Western Sahara

Western Sahara (EH in ISO 3166-1) is a territory of northwestern Africa, bordered by the internationally-understood boundaries of Morocco to the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. The largest city is El Aaiún (Laayoune), containing the majority of the population of the territory. Western Sahara is arguably the most sparsely populated territory in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands.

History

Main article: History of Western Sahara

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The history of Western Sahara begins with the arrival of the camel which facilitated trade and exchanges. Earlier, there were some Phonecian contacts but with no big influence.

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The arrival of Islam in the 8th century played a major role in the development of relationships between Western Sahara and the neighbouring regions. Trade developped further and the region became a passage of caravans especially between Marrakech and Tombouctou in Mali. Soon later, Almoravids were abled to control the area.

Related Topics:
Islam - 8th century - Caravan - Marrakech - Tombouctou - Mali - Almoravids

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During the first two decades of the 20th century, Spain created the colony of Spanish Sahara through successive treaties and agreements with local populations and France. Due to internal pressures following the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, and the global trend in decolonization, Spain planned to divest itself of the Sahara, and promised a referendum regarding independence. On November 6, 1975 the Green March into Western Sahara began when 300,000 unarmed Moroccans converged on the city of Tarfaya in southern Morocco and waited for a signal from King Hassan II of Morocco to cross into Western Sahara. As a result, Spain abandoned Western Sahara on November 14, 1975, repatriating even the Spanish corpses from its cemeteries. Morocco then virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976. In 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal, Morocco extended its control to the rest of the territory. A guerrilla war carried by the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 cease-fire by United Nations peacekeeping mission MINURSO.

Related Topics:
20th century - Spain - Colony - Spanish Sahara - France - Francisco Franco - 1975 - Decolonization - Referendum - Independence - Green March - Guerrilla war - Polisario Front - Rabat - Sovereignty - 1991 - Cease-fire - United Nations - Peacekeeping - MINURSO

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The referendum, originally scheduled for 1992, was planned to give the indigenous population the option between independence or inclusion to Morocco, but has not taken place as of 2005. At the heart of the dispute lays the question of who can be registered as an indigenous voter. In 1997, the Houston Agreement made another attempt to implement the referendum, but failed.

Related Topics:
1992 - 1997 - Houston Agreement

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Both sides blame each other for the stalling of the referendum. But while the Polisario has consistently asked for the UN to go ahead with the vote, standing only to lose from the status quo, Morocco has been troubled by the risk of losing a referendum or receiving a large enough vote against annexation to undermine years of nationalist rhetoric from the government. Indeed, shortly after the Houston Agreement, the kingdom officially declared that it was "no longer necessary" to include an option of independence on the ballot, offering instead autonomy. Erik Jensen, who played an administrative role in MINURSO, wrote that neither side would agree to a voter registration in which they were destined to lose (see ')

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A United States-backed document known as the "James Baker peace plan" was discussed by the United Nations Security Council in 2000, and envisioned a future Western Sahara Authority (WSA), to be followed after five years by the referendum. It was rejected by both sides, although initially spawned from a Moroccan proposal. According to Baker's draft, Moroccan settlers would be granted the vote in the Sahrawi independence referendum, and the ballot would be split three-ways by the inclusion of an unspecified "autonomy", further undermining the independece camp. Also, Morocco was allowed to keep its army in the area and to retain the control over all security issues during both the autonomy years and the election.

Related Topics:
United States - James Baker - Peace plan - United Nations Security Council - 2000 - Western Sahara Authority - Autonomy

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In 2003 a new version of the plan was made official, with some additions spelling out the powers of the WSA, making it less reliant on the Moroccan devolution. It also provided further detail on the referendum process in order to make it harder to stall or subvert. This second draft, commonly known as Baker II, was accepted by the Polisario as a "basis of negotiations" to the surprise of many. This contradicts the Polisario's policy of only negotiating with the standards of voter identification from 1991. After that, the draft quickly garnered widespread international support, culminating in the UN Security Council's unanimous endorsement of the plan in the summer of 2003. Morocco, however, came out against the plan despite the heavy international backing, and eventually it explained itself to be negative in principle to the holding of a referendum on independence.

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Today the Baker II document appears politically dead, having led nowhere, and with Baker having resigned his post at the UN in 2004. His resignation followed several months of failed attempts to get Morocco to enter into formal negotiations on the plan, but he met with rejection. The new king, Mohammed VI of Morocco, opposes the concept of a referendum on independence, and has said Morocco will never agree to one. His father, Hassan II of Morocco, initially supported the idea in principle in 1982, and in signed contracts in 1991 and 1997, but Morocco apparently no longer feels bound by these commitments.

Related Topics:
2004 - Mohammed VI of Morocco - Hassan II of Morocco - 1982

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The UN has put forth no replacement strategy after the breakdown of Baker II, and renewed fighting is a possibility. In 2005, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported increased military activity on both sides of the front and breaches of several cease-fire provisions against strengthening military fortifications.

Related Topics:
2005 - United Nations Secretary-General - Kofi Annan

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Morocco, uncomfortable with the UN process, has repeatedly tried to replace it with bilateral negotiations with Algeria, receiving vocal support from France and occasionally and currently from the United States. These negotiations would define the exact limits of a Western Sahara autonomy under Moroccan rule, but only after Morocco's "inalienable right" to the territory was recognized as a precondition to the talks. The Algerian government has consistently refused, claiming it has neither the will nor the right to negotiate on the behalf of the Polisario Front.

Related Topics:
Algeria - France - United States

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