawi Republic), Dec 28, 2021 (SPS) - The Sahrawi People's Liberation Army (SPLA) carried out on Tuesday new attacks against the Moroccan occupation forces along the Wall of Shame.

According to War Report No. 411 of the Ministry of National Defense, units of our army have bombed enemy positions in Edeim Umm Jlud region, Auserd sector in addition to Rus Sabbti and Cheidmia, in the Mahbes sector. SPS

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Start a propanda website. It will suit you well trust me. Based fake news based on personal feelings🤷‍♂️
 

CEZAYIRLI

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Start a propanda website. It will suit you well trust me. Based fake news based on personal feelings🤷‍♂️

Moroccan Makhzen Regime leads a psychological war and a campaign of disinformation against Saharawi people​


SPS 29/12/2021 - 16:58

Algiers, Dec 29, 2021 (SPS)- - The Minister of the Occupied Territories and the Saharawi Community abroad, Mustafa Ali Sid Al-Bachir said that the Makhzen regime was waging a "psychological war and a campaign of disinformation" against the Saharawi people, denouncing Morocco's lies about the alleged Arab League map and its attempt to falsify the facts with false allegations.

In an interview with the APS, Mr. Sid Al-Bachir explained that the Makhzen's policy "is not new" and "aims to undermine the morale of the Saharawi people mobilized more than ever around their only legitimate representative, Frente POLISARIO".SPS
 

CEZAYIRLI

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and a person from algiers looks different than a person from Tamanrasset, is that reason enough to give them independence?
also, did you notice how you brushed off the information i provided just because you didn't like it?

and yes, war played a role in algerian independence, Morocco was there supporting you, before getting back-stabbed..
anyway, that doesn't change the facts, polisario can't even set foot in the buffer zone without getting lit tf up.
You wrote:
"notice how you brushed off the information i provided just because you didn't like it?"

Answer:
Any comment I ignore means that it is not relevant to the subject matter, therefore no answer is necessary.
 

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Abba El Haissan: “Targeting Saharawi civilians is a new war crime for which the King of Morocco bears responsibility”​


SPS 16/11/2021 - 15:02

Chahid El Hafed (Sahrawi Republic) 16 November 2021 (SPS)- The President of the Saharawi National Commission for Human Rights (CONASADH), Mr. Abba El Haissan, considered in a statement to SPS that Moroccan forces of occupation attacks against several civilian martyrs, mainly Algerian and Saharawi merchants and travelers crossing the liberated areas of Western Sahara, is a new war crime committed by Mohammed VI’s regime, in a clear violation of the international humanitarian law, especially the four Geneva Conventions that prohibit targeting civilians in war zones.

The Saharawi jurist stressed that all elements of war crimes are met in these attacks, especially because they were executed by Moroccan Drones, given that this apparatus are well equipped to define the nature of their targets, and thus can easily identify that the targeted victims are civilians not armed forces.

Abba ElHaissan stressed that the current King of Morocco is following the footsteps of his father, Hassan II, who committed thousands of crimes against humanity and war crimes such as bombing civilians with napalm and white phosphorous, killing innocents and burying them alive in mass graves recently discovered, in addition to the systematic practice of kidnapping, forced disappearances, and torture, all of which are classified as crimes against humanity.

He recalled that the Moroccan state of occupation is still practicing these same crimes with impunity under the supervision of the current King, Mohammed VI, and on his orders as he is the absolute ruler of Morocco.

He further condemned the shameful siege imposed on the Saharawi human rights defender, Ms. Sultana Sid Brahim Jaya, and her family, considering the occupation regime’s use of torture, sexual harassment and rape against Saharawi women as a weapon of intimidation and oppression, as another crime against humanity, for which the King of Morocco bears the total responsibility.

On the other hand, the President of CONASADH criticized the failure of the United Nations bodies to honor their responsibilities towards the people of Western Sahara, despite their knowledge of the systematic violations, which were documented by several UN officials, such as the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and several special rapporteurs who called for the protection and monitoring of human rights in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, in addition to dozens reports compiled by prestigious international organizations such as Amnesty International, Front Line and others.

In the same context, Abba ElHaissan condemned the failure of the International Committee of the Red Cross to protect Saharawi citizens in accordance with its field of competence based on the requirements of the Fourth Geneva Convention related to the protection of civilians in war zones.

