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The Entry of New Factors Into the Western Sahara Conflict

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The Entry of New Factors Into the Western Sahara Conflict Mediterranean Politics | Maghreb The Entry of New Factors into the Western Sahara Conflict richard Gillespie have seen the Sahrawi movement anticipating) has Professor of Politics brought a more far-reaching reform offer from Mo- University of Liverpool hamed VI. The Moroccan monarch’s speech on 9 Panorama March 2011, announcing plans to replace the ‘ex- ecutive monarchy’ with a European-style constitu- With direct diplomatic talks between Morocco and tional monarchy accompanied by a devolved system the Polisario Front having proven unproductive since of parliamentary government, could make autonomy 2007, recent developments in the Western Sahara a feasible formula at last, especially if it finds favour 2011 conflict have taken place mainly on the ground, with Moroccan settlers in the Western Sahara as Med. partly in the disputed territory itself, and have been well as indigenous Sahrawis. driven by Sahrawi protest action and Moroccan re- Although the military aspects of the conflict have re- sponses. A greater challenge to Moroccan rule mained unchanged, dramatic events on the ground than the intifada of 2005, the violent clashes in No- have generated new dynamics affecting the future vember 2010 can be seen as a catalyst, helping to status of the disputed territory. Two of these are ana- bring a change of policy in Morocco. This vindi- lysed below: first, the controversy surrounding Mo- 179 cates the judgement of Stephen Zunes and Jacob rocco’s expulsion of Sahrawi human rights activist Mundy that, “given the political deadlock in West- Aminatou Haidar on 14 November 2009; and sec- ern Sahara, a new factor must enter into the equa- ond, Western Sahara’s ’48 hours of rage’ that chal- tion if things are to change” (Zunes and Mundy, lenged Moroccan control twelve months later. 2010, p. 263). While one potential ‘new factor’ – the withdrawal of support by one of Morocco’s powerful allies – has a Little Local Incident... that became failed to materialise, the prospects of change have International been strengthened by new forms of resistance by Sahrawi activists (Shelley 2004: 206-207), pre- To many observers, the Haidar episode seemed to senting challenges that Morocco has been incapa- be a straightforward case of Moroccan violation of ble of dealing with peaceably. At the same time, the rights of a pro-independence Sahrawi activist, opposition activity has revived international interest who had received the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy in the Western Sahara, by applying ‘heat’ to a con- human rights award in 2008 for “promoting the civil flict long regarded externally as ‘frozen.’ Ultimately and political rights of the Sahrawi people of Western it is the challenge presented on the ground, in com- Sahara, including the freedom of speech and as- bination with rebellion and revolution elsewhere in sembly and the right to self-determination.” Refused the Arab world, that now promises to change the entry at Laayoune airport when returning home from ‘equation.’ abroad on 14 November 2009, she had her Moroc- Whereas Morocco’s 2007 autonomy plan lacked can passport confiscated and was expelled to the credibility due to the lack of democracy in the oc- Canary Islands for describing her nationality as Sah- cupying country (Garcia Lopez, 2010), the growth rawi on the landing card. Haidar’s situation immedi- and generalisation of popular pressure for regime ately attracted sympathy in Spain, and quickly awak- change within the Arab world (which some analysts ened international humanitarian interest as a result of a month-long hunger strike in Lanzarote airport in Haidar’s expulsion quickly rebounded against Mo- protest at not being allowed home. rocco, for although it was supported by many Mo- After intense efforts by the Spanish government to roccans, who saw her hunger strike as an attempt to find a solution that would be accepted by both blackmail the monarch and achieve a propaganda Haidar and Morocco, it was an intervention by US coup against Morocco, it was widely seen in Europe Secretary of State Hilary Clinton that eventually per- as an arbitrary act that violated her human rights. It suaded Morocco to accept Haidar’s return, but only thus placed in question the European Union’s depic- after France and Spain had issued statements ac- tion of the Moroccan regime as liberal and reformist, knowledging the application of Moroccan law in the and underlined the flimsiness of Morocco’s offer of Western Sahara and after the US had reiterated its Sahrawi autonomy. The EU itself was embarrassed support for autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty by the actions of its privileged southern neighbour as the basis for a solution to the regional conflict. and support grew for a proposal to add human rights Rabat retreated when it became clear that Haidar monitoring to the mandate of the UN peacekeeping might die on foreign soil, become a Sahrawi martyr mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO) – a move