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WEEKLY NEWS |
original french
04.-10.03.2001
Morocco
Two weeks after the UN's ultimatum, the idea of autonomy for the
Sahara is beginning to be publicly raised in Morocco. Khalihenna ould
Rachid, a pro-Moroccan Saharawi notable, deputy mayor of El Ayoun, is
multiplying meetings and statements in an effort to make himself a
spokesperson for the Saharawis under Moroccan occupation (see
Week
08). He is singing the
praises of the autonomy solution which is favoured by the big powers
and the UN and which is beginning to gain ground in Morocco.
History repeats itself
Driven to decolonisation, Spain had counted in 1974 on him to
preserve their interests. Khalihenna had thus created PUNS, a
pseudo-nationalist party, and should have become the first president
of an 'independent' Sahara. The invasion and integration of the
territory with Morocco changed the deal, Khalihenna became the
Moroccan Minister for Saharan affairs.
In his recent statements, Khalihenna presents himself anew as leader
of the national Saharawi tendency and claims: "I say to you that it
is the time to say to the world that we exist and that we must
implement the regionalist option - in Spain they call it autonomist -
for our territory." (El Pais, 26.02.01).
He doesn't hesitate to say, in another interview, that the economic
and social situation in the Sahara is serious, catastrophic, even
explosive. "The events [of October 1999] could happen again,
and worse .... These last weeks, things nearly exploded again." He
wants to channel discontent in the Sahara, where, he recognises, the
problem has a political basis. In his opinion, the one responsible is
Basri, his bad management of the issue, the Houston agreements,
"which Morocco was not obliged to sign". His successor as Minister of
the Interior is no better, he only camouflages the real situation.
For nothing has been done. The consultative Council for Saharan
Affairs, announced in 1999 by the King, has remained a dead letter,
Khalihenna stated. (Maroc Hebdo International, 09.03.01).
Otherwhise, Morocco is timidly taking awareness of the real situation
after the latest proposals from the UN. Serfaty warns: "The stakes
are clear and precise (...) either Morocco accepts to go along the
third way, or the UN will clinch the census in a direction which will
give rise to independence (...) We are at a crossroads and the
destiny of the country depends on it." (La Nouvelle Tribune,
22.02.01).
The Moroccan government, through the voice of its Secretary of State
for Telecommunications, lets it be understood that he is preparing a
formula for autonomy for Western Sahara, inspired by Spanish
regionalism (01.03.01, EFE). How Morocco is carved up is under
review, the number of regions would be reduced from 16 to 10 and the
Sahara would form a single entity, announces the newspaper La
Vérité (09.03.01).
27.02.01
Australia
A motion put down by Senator Lyn Allison in the Australian Senate was
unanimously accepted. It asks the Australian government to make
representations to the UN and Morocco to hold the referendum as soon
as possible and to warn the British government about the consequences
of arms sales in the region.
07.03.01
Repression
Ayach Baba Yahdih, 17 years, a student at "Laayoune 3", who had been
arrested with his two brothers on 11 February after the burning of a
car (see week
07), was sentenced to two
years in prison by the Magistrates' Court.
Mohamed Najem Laabi, arrested on 12 February at El Ayoun airport (see
week
07), accused of
falsification of papers and transferred to Morocco, was freed after
having spent ten days in the Commissariat of Tangiers.
(corr.).
07.03.01
Spain
Around thirty members of the Spanish parliament formed an intergroup
"Peace for the Saharawi People", in which all the parties, excepted
the Popular Party, are represented. Its objectives are to support the
peace plan for Western Sahara, to defend human rights in Western
Sahara, and to give humanitarian aid to the Saharawi refugees. The
group is planning to send delegations to the refugee camps and to the
occupied territories.
09.03.01
Morocco
Mohamed VI has appointed Mohammed Bennouna as the permanent
representative of Morocco to the United Nations. With a doctorate in
international law and a degree in public law and political science,
Mr Bennouna has, since 1998, been sitting as an international judge
in the International Penal Court for the former Yugoslavia. He was
part of the Moroccan delegation to the International Court of Justice
in 1975 and was director general of the Institute of the Arab World
in Paris from 1991-1998.
08.03.01
British arms for Western sahara
BBC TV Newsnight Investigation on Arms Licence: Robin Denselow on the
major British TV news programme investigated the British Government's
licence to refurbish Moroccan weapons in Western Sahara. Newsnight
concluded that "Parliament was misled over Moroccan arms sale."
Newsnight was told by UN Spokesperson David Wimhurst that the UN did
not give permission for the refurbishment of these guns. The British
Government claimed that the (UN) Legal Department had advised that
the licence would not violate the UN ceasefire agreement. The head of
the UN Legal Department, Hans Corell, told Newsnight that his
department was never consulted about this licence. Newsnight also
interviewed former UN Special Representative Charles Dunbar who said
that he was never consulted. Newsnight discover that the licence
allowed the Royal Ordnance (BAE Systems) company to refurbish 30
Moroccan guns to a value of £1.5 million. The guns have a range
of 17 kilometres and fire up to 12 rounds per minute. Government
failed to provide a British Minister for interview on the programme.
( transcript
or TV
movie ) (see
week
05)
INTERNET
Comité de solidaridad con el Sáhara interpueblos, Cantabria, España: http://www.nodo50.org/labarored/interpueblos/actividad/sahara_occidental/home.htm
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