UN has failed Western Sahara over Moroccan occupation - Western Sahara Envoy
The Ambassador of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (Western Sahara) to Nigeria, Brahim Salem Buseif, blames the United Nations (UN) for abandoning the planned referendum for self-determination for the Saharawi people over the reported occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco, several years after it was proposed. In this interview with INNOCENT ODOH, the envoy warns that if the international community does not expedite action on the referendum for Western Sahara, the people will resort to all means necessary to assert their independence. He also lauds Nigeria for immense support in their quest for freedom. Excerpts:
Can you talk us through the trajectory of the struggle of the Saharawi people against Moroccan occupation? The public opinion is that Morocco has violated the ceasefire agreement signed between us and them under the auspices of the United Nations. As you know in 1991, we were at war with Morocco and we were having the upper hand against the Moroccan army, we were defeating the Moroccan army but the United Nations and the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) now African Union (AU) opted for settlement of the problem peacefully through a referendum on self determination for the Saharawi people over our land occupied by Morocco. We accepted that in 1991 and Morocco’s King Hassan after 16 years of war, realised that he could not impose a fait accompli of the occupation on the Saharawi. He accepted the referendum, which Morocco had prevented in 1975.
In the referendum, the Saharawi are to choose if they were going to be independent or to be with Morocco. We do not have any doubts about our determination because we fought the liberation war against the Spanish, we fought against the Moroccans and against the Mauritania, and we proclaimed our state, which was recognized by then by OAU. So, we already determined our choice and our struggle is a clear expression of that determination.
But in spite of all that, we agreed that if the United Nations and the international community want to settle this matter peacefully, we accept the referendum because we have no doubts about the will of our people provided of course that it will be a free and fair referendum. So, the UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991 and they started to identify those who are going to vote in the referendum. But Morocco tried to rig the result of the referendum by bringing thousands of settlers and even told the UN and the international community to go into Rabat and northern Morocco to identify people who are claiming that they have Saharawi origin. I, myself, I have been an observer to that UN commission. It was a commission composed of UN experts with the UN observers, Moroccan observers the Polisario observers. I was in the team of Polisario observers of that moment.
You mean Morocco wants to change the demography of Western Sahara by implanting its own citizens?
They want to change the demography of the area; they brought settlers claiming that they are Moroccans of Saharawi origin saying they were eligible to vote in the referendum. But the Polisario didn’t approve all those Moroccan voters. So, during that period of registration in 1991, King Hassan died and his son, who took over, renounced all the compromises made by his father.
So, after King Hassan’s son renounced the agreements made by his father, what then was the position of the United Nations and the then OAU on the matter?
The United Nations created a mission called MINURSO, which in Spanish means United Nations Mission for Referendum for the Western Sahara to hold a referendum on self-determination. But since then unfortunately this Mission was tamed by Morocco and the UN did nothing because they did not fulfill the task for which the mission was created. Even now the UN doesn’t even have the priority or the prerogative of monitoring human right abuses. They are there in our capital city of El Aaiún and they have seen the Moroccans beating and dragging the women by their hair and they cannot even report on that. The Moroccans seem to have tamed the UN, which manifested in them saying our land is a disputed land and they cannot react to such a problem. But Western Sahara is not part of Morocco. This development angered our people because lately the Moroccan authorities opened a bridge, which divided the Western Sahara into two. This was made by the Moroccan army in order to defend themselves from our attacks but this is illegal and a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
When the UN brokered the ceasefire, they created a line that should be the limitation line between the two parties – our troops, which is the Polisario army in the east and the Moroccan army in the west and there was a buffer zone that should not be violated. In 2001 the Moroccans violated that agreement and made a bridge in order to make a road towards Mauritania for commercial intents to plunder our resources such as vegetables, fish and so on. But the bridge is a violation of the ceasefire. So, in 2017, we stopped them from making the road and the UN came in and said they will send a commission to investigate that problem. The UN Secretary General recommended sending a commission to investigate the problem of that bridge but they did not go ahead with that because in the United Nations Security Country (UNSC), Morocco is supported by France.
So, by the passage of the years, they have violated settlement plans made by the United Nations and the OAU on the referendum and they have backtracked on the resolutions. So, finally they are not speaking of referendum in Western Sahara.
It is now about a settlement that should be agreed upon by the two sides. So, Morocco is now talking about giving us autonomy, which is just nonsense because in order to give something you have to own it. They don’t have sovereignty over Western Sahara. Sovereignty is what is at stake because sovereignty pertains to the people of Western Sahara, so let them decide if they were to be Moroccans or not.
On October 21, our civilian people demonstrated against this fresh demands which is illegal and the UN cannot deny that because they know that this bridge and road were illegal because during the signing of the agreement, there were no bridge or roads. So that status quo should remain.