Panorama and cause popular pressure within Spain to bring blocked by France. about a rethink of the Spanish government pro-Mo- roccan policy. While upsetting relations with Spain unnecessarily, At the beginning of 2010, Morocco’s diplomatic blunder appears to have been Mohamed VI went on to 2011 motivated by frustration at the failure of its autonomy announce a ‘renewal and proposal to become a concrete basis for the UN- Med. sponsored negotiations. Not only was the Moroc- modernisation’ of the Moroccan can formula being resisted by the Polisario and its state, in an effort to reassure supporters, Mohamed VI had also received a letter international partners that his from President Barack Obama in July, differentiating country was serious about his position from the unqualified pro-Moroccan 180 stance of his predecessor, by saying that the US regionalisation would work with all parties to the conflict in pursuit of a solution. The disapproval of Moroccan actions found practical Just days before Haidar’s arbitrary expulsion from expression in the difficulties surrounding the renewal Morocco, Mohamed VI had celebrated the 24th an- of the EU-Morocco fishing agreement, under which niversary of the invasion of the Spanish Sahara by Spain was the main beneficiary. Against a backcloth announcing plans to ‘impose’ autonomy on the Sah- of European concerns over the Saharan situation, rawi population, insisting that, in relation to the con- the legal services of the European Parliament pro- flict, “one is either a patriot or a traitor.” By expelling ceeded to propose that either the agreement be her to Spain, with the acquiescence of the Spanish suspended or that it exclude Western Sahara’s par- authorities, the King also seemed to be putting pres- ticularly rich fishing grounds on the basis that there sure on Madrid – notwithstanding President Zapa- was no evidence of the Sahrawi population benefit- tero’s pro-Moroccan orientation – to give unambigu- ting from the existing agreement. The overall out- ous support to the autonomy formula. Spanish come of the episode, which Haidar was able to ex- representatives did make concessions to the Moroc- ploit politically, was that the Polisario was handed a can position in their efforts to overcome the crisis, propaganda victory, the Western Sahara conflict ac- but at the political cost of facing vociferous criticism quired more salience on the international agenda from the non-governmental parties in Spain – in- and doubts surrounding the recently bestowed ‘ad- cluding some frequently aligned with the minority vanced status’ of EU-Morocco relations grew within Socialist administration. Angered by socialist efforts Europe. Subsequent WikiLeaks revelations showed to persuade Haidar to end her protest and accept that the US also viewed Spain’s handling of the political asylum in Spain, parliamentary pressure on Haidar case as ‘disastrous.’ the government grew, not least through a resound- At the beginning of 2010, Mohamed VI went on to ing vote reaffirming the principle of self-determina- announce a ‘renewal and modernisation’ of the Mo- tion for the Sahrawi people. roccan state, in an effort to reassure international partners that his country was serious about region- tract some 20,000 demonstrators. Surrounded by alisation. The Southern Provinces would be in the Moroccan police forces, the political reality of the forefront of devolution measures to be elaborated by occupation of the territory quickly entered into the an advisory committee headed by Omar Azziman, confrontation, especially after a 14-year old Sahrawi who was to be replaced as ambassador to Spain by boy was killed in an incident at a security checkpoint the controversial figure of Ahmed Ould Souilem, a on October 24th. At the same time, the social nature defector from the Polisario movement. The commit- of the grievances was reflected by Morocco’s initial tee failed to report within the six months initially al- attempts to placate demonstrators by making offers lowed for it to produce proposals. Thus, by the sec- of land, subsidies and benefits. ond half of the year, the Moroccan regime was once more suffering from a failure to deliver on reform promises, the consequences of which were felt both Amid a Moroccan clampdown domestically and in the context of conflict resolution on independent news reporting, talks, presided over by UN envoy Christopher Ross. the impression that reached the Panorama outside world was of a brutal Civil Society, Smashing the Ice offensive against the protestors, claiming dozens of victims in the Morocco’s refusal to discuss any proposals but its space of two days own provoked a temporary boycott of the talks by 2011 the Polisario. Increasingly, however, resistance to Med. the policy of imposition came from civil society activ- When concessions failed to persuade the protes- ism. In August 2010, NGO activists from the Canary tors to back down, the camp was broken up forci- Islands were arrested for demonstrating solidarity bly early on November 8th, thus pre-empting its with the Polisario Front in the Western Sahara capi- reinforcement by several thousand supporters ar- tal of Laayoune.
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