Alert:
Bush Administration
Seeks to Deny Self-Determination to the people of Western Sahara
Send Letters to the Bush
Administration Supporting Self-Determination for Western Sahara and Opposing
the Framework Agreement
The Bush administration is pressuring
members of the UN Security Council to impose the “Framework Agreement” on the
people of Western Sahara. Last month the
U.S. circulated a draft resolution to members of the UN Security Council that
would have imposed the Framework Accord on the people of Western Sahara. The Framework Agreement, if adopted, would
effectively give Morocco sovereignty over Western Sahara and deny the people of
Western Sahara the right to self-determination.
The Framework Agreement would supercede the current UN settlement plan
that includes a referendum to determine the will of the people of Western
Sahara. The Security Council did not
vote on the U.S. draft resolution and on April 30th extended the
mandate of United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)
for three months until 31 July 2002. But
the U.S. government is still working behind the scenes to get the Framework
Agreement adopted before July. If
adopted as currently proposed, it would be forced by the UN on POLISARIO and the
people of Western Sahara.
Action: send letters
to President Bush and the State Department in support of self-determination for
the people of Western Sahara and opposing the Framework Accord. Address
letters to President George W. Bush, The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500 and Secretary of State Collin L. Powell,
Department of State, 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520.
The following letter from Africa Action and TransAfrica to Assistant Secretary of State Burns opposes
the U.S. supported “Framework Agreement” that would deny the people of Western
Sahara their right to self-determination. Richard Knight consulted on the text of the
letter
May 8, 2002.
[Back to Western Sahara on
richardknight.com] [Home]
May
2, 2002
The
Honorable William Joseph Burns
Assistant
Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
Department
of State
2201
C Street N.W.
Washington,
DC 20520
Dear
Assistant Secretary Burns,
We
strongly support the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-
determination. We are shocked to learn
that the United States circulated a draft resolution to members of the United
Nations Security Council supporting a “framework agreement” that legitimizes
Morocco’s occupation and annexation of Western Sahara. The U.S. should strongly support the legal
right of self-determination for non-self- governing territories and use its
prestige and influence to support the holding of a referendum in Western
Sahara. The U.S. should make clear to
the government of Morocco our support for the referendum and our opposition to
its continued obstruction of the settlement process.
The
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, was occupied by Spain in 1884 as a
result of the Berlin Conference that divided Africa among the European
powers. As in the rest of Africa,
colonization was met with resistance, including armed resistance. On May 10,
1973 the Frente pro la Liberacion
de Segiut El Hamra y de Rio
de Oro (POLISARIO) was formed. Ten days later, POLISARIO launched its first
armed attack on a Spanish garrison. By
early 1975, a large area of the territory had been liberated from the Spanish,
who kept solid control of only the larger towns and the phosphate mines.
By
1975, Spain was ready to withdraw from Western Sahara, but both Morocco and
Mauritania were laying claim to the territory.
In May 1975, the United Nations sent a mission to Western Sahara that
concluded: “Within the territory, the
mission noted that the population, or at least almost all
those persons encountered by the mission, were categorically for
independence and against the territorial claims of Morocco and Mauritania. The populations expressed the wish that the
United Nations, Organization of African
Unity, and the League of Arab States should
help it to attain and preserve its independence...” The Frente POLISARIO, although considered a clandestine
movement before the mission’s arrival, appeared as a dominant political force
in the Territory. The mission witnessed
mass demonstrations in support of the movement in all parts of the Territory.”
The Mission proposed a referendum to determine the will of the people of
Western Sahara.
In
October 1975, the World Court upheld the right of the people of Western Sahara
to self- determination “through the free and genuine expression of the will of
the peoples of the territory.” But when
Spain pulled out in 1976 it divided the territory between Morocco and
Mauritania. In a recent legal opinion,
UN Legal Counsel Hans Corell noted the agreement
signed by the three countries “did not transfer sovereignty over the territory,
nor did it confer upon any of the signatories the status of an administrative
power”, and that it “did not
affect the international status of Western Sahara as a Non-Self-
Governing Territory.”
Polisario,
which had led the struggle for independence against Spain, rejected the
partition and turned its military efforts against Morocco and Mauritania. POLSIARIO declared the Saharawi
Arab Democratic Republic, which is now a member of the Organization of African
Unity. Much of the population of Western
Sahara fled the territory to Polisario run refugee camps in Algeria. In July1978 there was a coup in
Mauritania. Two days later Polisario
declared a unilateral cease-fire with Mauritania. In 1979 Mauritania formally abandoned its
claim to Western Sahara. Morocco
immediately asserted a claim for the portion of Western Sahara previously
claimed by Mauritania.
The
United Nations General Assembly has consistently considered the issue of
Western Sahara as one of decolonization and self- determination. In 1980, it adopted a resolution that
reaffirmed “the inalienable right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and
independence,” and expressed “deep concern… at the aggravation of the situation prevailing in Western Sahara
because of the continued occupation of
that Territory by Morocco.”
The
holding of a referendum is the best possible way for the people of Western
Sahara to exercise their right to self-determination and is at the center of
the 1991 UN settlement plan. We
understand the frustration of the Secretary-General and the Security Council
that over ten years have passed and it has not been possible to hold the
referendum. But the reason a referendum
has not been held is because of obstacles created by Morocco, which has sought
to pack the voter roll. During the past twenty-six years, the government of Morocco,
which exercises de facto control over
much of the territory, moved many of its own citizens into the territory in the hope that, should a
referendum eventually be held, they
would vote for an outcome favorable to the government in Rabat.
The
proposed framework agreement, drafted by the Secretary-General’s personal envoy James Baker as an alternative
to the current settlement plan,
essentially gives sovereignty of Western Sahara to Morocco without a proper test of the will of the people
of the territory. For five years the
territory would have limited local autonomy at which time a referendum would be
held to determine the final status of the territory. However, anyone who has been resident in
territory for one year will be able to vote in this referendum, thus allowing
Morocco to add all the settlers it has brought into Western Sahara since 1975
to the voter roll. This rewards Morocco
for it years of intransigence. Moreover,
under the U.S. draft resolution this solution would be imposed on the people of
Western Sahara by the Security Council without any test of their opinion.
Mr.
Secretary, Western Sahara remains an issue of decolonization and the people of
Western Sahara have a legal right to self-determination. After the U.S. regained its seat on the UN
Human Rights Commission, Sichan Siv,
the U.S. Representative to the Economic and Social Council, said “Human rights is the
cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.”
The U.S. should support the right of the people of Western Sahara to
self-determination and the holding of a referendum. The proposed framework agreement would deny
that right.
Sincerely,
Salih Booker, Africa Action
Bill
Fletcher, TransAfrica
cc: His Excellency Kofi
Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations