THE SAHARAN PEOPLES SUPPORT COMMITTEE, USA Volume X, No . 1 SPSC June-September 1989 LETTER ISSN 0891-608X SADR PRESIDENT ABDELAZIZ ATTENDS 25TH President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, OAU SUMMIT IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA President Moussa Traore of Mali, President Ali Sebon of Niger, Presi­ Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the dent Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, SADR and Secretary-General of the President Quett Masire of Botswana. Polisario Front, arrived in Addis Ababa July 23 to participate in the President Hosni Mubarak, who became 25th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of acting Chairman of the OAU, held ex­ State of the OAU which began July 24. tensive talks with the SADR presi­ Abdelaziz was accorded a ceremonial dent. In their discussions they welcome at the Addis Ababa airport. talked about the latest developments Among those present were Ethiopian in the Western Sahara conflict and President Mengistu Haile Mariam, high the efforts undertaken by the UN and officials of the Workers' Party and OAU in view of settling the conflict. the government, the Secretary-General of the OAU, Idi Ouamarou, and the Sah­ According to informed sources, the rawi Ambassador in Ethiopia. two heads of state underlined the need to continue the dialogue between In his speech during the opening Morocco and the Polisario Front. session of the Summit, UN Secretary­ President Abdelaziz informed Presi­ General Perez de Cuellar, noted that dent Mubarak of all aspects of the "the recent developments in the situ­ Sahrawi people's struggle for their ation in Western Sahara encourage us right to self-determination and in­ to believe in a regular progress lead­ dependence and the latest initiatives ing to settlement of the conflict." taken by Polisario for facilitating He reminded the group that Morocco and the implementation of the peace plan Polisario had accepted the proposal for Western Sahara. The two leaders for setting up the Technical Com­ agreed that "the Sahrawi leaders mission and that the first session had would remain in touch with the Chair­ been held. He said that "some deli­ man of the OAU." cate questions for implementing the peace plan still remain to be solved," Present during the talk between and promised his continued active ef­ President Abdelaziz and President forts in conjunction with the Chairman Mubarak were Ismet Abdelmadjid, of the OAU. Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs; Boutros Ghali, Secretary, Minister of During the Summit President Abdelaziz State of Foreign Affairs, Egypt; had private talks with a number of Mohamed Sidati, SADR Minister of other heads of state including Presi­ Foreign Affairs; Abdelkader Taleb dent Kaunda of Zambia, President Omar, SADR Minister of Information; Mwinyi of Tanzania, President Didier Malainine Sadik, Secretary-General of Ratsiraka of Madagascar and the presi­ the SADR President's Cabinet. This dents of Gambia and Sierra Leone. was the first Summit meeting between The SADR President also had talks with Egypt and the SADR although Sahrawi and Egyptian diplomats had frequently SEVENTH POPULAR CONGRESS: DIALOGUE, had informal talks during UN, OAU and NEGOTIATIONS AND PEACE ARE PRINCIPLES Non-Aligned meetings. The Seventh Popular Congress of the Addressing the Summit on July 26, Polisario Front which ended its meet­ President Abdelaziz recalled the ing May 1, decided that all future process for Namibian independence, "a policies will be determined by three process which will serve, if it suc­ principles: dialogue, negotiations ceeds, as a model for the efforts un­ and peace. dertaken by the UN for resolving the conflict between SADR and Morocco." As the declaration emanating from the He maintained that a free, regular and Congress underlines, the delibera­ general referendum as stipulated by tions of the Congress, which began the UN and OAU resolutions cannot be April 28, call for an assessment of held in the presence of Moroccan preceding stages of the struggle in troops, administration and settlers. order to overcome obstacles, rectify weaknesses, and be equal to the in­ He recalled the numerous initiatives ternational situation marked by peace taken by the SADR, such as the de­ initiatives and political and nego­ cision to release 200 Moroccan prison­ tiated settlement of regional con­ ers of war, to find a solution to the flicts. conflict. He noted that it was the responsibility of the UN and the OAU The Congress declaration favors the to urge Morocco to remove obstacles so continuation of the dialogue lnl­ that the Sahrawi people could freely tiated with the King of Morocco in exercise their right to self-determi­ January 1989 and the just and uncon­ nation and independence without any strained application of the UN and constraint. OAU peace plan. President Abdelaziz expressed satis­ Elected to the Political Bureau dur­ faction at the formation of the Arab ing the Congress were the following: Maghreb Union. He noted, however, Mohamed Rahal, Malainine Sadik, that "this union cannot be harmonious Sidahrned Ahmed Mahrnud, Mohamed Si­ as long as the question of Western dati, Bukhari Ahmed, Mohamed Haddad, Sahara is not solved." Brahim Ahmed Mahrnud Beidilla, Nih Ali Emblai, Mohamed El Ouali, Babilla At the close of the Summit, President Shiaa, Benna Bouah, Senia Ahmed Merh­ Abdelaziz read a motion of thanks on ba, Khalil Sid M'hamed, Ahmed Moulay behalf of his peers and stated that he Ali, Salem Lebsir, Mohamed Salem was highly appreciative of the honor Mounak, Abdelkader Taleb Ornar, accorded to the SADR through him. The Mohamed Ould Tleimidi, Mohamed Salem SADR, which served as member of the ould Salek, Brahim Hakim, Mohamed Management Committee of the OAU, had Oubeid, Mahfoud Ahmed Zein, Mohamed been elected Reporter for the prepara­ Fadel Ismail, Salek Baba Hassanna, tory ministerial session of the 25th Mahjoub Brahim, Lehsan Mohamed Ali, Summit. SADR Foreign Minister Mohamed Sidahrned Batal. Sidati served as Reporter. At the Congress Abdelhamid Mehri, FLN New Chairman of the OAU is President Secretary-General, pledged continued Hosni Mubarak who replaces Malian support of Algeria for the Sahrawis President General Moussa Traore. The and likened this period of their new Secretary-General of the pAU is struggle to 1962 in the Algerian war. Salim Ahmed Salim of Tanzania who re­ He told them that their "long awaited places Idi Oumarou. happy ending will corne Inshaallah." PUBLICATION UPDATE ON THE LIBERATION is factual and personal. The STRUGGLE OF THE SAHRAWI PEOPLE .. 1989 strength of the chapter comes from the details he gives of his experi­ ences with the Sahrawis and the "Solution Needed for Western Sahara," clarity of his explanation of the Yahia Zoubir and Daniel Volman, New conflict. African, June 1989, p. 38. "Der Frauenstaat in der Sahara," Zoubir and Volman comment on Algeria's Christine de Grancy and Stefan continued support of the Sahrawis and Schennach, International, Die Zeit­ the alleged success of Morocco in win­ schrift fur internationale Politik, ning over the Sahrawi population of 3-4, 1988, pp. 5-11. the occupied SADR. They note that the attack at Oum Dreiga in September 1988 demonstrated the continued military Schennach describes the unique po­ strength of the Polisario Front and sition of Sahrawi women in the Arab quote Assistant Secretary of State for world. Photographs are by Christine African Affairs, Chester Crocker, as de Grancy. The article discusses the noting that the only option for ending role of Senia Ahmed Mehrba, as former the conflict is a negotiated settle­ wali of the refugee daira of Smara. ment. Senia (since the Seventh Popular Congress) is now Head of the NUSW, The authors suggest that the US could the National Union of Sahrawi Women, assist in the peace process by insist­ member of the Political Bureau and ing that funds "provided the Royal Head of the School of .February 27. Moroccan Armed Forces in the Fiscal Year 1990 Defense Department budget be used solely for defensive purposes and "Deux Suisses Dans Les Zones Occupees not be used in operations in the West­ du Sahara Occidental," Ueil Schwarz, ern Sahara. " Nouvelles Sahraouies, No. 62, June 1989, pp. 7 & 10. The authors argue that a prolongation of the desert war could make King Hassan more vulnerable to an attempted Schwarz' account supports the account coup and they accuse the King of re­ published in the last SPSC LETTER by neging on his promise to renew direct C. H. of life in the occupied terri­ talks with Polisario. tory. Schwarz recounts that in El Aiun, the capital, of the 126,000 inhabitants, 25,000 are Sahrawis. "Western Sahara: Struggle in the The others are Moroccans who have Desert," George M. Houser, No One Can settled in the Western Sahara. He stop The Rain, New York: The Pilgrim also notes that over 4,000 Sahrawi Press , 1989, pp. 309-325. civilians have been detained by the Moroccans and notes that the visit of the UN Technical Mission in November Houser, who has spent over thirty 1987 was the occasion for detaining a years concerned with development in number of Sahrawi citizens. He also Africa and who, for many years, recounts that some 6,000 young Sahra­ directed the American Committee on wis have been forcibly removed to Africa, has visited both the refugee Morocco so as to rid them of their camps and the interior of the Western Sahrawi identity. Schwarz tells us Sahara with the Polisario. His his travelling companion speaks chapter on the Western Sahara conflict fluent Spanish and Arabic. "Bachir Mustapha Sayed: Polisario's Sahrawis, Perez de Cuellar met with Policies for Peace," Margaret Novicki, President Chadli Bendjedid of Africa Report, May-June 1989, 57-60. Algeria. Earlier he had met with the President of Mauritania, Maaouya Ould Sid ' Ahmed Taya; Senegalese President The interview covers the state of the Diouf, former Chairman of the OAU; peace process, the relationship be­ President Traore of Mali, Chairman of tween Polisario and Algeria, expecta­ the OAU at the time of this visit.