He recalled that the same committee broke all hell loose during the past decades to pressure for the release by Polisario Front of thousands Moroccan military prisoners, while it did nothing about the Saharawi military prisoners still unaccounted for, nor helped to reveal the fate of hundreds disappeards and kidnapped, nor even visited Saharawi political detainees currently in Moroccan prisons.

Aba ElHaissan called on international human rights organizations to rid out of the suspicious silence that characterizes its approach whenever it comes to human rights violations in Western Sahara, considering their excuse of been unable to establish facts about the violations because of the Moroccan ban on visiting the occupied region as a mere flimsy justification considering the presence of eminent Saharawi human rights defenders with international credibility on the ground, and given that Saharawi human rights organizations and institutions, such as CONASADH, spare no effort to document and monitor these violations in an accurate and permanent manner.

It should be recalled that the Moroccan state of occupation has for some time been using drones to target Saharawi and non-Saharawi civilians traveling through the liberated areas of Western Sahara, even in areas far from the Moroccan Wall of Shame and in known routes used by traveling civilians and traders.

The Moroccan bombing also targeted some wells and areas known to be inhabited by nomadic civilians. (SPS)



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New attacks by SPLA against forces of Moroccan occupier​


SPS 03/01/2022 - 20:57

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Bir Lahlou, 3 January 2022 (SPS) - Units of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army (SPLA) have carried out new attacks against the forces of the Moroccan occupier in the Al Mahbas sector, the Ministry of Defense indicated on Monday in its military communiqué No. 417.

According to the communiqué, "SPLA units bombarded the soldiers of the Moroccan occupier in the Oudi Edamrane area in the Al Mahbas sector."

The Sahrawi Army bombarded Sunday the positions of the Moroccan occupiers in the area of Ahricha Diret in the sector of Houza and that of Oudi Edamrane in the sector of Al Mahbas.

The SPLA attacks "continue against the Moroccan occupation forces which are suffering considerable human and material losses along the wall of shame," stated the military communiqué.

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How EU should use economic influence on Western Sahara​



How EU should use economic influence on Western Sahara​

  • Brussels and Rabat seemed committed to preserving the contested EU-Morocco deal (Photo: Western Sahara Resource Watch)
By RICCARDO FABIANI

LISBON/CASBALANCA, 3. JAN, 08:29
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Since hostilities between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front in Western Sahara resumed in November 2020, the EU has been reluctant to play an active role in the conflict.
But a recent EU Court of Justice ruling against the inclusion of Western Sahara in the EU-Morocco trade deal could soon force Brussels to step into the fray.

Rather than attempting to circumvent the verdict, as it did in 2018, the EU should seize this opportunity to review its policy on Western Sahara and start leveraging its economic influence to push both sides to resume negotiations and find a mutually acceptable solution.
Since 1975, Morocco and the Polisario have been locked in a conflict over Western Sahara. While fighting ended in 1991 thanks to a UN-mediated ceasefire, diplomatic efforts have failed to produce a permanent solution.

Following a long deadlock, tensions escalated again in November 2020 after the Polisario blockaded a main road through the disputed territory's Guerguerat area.

The kingdom responded by sending its troops to remove the blockade and the Front promptly resumed its attacks on Moroccan troops. Despite the ceasefire's collapse, the UN was very slow to react. Only last month did it move to appoint a new special envoy, the seasoned diplomat Staffan de Mistura, who now faces the task of restarting talks between the two sides.

Europe has cause to be concerned about the deteriorating situation in its neighbourhood. In mid-May, Morocco allegedly encouraged thousands of people to cross the border into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, which was suddenly overwhelmed by an unprecedented inflow of mostly Moroccan migrants (Rabat denies doing so).

The move was in apparent retaliation for Madrid's hosting of Polisario leader Brahim Ghali, who needed urgent medical treatment for a severe case of Covid-19.

Morocco has also suspended all diplomatic contacts with and recalled its ambassador from Germany in protest over Berlin's late-2020 attempts to raise the issue of Western Sahara at the UN Security Council, where Rabat worries it could face criticism.
Meanwhile, the conflict has also had repercussions within the EU.

For almost a decade, EU-Morocco trade relations have been at the centre of a long-running legal struggle. In November 2012, the Polisario challenged the agricultural and fishing liberalisation agreement that the EU and Morocco had signed only a few weeks earlier.
Four years later, the EU Court of Justice ruled against the inclusion of the disputed area in that agreement, highlighting that Western Sahara has a "separate and distinct status" and could be included lawfully in the agreement only with its population's explicit consent.

Frozen contacts​

Morocco's reaction was hard-nosed, freezing all diplomatic contacts with the EU for several weeks to signal its displeasure with the court's decision.

This convinced the Europeans to try to circumvent the ruling, signalling implicitly that it valued the bilateral trade relationship with Morocco more than its own adherence to the court's decision and the rule of law.

In 2018, the EU and Morocco amended the deal to explicitly extend it to Western Sahara on the basis of consultations European diplomats had conducted with mostly pro-Rabat political, economic and civil society actors in the territory as a way of claiming to have received the local population's consent.

These amendments clearly did not sway the court.
In a new ruling on 29 September 2021, it again invalidated Western Sahara's inclusion in the deal. Brussels and Rabat seemed committed to preserving the contested deal.

On 6 November, King Mohamed VI warned that "Morocco will never engage in any economic or commercial transaction… in which the Moroccan Sahara is not included", alluding to the verdict, while on 19 November the EU Council decided to appeal the ruling.

Fresh start?​

This ruling gives the EU a fresh opportunity to recalibrate its position and start using its economic leverage to encourage Morocco and the Polisario to get back to negotiations.

The conflict has an economic dimension that has been underestimated. Inside Rabat-held Western Sahara, Morocco has secured local elites' support for its policies by granting them monopolistic business licences and other benefits in various sectors, including agriculture and fishing.

These pro-Rabat leaders have become increasingly entrenched, posing an obstacle to change.
Meanwhile, a large section of the local population is frustrated with a status quo that has not delivered the jobs and housing they need. Likewise, in the Polisario-controlled refugee camps in Algeria, the youth's frustration with the diplomatic stalemate and demand for better socio-economic conditions have played a major role in the recent escalation.

The EU should use carrots and sticks to encourage these constituencies, as well as Morocco and the Polisario, to soften their positions and engage in diplomacy.

Brussels should not only comply with the court ruling by reintroducing quotas and tariffs on produce and fish from Western Sahara, but could leverage it to pressure those elites who are among the main beneficiaries of the status quo to drop their opposition to a potential compromise.

Removing Western Sahara produce from the deal would raise the cost of the diplomatic stalemate.

While Rabat would likely retaliate diplomatically, the EU could argue that it is respecting a binding legal ruling and point to its differentiation policy with regard to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories as precedent.

At the same time, the EU could lure Morocco and the Polisario back to negotiations by offering to set up an international trust fund for Western Sahara to be activated only in case of a mutually acceptable compromise.

The resources needed to promote job creation and infrastructure building for a population of less than one million would be relatively inexpensive for the EU, which could ask the US, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the African Development Bank to chip in as well.

The fund should focus on financing job creation and affordable housing to address two of the local population's major concerns and help resettling refugees in Western Sahara.
It could also reassure local elites of their political and economic survival were there a transition to new political arrangements as a result of negotiations. It could also entice those parts of the Sahrawi population in Western Sahara and the youth in the camps who oppose a resumption of talks to drop their opposition.

These incentives could reverse the recent escalation in tensions and encourage Morocco and the Polisario to go back to negotiations. The EU could explicitly throw its weight behind De Mistura's efforts.

The new envoy should aim to revive the 2018-19 roundtable format, which included Morocco, the Polisario, as well as Algeria and Mauritania as observers.

He should ask the two sides to submit a revised version of their respective plans for resolving the conflict: Rabat's autonomy plan (which would devolve powers to Western Sahara while keeping it under Moroccan sovereignty) and the 1991 UN Settlement Plan, based on a referendum on independence, which the Polisario would like to resurrect. Once updated, these plans could form the basis of the next round of talks.

The Western Sahara conflict has already had repercussions on the EU and its member states and these could escalate further in the next months if the situation continues to deteriorate.
By leveraging its economic influence on the conflict, the EU would not only abide by its own rules and support De Mistura's efforts to resume negotiations, but it could also contain an increasingly dangerous situation close to its borders.

Riccardo Fabiani is the North Africa project director at International Crisis Group, the independent conflict prevention organisation.
 

