János Besenyő WESTERN SAHARA Publikon Publishers Pécs, 2009 János Besenyő WESTERN SAHARA Editor: István Tarrósy Photos made by: János Besenyő English language consultant: István Tarrósy, IDResearch Ltd. Cover: Gábor Kiss Layout editor: Dávid Keserű, IDResearch Ltd., Pécs Printed by: Ad Librum, Budapest Published by IDResearch Ltd./Publikon Publishers. ISBN 978-963-88332-0-4 © IDResearch Kft./Publikon Kiadó, 2009 © IDResearch Ltd./Publikon Publishers, 2009 www.afrikatanulmanyok.hu © János Besenyő, 2009 CONTENTS Recommendation 5 Editor’s Preface 7 Geographical Features – Flora and Fauna 9 Economy 17 Society 27 The History of the Region Before the Arrival of the Europeans 37 Colonisation of the Area 45 Spanish Sahara 57 The Beginning of the Struggle for Independence 65 The Early Activities of the UN in the Resolution of the Problem 73 The Decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) 83 in The Hague The Green March and Subsequent Events 89 The Occupation of the Sahara Territories and the Beginning of Hostilities 97 After the Declaration of Independence – The Escalation of the Conflict 103 Peace Treaty between Mauritania and the Polisario 111 Events after the Occupation of the Area by Morocco 119 The UN Re-enters the Negotiations on the Settlement 131 of the Future of the Region 3 MINURSO 141 The Structure of MINURSO 145 Life in the Refugee Camps 167 Endnotes 175 References 189 4 RECOMMENDATION I am fortunate enough to know the author of this book who was on duty in Western Sahara when I was serving as the Chief of Staff of the Hungarian Defence Forces (HDF). Even back then I considered it as a priority not just to send our soldiers to foreign countries but to process and channel their experiences to anyone who might benefit from them. For peacekeeping and the involvement of the HDF in missions outside Hungarian borders are not just military or governmental interests, but important contributions to uphold peace and stability worldwide. We simply cannot forget that the concepts of security and the world itself have changed gravely and rapidly, therefore, we are no longer an independent island with an outside view on the more and more bloody conflicts of other countries and continents. The Republic of Hungary—due to its NATO and EU commitments—participates in a growing number of armed and unarmed peacekeeping and peace-managing operations. Therefore, I consider it as of great importance that a vast number of studies deals with such operations in order to help us gain a better knowledge of the outside world and to support us with credible information about the activity of our peacekeeping forces. This volume gives a thorough overview of a still operating UN mission in Western Sahara. Also, this work fills in a niche, since this area—apart from a few minor articles—has not been covered yet. Since the Republic of Hungary has been deploying a small contingent for years—who has been tasked with classic peacekeeping duties—, this fact is rather surprising. Considering that one of the main duties of the Council on Geopolitics is to monitor the different crisis areas of the world, the timeliness of this study is completely verified. The author includes his own experiences to give a thorough overview on the activities of the MINURSO. The book is based on those experiences and on a wide-range analysis of relevant sources. Also, it soon becomes obvious that the author was not satisfied to be familiar only with the information deriving from his line of duty, but aimed to understand the roots of the conflict. One of the many benefits of this case study is that someone unfamiliar with this topic will also be able to understand the aim, essence and hardships of this mission in Western Sahara. As of today, the Hungarian foreign policy does not pay enough attention to the African continent, even though there is a lot to do over there. The world’s poorest continent has to suffer under an increasingly great number of wars and armed conflicts. The EU’s attention towards the region is already raised and the NATO is being involved in strategic logistics tasks aimed to support the African 5 Union peacekeeping mission in the Sudan. Meanwhile, the experts of security policy can only hope that a time will come when the different international organisations act together to solve the problems of Africa. I do recommend this book of János Besenyő for anyone who is interested in understanding the hardships of Africa in detail. Colonel General Zoltán Szenes Former Chief of Staff Hungarian Defence Forces 6 EDITOR’S PREFACE Fortunately, interest in Africa-related issues and topics has been gradually on the rise in the last decades—and this is a global phenomenon. Unfortunately, not many pieces on Africa (books, journals, etc.) are