Getxo Ezkertiar ta Abertzale

1976 is a key data in the conflict. On that year Mauritania, Morocco and Spain signed in Madrid a treaty where the land of Western Sahara was divided into the two African neighbor states. The press of Morocco’s king, Hassan II, during the death of the Spanish dictator through the “Marcha Verde” was useful. During the early 80’s Mauritania withdrawn his portion of land. In 1976 Morocco was condemned by The Hague International Court because the court sentenced that Sahara was never a part of Morocco and had their right to self Determination. 

The International pacts of Civilian and Political Rights and Economic and Cultural Rights of 1966, by UN, tells in their common first article: the whole world nations and countries of the world have the capability and the right to rule their own way to prosperity and hopeful future to the right of self determination.
 
During the 80’s the Saharan political organization, the Polisario, run a war against Morocco to liberate their homeland territory. At the end of the decade, according to the end of the cold war, the two big states accorded initiating the way of peace in Sahara. A ceasefire was adopted in 1991.

During the 80’s the Saharan people had big troubles to survive in desert. Morocco did never occupy the whole Sahara territory. Some of it is impracticable to plant vegetables or to live on it. It is the eastern side of Sahara. Separating those sides there is a wall, built by the Moroccans and involved in a type of mine curtain. Most of the Saharan people lives in Tinduf (Algeria), living in not very comfortable conditions. They have been living there since 1976.
 
United States of America was proud of winning the cold war. So he viewed the world’s conflicts and went one by one trying to solve them. But there was a problem in Sahara: the last census was the Spanish one from 1975. And during the final 70’s and the 80’s there was a huge civilian movement. Also was in discussion the way to solve the problem. United States caught the problem as a problem between 2 symmetric parts. And here comes the error. The US and the UN should have seen the powerful Morocco was (and is, as a state) and what Polisario can do, and develop the UN operation starting on that point. During the 90’s the UN and US administration in Sahara, through Minurso, brought to life two UN plans: Baker I and II. Morocco always stopped or blocked the process of building a new census of the Saharan people. A way proposed is transform the Sahara into a “Spanish styled” autonomous community in Morocco. But the UN plan includes the self Determination proposal. France is a friend of Morocco and US is too. So this two countries stops with their veto menace all the ways to get forward a proper solution to the crisis in the UN Security Council.
 
During the 90’s the people of Sahara tried to adapt themselves into a third decade out of Sahara. But it is studied that they can not live so longer than 50 years out of their homeland. And the past year the international help aid to Sahara has started to be reduced, so the live conditions in Tinduf and other places starts to come down. 15 years from the world promise to Sahara in 1991, the world appears wanting to forget about Sahara and prorogues the Minurso mission from 6 months to 6 months.
 
The problem of Sahara has two sides of conflict. One is the phosphates and the fishing. Western Sahara has huge reserves under its territory of phosphates and other mining products, so Morocco and other nations of the world are involved in the consecution of contracts for the exploitation of those resources. Also in the coastline the fishing area are very productive areas, and solicited by EU nations and other parts of the world. The other side is a strategic trouble. Morocco is the south side of the Gibraltar strength. United States is the big partner with France of Morocco. Neither of both countries wants a unstable Morocco, that is a half democratic nation. The stability of Morocco is principal to many countries and consent in the cooptation of the land of Sahara.
 
At least it has to be told that this problem, a problem that concerns not only African nations or EU nations, instead of all the world nations and states, is a political problem involved in the “force - power” managed crisis. The only reason of Morocco to stay in Sahara is that they can and their friends consent. There is no judicial reason or argument on international law to let that go on longer or forever. They have the power of force and the time to use it. By now the calendar runs against the Sahara people. And probably Morocco knows that at this moment the self determination referendum could be a recognition of the rights of the Sahara nation, even if it is lost by the Polisario. This genocide politic goes into the searched end of one nation, uncomfortable to the business, the military and the international establishment. They are on the wrong land and on the wrong time. May god let them live soon in their own homeland free state!