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ISACOM calls on Washington to respect will of Sahrawi people for self-determination, accelerate settlement of Sahrawi issue​


SPS 18/12/2021 - 21:17
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Occupied El Aaiun, 18 November 2021 (SPS) - The Sahrawi Body against Moroccan Occupation (ISACOM) has called on the United States of America to expedite achieving a solution to the long-standing Sahrawi issue by respecting the will of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, renewing its continuity and adherence to peaceful resistance.

According to a statement issued by ISACOM on Friday, at the invitation of the Charge d'Affaires for the U.S. Embassy in Morocco, David Fisher, the latter met with the Sahrawi defender for human rights and the president of ISACOM, Aminatuo Haidar, and ISACOM members of the executive office, Lahcen Dalil, El Ghalia Djimi and Mina Baali.

During the meeting, ISACOM members reiterated their position demanding respect for the will of the Sahrawi people by enabling it to exercise its inalienable right to self-determination, freedom and independence, in accordance with the provisions of international law for decolonization.

The meeting also discussed the grave violations in the occupied parts of Western Sahara, which the Moroccan occupation regime commits systematically and continuously against Sahrawi civilians and journalists, as well as human rights defenders, especially members of ISACOM.

In this regard, ISACOM highlighted many cases, including the case of the human rights defender, member of ISACOM, Sultana Khaya, holding the international community and the United States of America responsible for the deteriorating humanitarian situation experienced by the militant and her family.

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Morocco’s Diplomatic Morass​


Despite Washington’s about-face on Western Sahara, the erstwhile darling of U.S. policy circles is more isolated than​

For a long time, Morocco was a darling in Washington’s policy circles. The country is often hailed as the first to recognize U.S. independence (in 1777), and little has stood in the way of Moroccan-U.S. relations since. The kingdom’s lobbying efforts, for one, have historically not required much heavy lifting to sway U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation aligned with its interests.​

Today, however, the once unshakable bipartisan U.S. consensus on Morocco has shifted away from unwavering support. The most recent reflection of this trend is unprecedented Morocco-skeptic language introduced in the appropriations bill and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2022. While the draft of the U.S. Senate’s 2022 appropriations bill must undergo negotiations with the House, the NDAA has passed both chambers of Congress. Both pieces of legislation risk souring the centuries-long ties between these two historic allies.
To be sure, the United States is not the only country with whom Morocco has faced recent diplomatic losses. For the past year, headlines have painted a worrying picture of Moroccan diplomacy in decline. This has left the country relatively isolated, even among its traditional allies.
In March 2021, Morocco severed official diplomatic communication with Germany over a series of what it characterized as “deep disagreements.” In May 2021, Morocco withdrew its ambassador to Spain and eased border restrictions with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, located in North Africa, causing an influx of thousands of migrants—many of them unaccompanied minors—into Spanish and European Union territory.
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The move prompted the European Parliament to pass a resolution that found Morocco in breach of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. In July 2021, reports alleged that Moroccan intelligence agents hacked the phone of French President Emmanuel Macron as well as a number of French officials and journalists. France, a usually staunch supporter of its former colony, has since grown mum. In September 2021, the EU Court of Justice annulled agriculture and fisheries trade between Morocco and the EU.

The common thread in all of these rows has been the deterioration of Morocco’s once dynamic diplomatic corps following the appointment of Nasser Bourita, a junior bureaucrat with no party affiliation and a relatively thin résumé, as Morocco’s foreign minister in 2017. During his tenure, Morocco has never been more alienated from its neighbors and allies.
“There is a general consensus among former and current diplomats that the state of Moroccan diplomacy has reached its lowest point since independence,” said a veteran Moroccan diplomat, who spoke to Foreign Policy on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. He described current Moroccan diplomacy in two words: “erratic and mediocre.”
Now, Moroccan interests stand to lose the support of its oldest and strongest ally: the United States. Things began to go awry for Morocco after it landed itself in 2016 U.S. presidential campaign crosshairs, when it was reported that King Mohammed VI had pledged $12 million to the Clinton Foundation in 2015.
Quickly, the Donald Trump campaign incorporated the report into its talking points as an alleged example of candidate Hillary Clinton engaging in “pay for play.” Throughout the duration of Trump’s subsequent term as president, he held no official meetings with King Mohammed VI. The closest the two heads of state came to a rendezvous was when photos of them at the 2018 Armistice Day ceremony in France went viral: Trump could be seen glaring at a sleepy Mohammed VI.
And then, in the final weeks of Trump’s term, he issued a proclamation that recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara territory in exchange for Morocco’s normalization of ties with Israel. The move immediately solicited bipartisan condemnation in Washington.
Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe and Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy have been at the forefront of this criticism, which has continued into the Biden administration. Both Inhofe and Leahy authored a February 2021 Senate letter addressed to U.S. President Joe Biden, urging him to reverse Trump’s decision, which they characterized as endorsing “the Kingdom of Morocco’s illegitimate claims of sovereignty over Western Sahara.”
The Western Saharan conflict emerged after the territory’s independence from Spanish colonial rule in the 1970s. The pro-liberation Polisario Front quickly redirected its armed struggle against Morocco when the kingdom seized control of Western Sahara in 1975, and it was not until 1991 that the two parties agreed to the terms of a U.N.-brokered cease-fire agreement pledging to hold a referendum on the territory’s status. More than 30 years later, the vote has yet to take place despite the overwhelming support of the international community and United Nations.
Drafts for fiscal year 2022’s appropriations bill and NDAA include significant changes on Morocco and Western Sahara.

