|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The
Other MidEast Settlers
Ian Urbina (July 12, 2001 Jordan Times, Common Dreams) With all eyes on Israel-Palestine, a similar conflict is heating up elsewhere in the Middle East and the US has recently taken the wrong side. Reversing years of US policy, former Secretary of State James Baker III is currently pressuring the UN to recognize the Moroccan annexation of Western Sahara. This is a dangerous shift. Not simply does it reward aggression while exempting our ally from international law, but it undermines US claims to support democracy and self-determination across the globe. Since invading Western Sahara in 1975, Morocco has systematically expelled several hundred thousand natives, 160,000 of whom have spent 25 years living on aid in tents in vast desert refugee camps. Almost immediately, the UN declared the invasion illegal, calling for a referendum over future status. But Morocco opted for 10 years of warfare to impose its claims, justifying its occupation as part of a quasi-divine reunification of the once divided nation. At the same time, Morocco also began moving settlers into the area. In 1991, the UN finally brokered a cease-fire by promising the indigenous population the right to vote over their fate. These people are still waiting. Meanwhile, the settlers continue flow in as Morocco tries to stack the deck by arguing that these new arrivals should vote in the referendum. Now, the US and France are pushing to drop the plebiscite entirely and it looks like the UN may cave under the pressure. For the time being the issue has been tabled due to opposition from other countries within the UN Security Council. No one knows exactly how rich the contested territory is in phosphorus reserves, and the US prefers to have these reserves in the hands of its loyal ally Morocco. US-Moroccan ties have always been strong. While Secretary of State under Reagan, Baker was helped consistently by Hassan II, the previous Moroccan king. For example, in 1986 Hassan invited Shimon Peres to a secret meeting in Morocco, breaking with Arab solidarity on the Palestinian front. Hassan also remained silent when his radars picked up American planes on their way across the Mediterranean to attempt to assassinate Qaddafi in 1987. In the years before that, the old king always made Moroccan troops available to act as mercenaries for French policing actions in West and Central Africa. Some are still standing by international law on the issue. Senators Edward Kennedy, James Inhofe, Patty Murray, Bob Smith and John Kerry recently sent a letter of protest to Colin Powell which reaffirms their commitment to the original UN position that the people of the Western Sahara have a right to a fair and free referendum. Likewise, most of the members of the Organization of African Unity have recognized the legitimacy of the indigenous population's claims to the Western Sahara. Supporting Morocco's invasion sends a dangerous message to world leaders seeking to expand. It also fosters internal instability as Morocco diverts billions of dollars from the needs of its population toward militarizing its border and implanting settlers. The conflict has severely corroded regional relations as Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania remain on the verge of open warfare. By taking the side of an absolute monarchy, standing against human rights and against those who strive for a more democratic system, the US only further tarnishes its image in the Middle East. Whether the case is Iraq in Kuwait, Indonesia in East Timor or Israel in Palestine, international law must be upheld and expansionism opposed. No state, not even a US ally, has the right to annex and depopulate a territory. |
|
|
|
|
Home
| Contact/Intern |
Info | Middle
East Report | MER Online | Newspaper
Op-Eds | Giving |
