SAHRAOUIS AND WESTERN SAHARA CONFLICT

SAHRAOUIS AND WESTERN SAHARA CONFLICT



But there are other causes…?

- Yes. There are reasons specific to the region: the claims of Saharans in Morocco. Students at the University of Rabat in 1972 expressed a genuine claim. They were not well treated, they complained about their economic situation and their political marginalization.
- Why the conflict is not yet resolved?

- Because the United Nations has chosen the wrong mechanism: the process of self-determination through a referendum based on identification, not applied anywhere else.
- There was the Spanish census…
- This census reflects the Sahara tribes who lived in area near Laâyoune. But these same tribes are present in Mauritania, Algeria, Mali and southern Morocco. Therefore, the United Nations has concluded, that it is technically impossible to carry out the referendum and there is need to find other alternatives.
- Which ones?

- There are two alternatives: status quo or autonomy that will profoundly change the Moroccan state.
- What is your basis?

- Admit that power does not come from the top but from the people’s consent.
- And what can it handle?

- All political, economic, social and cultural development, ie personality, identity, tradition, local authenticity. Absolutely everything except the sovereignty’s attributes.

- This item will be discussed during the development of the plan in detail.
- Moroccan political parties benefit from popular support in the Sahara?
- The Sahara has always been a tribal society that did not accurately reflect the traditional political schemes, even if they are represented in the same CORCAS.

- Why the Royal Advisory Council was created?

- The King wants the Moroccan administration to be reconciled with the Saharans. It was guilty of the Polisario creation, since it did not take into account that we are a major historical component of Morocco.

- Who has interest in maintaining "status quo"?
- Those who have made of the Sahara a personal matter.
- What do neighbours say?

- Algeria says it is not involved. But it is supposed to help us solve this problem.
- What is happening in the Sahel Sahara?

-This region is experiencing the emergence of a grey area lacking law and order, with a daily increase of the rate of illegal immigration and uncontrolled circulation of weapons.
- Is it possible to create a new state in the Sahara?

- The creation of states based on tribalism has caused great difficulty in Africa. somalia, the Rwandan genocide and the tragedy of Darfur are examples of negative tribalism.

- Is there a risk of the production of terrorism in the region?

- Saharans are not terrorists. But it is possible that terrorist groups coming from other parties, come and settle in the area.
- What role can be played by Polisario in autonomy?

- It may be the governing party. I asked my brother Mohamed Abdelaziz to lead autonomy.

- Under what conditions?

- The Polisario Front is a political-military movement with single thought and doctrine. it must be democratized.
- What needs to be changed?

- Dialogue rejection which opposes the interests of the Saharans. It cannot continue to pretend that it is "the sole representative of Sahrawis"
- The Polisario mentioned its intention to begin a dialogue with Algeria…
- Since Abdelaziz Buteflika is the Head of State, he should ask the King to meet him. I would like to tell him that this is the best solution for all parties.
Skillful politician
Khalihenna Ould Errachid is probably the cleverest Sahrawi politician. He was recently appointed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI chairman of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs. He spent his childhood and adolescence in Spanish schools. During the last period of Franco’s life, he founded the Sahrawi Party for National Union, a movement claiming autonomy within the Spanish state. During decolonization, the party was unable to resist to young separatist people gathered around the separatist Polisario Front. Khalihenna Ould Errachid was adapted to the changes and remained in the territories occupied by Morocco.
In the eighties, he was appointed chairman of the municipal council of the city of Laâyoun, and contributed to the modernization of the "Moroccan Sahara", to which Hassan II dedicated 20,000 million MAD (two billion euros).
In late nineties, Khalihenna Ould Errachid tried, in vain, to build an autonomy party. He is regarded as the most appropriate person to build the bridge between Morocco and Spain, and to reconcile the Saharans.