Inhofe serves as the ranking member for the Senate Armed Services Committee and Leahy as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, so Senate drafts for fiscal year 2022’s appropriations bill and NDAA include significant changes on Morocco and Western Sahara in comparison to past years.
In past versions of the bill—which, among other things, outlines appropriations for the State Department and other U.S. foreign operations—Western Sahara-related provisions had been placed under the section on Morocco. “We didn’t think it was a reflection of either reality or international law,” said Tim Rieser, senior foreign-policy aide to Leahy and Democratic clerk for the Appropriations subcommittee on state and foreign operations. “So the first thing we did in the Senate was separate out Western Sahara and put it under its own heading as a general provision.”
Inhofe echoed this sentiment: “This particular section should be protected as it moves through the negotiation process,” he told Foreign Policy in an email. Crediting Leahy for the strong language, Inhofe added, “it sends a strong message to the Biden administration—this is a priority for Congress, so you need to make it a priority as well.”
If the appropriations bill survives the House’s negotiation process, the placement of Western Sahara as its own heading is just one of several changes that could mark a turning point in Morocco-U.S. relations. The draft also opposes the use of funding for the construction of a U.S. consulate in Western Sahara, reversing the previous administration’s nominal inauguration of what was eventually going to be a consulate in the disputed territory.
Additionally, the NDAA, which covers appropriations for the U.S. military, limits the use of funds for any military exercises with Morocco unless the U.S. secretary of defense “determines and certifies to the congressional defense committees that the Kingdom of Morocco has taken steps to support a final peace agreement with Western Sahara.”
Having passed both the Senate and the House, there is a significant likelihood that this year’s annual African Lion military exercises, U.S. Africa Command’s largest exercise, would skip over Morocco entirely. With the exception of a pandemic-related pause in 2020, the last time the African Lion exercises excluded Morocco was in 2013, when Morocco protested U.S. support for a human rights monitoring mandate as part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara. In response, the United States reversed its support of the mandate.
Many had anticipated that, under the Biden administration, there would be another push for including a human rights mandate in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, known as Minurso. Not only is the United States the penholder of the Security Council resolution that determines the mandate and length of Minurso, but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has repeatedly reaffirmed Biden’s campaign promise of “putting human rights back at the center of American foreign policy.”
Both Inhofe and Leahy, along with several other senators, including Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown and Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders, signed an October 2021 letter to Blinken, calling on the inclusion of a human rights monitoring mandate in the renewal of Minurso. On Oct. 29, 2021, the Security Council passed a resolution that renewed Minurso without a human rights monitoring mandate. Inhofe characterized the human rights language in the resolution as “toothless” in his email to Foreign Policy.

Many have been frustrated by the Biden administration’s ambiguity on its position regarding Western Sahara. “What they appear to being doing is to stake out this ‘neutral’ position where they have not affirmatively embraced the Trump policy but neither have they rejected it,” Rieser said. For Inhofe, time is ticking: “At this point, more than 10 months into the new administration, I just want to see some action.”
READ MORE

