Originally published in "Folkmakt, No. 2"
Located in north-west Africa, just 140 kilometers from the Canary Islands, Western Sahara is a desert landscape with an arid climate. Since 1973, the POLISARIO liberation front has been fighting Morocco's occupation of the country. Currently, there is a ceasefire pending a referendum on the future of Western Sahara, administered by the UN.
Background on Western Sahara
Western Sahara is currently occupied by Morocco, but before that it was controlled by Spain. As early as the 15th century, Spain began to exploit the rich fishing waters off the Saharan coast. But as European colonialism began to divide Africa between them, several countries tried to colonize Western Sahara, but faced strong resistance from the population.
At the Berlin Conference in 1884, when the European colonial powers divided Africa between them, Spain was awarded Western Sahara, which was then named 'Spanish Sahara'. But the people did not want to be subjugated under Spanish rule, so it was 50 years before Spain, with the help of France, gained military control over the area.
In the 1940s, it was discovered that Western Sahara had large phosphate deposits. Prior to this, Spain's interests in Western Sahara had been mainly strategic, but now they were growing rapidly. With the help of North American, French and West German capital, the Bu Craa mine was built and the Sahrawis were forced into the cities and into the mine as labor.
In 1970, thousands of Sahrawis demonstrated peacefully in the capital El Ayoun, demanding jobs, housing and a measure of independence - including handing over a document to the Spanish authorities demanding that Spain leave the country. But Spanish forces opened fire on the demonstrators, killing around 40 and wounding several hundred. Three years later, the POLISARIO FRONT - a national liberation movement - was formed and took up the armed struggle for independence.
On May 20, 1973, the POLISARIO carried out its first attack by assaulting the Spanish post of Khanga in Western Sahara. In a matter of minutes, the Sahrawis captured arms and ammunition from the Spanish colonizers.
Meanwhile, in Morocco, King Hassan dreamed of a future Greater Morocco. In 1975, a meeting was held in Madrid with representatives from Spain, Morocco and Mauritania. It was to decide on the future of the Saharan people. A 'Tripartite Agreement' was agreed, giving Morocco the right to occupy the northern part of Western Sahara and Mauritania the southern part.
There were several reasons why Spain 'sold' Western Sahara: the UN had made several pushes for colonization, while Spain was in a politically unstable situation (the agreement was signed two days before General Franco's death). But the main reason was the growing resistance Spain had experienced since the creation of the FRONT POLISARIO.
In November 1975, King Hassan organized the 'Green March'. 350,000 poor Moroccans marched into the Western Sahara carrying Moroccan flags and pictures of the King. And while all the eyes of the world were on this spectacle, 80 kilometers away, the Moroccan army was invading Western Sahara. Large parts of the Sahrawi population fled the napalm bombings to Algeria, where they set up refugee camps and POLISARIO had to devote a large part of its resources to protecting the refugees.
Over time, the POLISARIO organization became increasingly effective. Morocco and Mauritania occupied the main towns and oases of Western Sahara, and the POLISARIO's tactics were to attack these fortifications and attack enemy transports. A key target was the phosphate plant at Bu Craa and in June 1977 a major attack was launched against it, evacuating the Spanish technicians and workers who were still there and closing the mine for good.
In 1978, a military coup overthrew the Mauritanian government and in 1979 a peace agreement was signed between Polisario and Mauritania. Morocco then enters and occupies the Southern Sahara, which Mauritania has left.
The UN peace plan
Back in the 1960s, the UN called for the Sahrawi people to exercise their right to self-determination. The Spanish promised to hold a referendum, which never happened. And in April 1991, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to establish a UN force, Minurso. Minurso's task would be to administer and supervise a referendum that was expected to take place in January 1992, but Morocco has constantly sabotaged the peace plan in various ways by, among other things, making new demands on the right to vote and obstructing and threatening the UN troops.
According to the UN plan, a Spanish census from 1974 is to form the basis for the electoral roll. It included some 74 000 Sahrawis. The figure is low because many were nomadic and difficult to register. Despite this, both Morocco and Polisario have accepted that this census should be valid.
However, contrary to the peace plan, Morocco brought in 40,000 Moroccans in the fall of 1991 and King Hassan is demanding that 120,000 Moroccans be added to the census.
The occupied Western Sahara
Around 40,000 Sahrawis live in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, guarded by 150,000 Moroccan soldiers. They live in slums, as prisoners in their own towns, unable to leave or enter. When POLISARIO attacks the occupied towns in Western Sahara, they have to be careful not to harm the Sahrawi population still living there.
Around 100,000 Moroccans have moved into the occupied territories. They have been lured there with high salaries and other benefits.
Most of the remaining Sahrawis quietly support the liberation movement and many work underground for POLISARIO. Those sympathizers who are discovered are imprisoned, tortured and “disappear”.