How did we arrive at the point where instead of the agreements reached for referendum for the Western Sahara, the narrative now changed to that of Morocco now giving autonomy to Western Sahara? Why did the UN not maintain its earlier position on referendum?
The narrative changed at the UNSC because we were not there, we were not present in the wordings and we had no vote. Sometimes there is an African State, who can at least voice our concern, sometimes there was Nigeria, South Africa, Namibia, but they are not permanent members of the UNSC. But Morocco has a permanent advocate, which is France, which is why the narrative tends to change. In 2007, Morocco gave a proposal, which sought to impose on us the fait accompli of the Moroccan occupation but we refused. The problem of the Moroccans is that they deceive themselves by believing in their own propaganda saying that the Saharawi are not capable of returning to war but they are wrong. We are ready to fight them until they evacuate our land.
Unfortunately right now, there is no peace plan, no referendum, we have return to point zero since 1991. So, right now what we ask of the Moroccans is to leave our country, otherwise we will continue our liberation war by all means. Our demand was in accordance with international law respecting referendum.
There are reported cases of human rights violations by Moroccan authorities’ against the citizens of Western Sahara in the occupied areas. The Polisario Front has however, warned that if such violations continue, it will have no choice but to take necessary action to stop those violations. What in specific terms will be the option available to you in the face of these alleged violations by Morocco?
Our people under the Moroccan occupation are protesting and there are people who have been clamped into prison for ten years while many women have been beaten. There are also those who are under home arrest, who cannot travel. For instance, you know of this human rights activist called Aminatou Haida, she is right now under house arrest. Last week she tried to travel out but she was denied the chance to embark on that trip.
So, the outbreak of the war was because of these kinds of treatment because civilians were protesting illegal plundering of our resources and the road and bridge made by Morocco, which they use in smuggling drugs. There was a civilian and commercial traffic that was disrupted in 1975 when the Moroccan came. At that time we had trade with Mauritanian and Nigeria but since then we cannot continue because there is war and there is invasion.
What is the role of the Arab League in this whole saga?
We consider ourselves Africans, although in our population there also Arabs, our problems has always been an African problem. Some of the Emirates which are members of the Arab League are trying to support Morocco by opening so- called “consulates” in our occupied lands. But the opening of the so “Consulates” in the occupied territory of the Saharawi Republic is illegal and at the same time, useless for Morocco. It is illegal since it violates international law regarding occupied territories (just like in the case of Namibia during the Apartheid occupation), and it is useless because it will not give any legitimacy to Morocco nor is it going to change the law with respect to the issue of occupation.
It is similar to the case of a thief, who while looting a house, calls his henchmen to participate, that will not legitimize his wrongdoing and the rule of law will not change regarding the crime of theft because there are many thieves.
So what do you want the UN to do now for Western Sahara now?
What the UN has to do is to fulfill their task to hold a referendum otherwise they should admit that they failed. We are talking about something in the past, which they failed to do.
The UN (MINURSO) is to blame for the resumption of war because it kept a blind eye on the Moroccan violations and transgressions of the rules of the agreement of ceasefire while keeping a deaf ear to the Saharawi complaints and protests during a long time.
How much support have you gotten from interest groups in Nigeria and of course the Nigerian government in your quest to free your country from Moroccan occupation?
We value very highly the support of civil society in Nigeria; the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and all trade unions and civil society organizations, we have their support for a long time. We value their support very much and we are grateful for that. Nigeria is a great country and it has authority in Africa. It is because of the Nigerian support that we are a member of the OAU (AU). We believe that Nigeria has the authority and the duty to push for the implementation of the referendum and respect for the African Union Charter, which recognizes self-determination. All we are asking is respect for international law and respect for our own organization’s charter. Morocco is violating our land; it is violating African Union Charter because it is not respecting the frontiers inherited from colonization when the Spanish left.
Trade and investment are very important for your economy and a big boost to your quest for liberation. What is the volume of trade between your country and Nigeria?
Because most parts of our country are being occupied by Morocco, everything is on standstill right now. Our country is rich in phosphate, fisheries and other minerals that is why Morocco is coveting our land, trying to build bridge to use it to plunder ours resources, to smuggle our vegetables, our fish and resources and this is happening before the eyes of the UN and they are doing nothing, whereas our people are suffering as refugees under the occupation. This cannot be allowed to go on forever.
Since 1991 we have given chance for peace and we were very patient waiting for the UN to settle the problem peacefully and that is why Morocco began to deceive itself because whenever we threatened to return to war, Morocco will say we are not capable of doing that. Morocco has tested the will of our people, and they will face the consequences.
It is similar to the case of a thief, who while looting a house, calls his henchmen to participate, that will not legitimize his wrongdoing and the rule of law will not change regarding the crime of theft because there are many thieves