How the Western Sahara Became the Key to North Africa​


Biden Must Reverse Course on Western Sahara​



Responding to these frustrations, a State Department spokesperson said “the Administration’s priority is restarting a credible political process, leading to an enduring, dignified, and internationally supported solution to the Western Sahara conflict. We warmly welcome Staffan de Mistura’s appointment as the U.N. Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General and will actively support his efforts.”
De Mistura joins a long line of U.N. envoys for Western Sahara who have failed to secure a resolution. Former U.S. Ambassador Christopher Ross served in the role until his resignation in 2017. For him, there are two factors the current envoy will have to face: a restricted mandate and Morocco’s defiance of Security Council directives. “Our mandate is limited to facilitating meetings between the parties,” Ross said. “If the new envoy is going to be limited to that same role of just facilitating meetings, he’s not going to make any progress whatsoever.”
Ross characterized Morocco’s record of compliance with Security Council directives—namely, that all parties should engage in negotiations “in good faith and without preconditions” and Minurso should have free access to all interlocutors—as “very bad.” Morocco has not only refused to discuss any other proposal other than its autonomy plan, but it has limited Minurso’s access to people in the area under its mandate. “Morocco acts with impunity,” Ross said, arguing Morocco is the major reason why no progress has been made.
Put into context with Morocco’s recent diplomatic spats and rows under Bourita, Ross said, “there’s a lack of positive movement in Moroccan diplomacy”—a view shared by others. To mend this image, Morocco has touted its normalization deal with Israel as an example of its amenability, even though the two countries have long engaged in a range of cooperation since the mid-20th century. Morocco has relied on this deal as an alternative avenue for its lobbying efforts, placing one particular figure at the forefront of its charm offensive abroad: Israeli-Moroccan Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto.
Prior to his recent appointment as the chief rabbinical authority who oversees kashrut in Morocco—the dietary laws that qualify food as kosher—Pinto was convicted in Israel over attempted bribery charges, resulting in a one-year prison sentence. Pinto maintains a relatively active social media presence, where he displays a medley of posts spanning from snapshots in a private jet to photo-ops with politicians and diplomats.
Pinto’s elevation from convict to rabbinical leader without any input from the Moroccan Jewish community reflects the insulated nature of decision-making in Morocco, including on foreign policy. “Up until a few years ago, foreign-policy decisions would be the result of a collegial group of advisors that would give their recommendations to King Mohammed VI,” the veteran Moroccan diplomat said. Many senior officials who once had the king’s ear have now been pushed out, resulting in an echo chamber that left many former diplomats demoralized and concerned that Morocco is headed down a worrying foreign-policy path.
Morocco’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

This outlook is even more grim when placed alongside recent domestic indicators: The country’s unemployment rate has reached its highest point since 2001, human rights and freedom of expression are rapidly deteriorating, and many people are growing frustrated with the state’s management of the pandemic, which has been marred by last-minute, poorly communicated, and heavily restrictive policies.
Historically and by virtue of its geographic location, one of Morocco’s strengths has always been its ability to navigate the fluctuating tides of international diplomacy. Amid tensions with its allies and mounting aggression with its foes—including the escalation of violence with Algeria and the Polisario Front—Morocco faces the risk of a dangerous slide into isolation and hostility. With its aggressive approach to diplomacy, Morocco is doing very little to steer the region away from a bleak future of conflict and instability.


 

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British New Age company withdraws from the occupied lands of Western Saraha and the Saharawi Petroleum and Minerals Authority welcomes this step,
Any company that invests in the occupied Saharawi territory will be exposed to the international judiciary because of the illegal situation of the Moroccan presence there.

 

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Sahrawi army: new attacks against the positions of the Moroccan occupier​


SPS 25/01/2022 - 12:22
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Bir lahlou, Jan 25, 2022 (SPS) - Units of the Saharawi People's Liberation Army (SPLA) have carried out new attacks against the forces of the Moroccan occupier in the Mahbas sector, indicated the Saharawi Ministry of Defense in its military communiqué N 438 issued on Monday.
According to its statement, "advanced detachments of the Sahrawi army bombarded the positions of Moroccan army soldiers in the Mahbas sector, targeting the regions of Lakaad, Sabkha Tnouchad and Akrara El Fersic".
On Sunday, units of the Saharawi army had carried out attacks against the entrenchments of the Moroccan army in the sectors of Houza, Mahbas and Ausserd, targeting the areas of Fder Laghrab, Kalb Al-Nass and Akrarat Al-Farsik.
The attacks of the Saharawi army continue against the entrenchments and the positions of the soldiers of the Moroccan occupier who suffered "considerable human and material losses along the wall of shame", indicates the same source.SPS​
 

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Spain: Hundreds march in support of Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination​


SPS 19/06/2021 - 21:56
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Madrid, 19 June 2021 (SPS) - Hundreds of members of the civil society and political parties demonstrated Friday before the headquarters of Foreign Affairs Ministry in Madrid, calling on the Spanish government to assume its legal, political and historical responsibilities vis-à-vis the Sahrawi people and to help them to organize a referendum on self-determination.

This movement, which was placed under the slogan “for the freedom of the Sahrawi people,” saw the participation of officials of the civil society and political parties, like Podemos and la Izquiera unida, in addition to representatives of the European and Spanish Parliament and also autonomous Parliaments in Spain.

Several slogans were chanted in this demonstration, like “Spain responsible, Morocco occupier,” “The Sahrawi people have the right to self-determination” and also “Yes to the international law, No to the Moroccan occupation.”

The demonstration aims to raise awareness of the suffering endured by the Sahrawi people for dozens of years and to denounce the shameless violation of the ceasefire and human rights by the Moroccan occupier.

The demonstrators urged the Spanish government to assume its legal, political and historical responsibilities towards the Sahrawi people and “immediately and urgently intervene” in order to enable them to exercise their right to self-determination.

Handing, at the end of the demonstration, a communiqué to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the demonstrators called on the Spanish authorities to take a stand in favor of the Sahrawi cause, informing them that they will also hold a demonstration on Saturday in the capital city. (SPS)

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Int’l community must stop Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara – Envoy​


SPS 11/10/2021 - 14:17
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Abuja (Nigeria), 11 October 2021 (SPS) - The Ambassador of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (Western Sahara) to Nigeria, Brahim Salem Buseif, has called on the United Nations(UN) the European Union(EU), the African Union (AU) and international institutions to prevail on Morocco to stop the aggression and occupation of his country and respect international law regarding the rights of the Saharawi to determine their independence through a referendum. In this interview with a select group of journalists, the envoy praised the EU Court that annulled trade agreements between Morocco and EU Commission over resources of Western Sahara. He also called on Nigerian government to take the lead in imposing the law to protect his nation from Morocco’s occupation. INNOCENT ODOH was there. Excerpts:
What is your impression about the European Union Court ruling of Wednesday September 29, which annulled the agreements between Morocco and the European Union on exporting fishing and agricultural products from Western Sahara?

We are very satisfied with the ruling of the European Court of last Wednesday, which ruled against two agreements between Morocco and European Commission which included Western Saharawi. This same court had already ruled in 2016 and 2018 that Western Saharawi is a distinct and separate territory from Morocco and that Morocco has no right to include Western Sahara in any agreement of any kind. But in spite this very clear ruling, the European Commission tried to circumvent the law and in complicity with Morocco, they signed two agreements- one concerning farming products and one concerning sea shelf, which concerns Saharawi territorial waters.

Of course, we were convinced that those agreements were illegal and null according to international law, which considers Western Saharawi an autonomous territory and gives the right and sovereignty to the people of Western Saharawi concerning all their natural resources. The law also said that no agreement can be signed with forces of occupation without the consent of the people.

So, it is a very major setback for Morocco and a very big blow to their accomplice, the European Commission, which tried to circumvent the law. It is a very big blow for them especially for the government of France and Spain that were pushing for the signing of those agreements.

It is not only a legal victory for us, it is also a political victory because the government of Morocco, by the illegal proclamation of Donald Trump in recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over our land, was emboldened and asking the EU to follow this illegal proclamation.

The European Court of Justice after 46 years reaffirmed the position of the International Court of Justice in The Hague in 1975, which said that Morocco has no right or links of sovereignty with Western Saharawi prior to the Spanish colonization.

The court ruling also confirmed that the Polisario Front is the representative of Saharawi people and as such, has the right to plead for the interest of the Saharawi people before the court. The UN resolution also recognizes the Polisario Front as the only representative of the Saharawi people.

Prior to 1975, Morocco cannot provide any document, graveyards, buildings or documented proof that it had been in Western Sahara prior to its invasion and occupation in 1975.

There is a resolution of the United Nations of 1979 which clearly shows Morocco’s invasion and occupation.

So, after the court ruling, what is your appeal to the International Community?

After this clear ruling, our government is calling upon European governments, European institutions to abide by their own law and international law. That is what we are calling for.