available in Hungary, definitely, not by Hungarian authors. The journal Afrika Tanulmányok (Africa Studies in Hungary) and Publikon Publishers have the mission to change this situation and annually come out with more and more articles and volumes about different themes connected with the continent. Luckily, we find committed partners in achieving these aims. We are delighted to be the publisher of the first English-language book of János Besenyő. He is that type of committed person who has been extensively writing on African topics, trying to channel his ground experiences into the Hungarian readers’ circles. One of his decisive works is formulated in this volume, in which he thoroughly explores the historical background and the present-day situation of the conflict in Western Sahara. The area itself is full of interesting stories and tales—János Besenyő relies on these while in a very professional way arrives at certain significant conclusions, for instance, as far as the UN mission in Western Sahara and its potential future are concerned. He does this in a sophisticated and even-tempered manner, which, I think is one of the strengths of the book. The author is a good photographer at the same time—he does have sharp eyes to notice the very details of life in the Sahara, among the local communities of the territories he visited. We had a difficult task to pick only a couple of his photos; we would have liked to publish another book only of these great moments and descriptions (hopefully, next time we will have the chance to continue this collaboration). We are proud to present János Besenyő’s monography on Western Sahara, as the first such book in the English language in Hungary. We hope that the readers will enjoy it, and wish that many more pieces on many more African countries and themes will follow so that people understand more about real Africa. These will surely allow them/us to look beyond the stereotypical images that are embedded in our everyday minds. Africa is much more to these; Africa deserves much more attention to discover its real values! Such attempts as János Besenyő’s can help us open our eyes. Pécs, 20 April 2009 István Tarrósy, M.Sc., M.A. editor, executive editor of Afrika Tanulmányok managing director of IDResearch Ltd./Publikon Publishers 7 GEOGRAPHICAL FEATUREs – fLORA AND FAUNA The area lies in North Africa, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Morocco in the north, Algeria in the east (they have 42 kms of common boundary) and Mauritania from the east and south. Its area is 266,000 square kilometres. Just like in most African countries, the borders were marked out by the colonial powers by ratifying different treaties, agreements. The borders of Western Sahara were regulated and marked out by the agreements signed by Spain and France in 1900, 1904 and 1912.1 Its lowland area is plain, sandy and rocky, with a few hills in the southern and north-eastern parts. These hills are at an altitude of not more than 400 metres2. Its lowest point is Sebjet Tah, 55 metres below sea-level, while the highest is a 721 metre high hill, which has no official name. Western Sahara can be divided into three main regions. Source: MINURSO The north-eastern zone is a rocky desert (hamadas) spreading from the chains of the Atlas mountain to the Zemmour mountains. Mountain 9 chains of volcanic origin of different sizes and unique hanging rocks can be found here. Water is scarce in the area, there are only few scattered wells. Despite the relative lack of water, many species of plants and animals live in the area. For example, the screwhorn antelope or kudu (Addax nasomaculatus), 3 the Dama gazelle (Gazella dama), Dorcas gazelles (Gazelle dorcas), the African sand fox or pale fox (Vulpes pallida), sand foxes or Rueppel’s fox (Vulpes rueppeli), the caracal or African Lynx (Caracal caracal), the African wildcat (Felis silvestris), the golden jackal (Canis aureus), and the desert hedgehog (Hemiechinus aethiopicus). The most typical plant of the area is the acacia with large thorns, which can be considered the only indigenous species in the desert besides some variations of cacti. Deriving tannin from this acacia, the plant is used for paint production by the locals. Due to its hardness, the wood can be used in a versatile way. The so-called Senegal Acacia (Acacia senegal) can also be found in the desert. Rubber arabicum is made from it by tapping. The animals are quite difficult to observe as they move around mostly at dawn or late at night. The military observers can also see their footprints or gather information from the Moroccan soldiers and the descriptions of the Bedouins. Many of the animals living here are registered in the Red Book and are strictly protected.