Life in the refugee camps
On the other side of the Sahrawi border, in Algeria, are the Sahrawi refugee camps, home to around 165,000 people. The camps are located in a previously uninhabited part of the Sahara desert and water is scarce. Despite this, the Sahrawis have organized the camps admirably. They are, according to many experts, probably the best organized in the world.
The camps are organized in different districts, wilayas, named after Sahrawi cities. The camps are separated, partly for security reasons but also to minimize the risk of epidemics.
Each wilaya consists of 7 or 8 daira, or apartments, which are divided into groups of tents arranged in rows. Each daira is administered by a council elected by the popular assembly.
All residents over the age of 18 are members of one of the 'five committees': distribution, production, education, health and social affairs. All food is shared equally and money does not exist in the camps - as there is nothing to buy. There is no starvation, but many women suffer from iron deficiency and many children are on the verge of malnutrition.
Despite the severe lack of water, they have managed to set up gardens in several places where they grow potatoes, onions and beets.
The highest executive body of the camp is the Central Committee, which includes five members from the Politburo, the women's organization, the workers' organization and the student organization.
The Politburo is subordinate to the Executive Committee, which is the highest body of POLISARIO.
Under Spanish colonialism, very few were allowed to go to school and any teaching of the country's own language, Hassania, was prevented. So when Spain left Western Sahara in 1975, 90% of the population was illiterate. Educating the population was therefore one of the major tasks of POLISARIO and nowadays all children attend school for at least 7 years. In the summers, many adults are taught by young people in the “My child is my teacher” campaign.
From the age of 3, children attend nursery school, where efforts are made to re-establish the previously banned Sahrawi culture through dances, songs and fairy tales.
Sahrawi women have always had a more independent role than women in other Arab countries. For example, she has never had to wear a veil and has never had to be addressed by a man in order to speak. Women have always had the same opportunities to marry and divorce, and polygamy does not exist.
Women played an important role in the resistance struggle during the Spanish colonial period. The Spanish completely devalued women and did not see them as enemies. Therefore, they could act as messengers, smuggling weapons and messages under their clothes.
But today's war of liberation at the front is dominated by men and the people in the refugee camps are mostly women, children and the elderly. This has forced women to take a very active role. Today, they are organized in the UNMS - the Sahrawi Women's Union. UNMS has the main responsibility for administration and organization in the refugee camps and it is the women who build houses and organize in the camps.
The defense of the camps is the task of the women and therefore they receive military training from the “27 February School”, a women's school established in 1978 and located near the camps. There, they also receive teacher, medical and craft training, mixed with sports, cultural activities and political information.
Many women represent POLISARIO diplomatically abroad.
Women are also members of the Politburo, although the higher positions are held by men.
Interference by the major powers
Throughout the war, Morocco has received substantial military support from the US. In 1978/79, at a time when President Carter was championing human rights, the US State Department authorized the sale of a variety of sophisticated weapons, especially suited to anti-guerrilla warfare. And with Reagan, support increased sharply. A large number of military experts, with experience from Vietnam, have been in Morocco to train the Moroccan army.
POLISARIO also receives military support, mainly from Algeria and Libya, although most of the weapons it uses are captured from the opposing side.
The current situation
Today, POLISARIO and the Sahrawi people seem to be stuck waiting for the referendum on independence and what it might bring. There is neither war nor peace at the moment - in September 1991 a ceasefire was declared between Morocco and the Polisario, but Morocco still has the greatest control over the Western Sahara, despite the areas controlled by the Polisario.
Last November the UN Secretary-General announced that a referendum could not be held in February 1995 as planned. This is due to Morocco's unwillingness to hold a fair vote. After the signing of the UN peace plan in April 1991, Morocco began to put pressure on the UN to include in the electoral rolls those with Spanish documents, those with close relatives on the electoral rolls and those who can prove that they were living in Western Sahara at the time of the census.
POLISARIO, which has already made numerous concessions over the years, finally agreed to this.
As a result, by October 25, the last day to be entered on the electoral roll, some 200,000 people had applied! Morocco is clearly trying to do everything possible to get 'theirs' on the electoral rolls. Moreover, Moroccan police have repeatedly stood outside registration offices in the occupied territories and confiscated voting cards from Sahrawis as they came out, to give them to 'their own'.
The last three years of silence on Western Sahara, 1991-1994, have been exploited by Morocco. Not a word has been heard about the human rights violations. Around 800 Sahrawis are still missing, and of those 'released', many have been taken back.
The coming period will be crucial for the future of Western Sahara. It is clear that there are two paths to choose from. Either to remain in a stalemate during the ceasefire and be exploited and forced into concession after concession, or to take up the fight again and aggressively fight for a free Western Sahara!
Mangus C.
Comments