Western Saharawi is at war with Morocco because since November 2020, it violated the 1991 UN and AU ceasefire agreement, and since then there is no ceasefire and we are saying that because the Saharawi Republic is not peaceful right now. We have issued notices to all governments and institutions that they are at risk if they commit themselves in some agreements and undertakings in Western Sahara. We are not responsible for what could happen to them.

Morocco is violating and incarcerating people and an example of that is the defender of human rights called Sultana Haiya who has been for months now under house arrest and the police are violating her and her sister. Right now, she is sick of Coronavirus because they made her inhale some products.

That lady has already lost one of her eyes because of the beating of the Moroccan police. She has been nominated in the European parliament for the Saharawi fight as human right defender.

Morocco has been very vehement with its claims over Western Sahara and issues of violation of human rights in occupied areas has also been thrown up, so how can the UN mission allow Morocco to be violating the rights of the people?

Yes, you made a very good point because since the ceasefire in 1991, the UN established the Mission for the Referendum of Western Sahara, which is called after its Spanish initials -the Mission of United Nations for the Referendum of Western Sahara, which is called MINURSO. That mission is supposed to take care of the ceasefire and to hold a referendum on self- determination.

But Morocco has managed to stop the referendum because it knows that if a referendum on self-determination is organised, the people will decide to be independent, so it tried to put obstacles, by bringing in settlers, saying that they should vote.

I was a member of the Polisario Front on the United Nations Identification mission, to identify possible voters in the referendum in Western Sahara but we discovered that Morocco brought thousands of settlers to Western Sahara. We even went to Morocco to identify possible voters who are Moroccan settlers who had nothing to do with Western Sahara. But the team of the United Nations identification Commission to Western Sahara were experts and they did not accept those people.

The MINURSO is not dealing with the issue of human rights because the mission has no prerogative of dealing with human rights and so human rights are violated before their eyes and they keep a blind eye to that. They cannot even report on that to the United Nations.

So, Morocco is refusing to abide by international law and it is being backed by France, a very strong member of the United Nations Security Council. Whenever people propose for the mission to have the prerogative of monitoring human rights, they will stop it. So, they have given Morocco the opportunity to violate human right and so nobody can report on this human right and they continue to do it.

It is an anomaly that a United Nations mission had no prerogative to monitor human rights, it is something that is unacceptable.

The issue of referendum is long overdue, but what do you think is holding the UN from being consistent and following through the resolutions and organizing the referendum?

When the identification of voters was taking place in 1991, King Hassan, the father of the current King, was the one who accepted the referendum after sixteen years of bitter war and promised to recognise the outcome.

But in 1999, when we were still working on the referendum, the king of Morocco died and after that, his son backtracked on the referendum and unfortunately, the UN is not imposing the resolution because Morocco has France, an accomplice and a very strong member of the Security Council.

Any special appeal to African Union?

Our special appeal to African Union is that the respect of our constitutional rights. That is all we want from Africans and if any member state is violating that right, then AU should put some sanctions as was with the case of the arrogant Apartheid regime in South Africa. Sanctions should be placed on such member state.

Since its constitution in 2000, the African Union is becoming strong and having very good personality internationally. This is not suitable for other foreign powers and they want to weaken Africa and unfortunately Morocco is being used as the Trojan horse to do that.

What are your expectations from Nigeria on this case?

Nigeria’s recognition and establishment of diplomatic relations with Western Saharan Republic was crucial in our struggle and we are very grateful for that support.

Nigeria by its history and size in Africa should have the last word and should be the referee in any dispute in Africa as the big brother to impose the law, the implementation and respect of the law and the respect for treaties.

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Some of the names of the Moroccan occupation soldiers who were killed in the last attack of the SA.
The Moroccan occupation army has so far denied any existence of a war in Western Sahara.

Colonel Karkoub Muhammad Hassan ☠❌
Lieutenant Colonel Belgrafi☠❌ Muhammad Mohsen☠❌
Captain Joubla Aziz☠❌
Adnani Abdallah☠❌
Sergeant Sokah Hasban Muhammad☠❌
Aswak Muhammad Muhsin☠❌
Staff Sergeant Zouk Muhammad☠❌
Ould Kaltoum☠❌
Corporal Atmatari Al-Zein☠❌
Corporal Yamla Mustafa☠❌
Corporal Safi Khaled☠❌
Long Live the Western Sahara Republic and its glorious people !
 

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