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Author Topic: UN supports self-determination for occupied Western Sahara
The_Calling
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posted 06 May 2004 03:14 PM      Profile for The_Calling   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The United Nations Security Council today supported a plan that would allow the people of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, to determine their own political future, disallowing both Morocco's rejection of the plan and its proposal to give Western Saharans limited autonomy under its rule.

The Council also extended the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 October, though not until 28 February 2005, as Secretary-General Kofi Annan had recommended in his report on the situation.

The report contained Morocco's April 2004 letter rejecting the 2003 plan for peace between itself and the Western Saharan Frente POLISARIO (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro), but the Council did not mention it.

Saying it had considered Mr. Annan's report and noting the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, the Security Council unanimously reaffirmed "its support for the Peace Plan for Self-Determination of the People of Western Sahara as an optimum political solution on the basis of agreement between the two parties."

Full article

It is good to see Morrocan colonialism and the plight of the Western Saharans receive attention.


From: USA | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
thebabblerformerlyknownas'larry'
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posted 07 May 2004 12:57 AM      Profile for thebabblerformerlyknownas'larry'     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Unfortunately the UNSC has been ignored several times on this before..
Steven Zunes on 'all the UNSC resolutions being violated by countries other than Iraq'

[ 07 May 2004: Message edited by: thebabblerformerlyknownas'larry' ]


From: Kitchener, Ontario | Registered: Feb 2004  |  IP: Logged
The_Calling
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posted 07 May 2004 07:25 PM      Profile for The_Calling   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
True, but it is good to see a major body speaking out on behalf of Western Saharan rights. It is ignored by every powerful country.
From: USA | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
swallow
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posted 09 May 2004 06:03 PM      Profile for swallow     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
New Internationalist had a theme issue a few years back pointing out that this was the only remaining colony in Africa. The trouble, as i often the case, being that there is a wall of support from some countries against calling a Third World government a colonialist regime. There's an active solidarity movement that can be accessed at the multilingual site www.arso.org
From: fast-tracked for excommunication | Registered: May 2002  |  IP: Logged
The_Calling
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posted 10 May 2004 05:59 PM      Profile for The_Calling   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Thanks for the link.
From: USA | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
DrConway
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Babbler # 490

posted 21 September 2007 09:02 PM      Profile for DrConway     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Huh - I really had to dig to find this on babble. I became interested tangentially in the issue when I was looking up boundary disputes for US-Canada, and I happened to notice the Moroccan-SADR dispute and ended up spending quite a bit of time reading about the Berm, and so on.

Wikipedia tries to avoid "POV", but if you read external sites you'll read about the fact that the Western Sahara is resource-rich. Morocco calls its occupied portion of the Western Sahara the "southern provinces".

The Berm

Western Sahara info


From: You shall not side with the great against the powerless. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged

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