Aiun, June04, 2013 (SPS)- The American economic magazine "Bloomberg Businessweek" has published on May28, a long report on the question of Western Sahara, with more concentration on Morocco’s Illegal plunder of the Sahrawi’s natural resources
the article explained that “Western Sahara, a Colorado-size piece of land directly below Morocco, has been relatively quiet since the United Nations brokered a cease-fire in 1991 between Morocco, which occupied the land when Spain withdrew from its former colony, and the indigenous Sahrawis, who wanted independence. After the cease-fire, a United Nations peacekeeping mission arrived to set up a referendum for independence. That vote never happened. For the most part, Western Sahara fell off the radar”.
“The UN force is still there, charged with preparing a referendum. Earlier this year the U.S. attempted to add human rights monitoring to the UN’s mandate, then dropped its efforts in April when Morocco canceled joint military exercises with the U.S. That set off a wave of protests. In early May more than a thousand protesters took to the streets in Laayoune, Western Sahara’s capital, chanting for independence. The protests were significant. The protestors were not deterred by the presence of heavy Moroccan security. These demonstrations, coupled with the flap over the UN mandate, “move the chess pieces forward in ways we haven’t seen for years,” says William Lawrence, the North Africa analyst for the International Crisis Group, an NGO that tracks conflict around the world” confirms the magazine
“The UN does not recognize Morocco’s claim that Western Sahara historically belongs to the Kingdom, and pressure on the Moroccans is building. International law dictates resource extraction by an occupying country can be done only with the consent of and for the benefit of the local population” clarifies the article
Moroccan government statistics put unemployment in Western Sahara at twice the Moroccan national average of 9 percent.
The report highlighted that “local jobs go to Moroccans, drawn by the promise of subsidized housing. A big grievance for some Sahrawis focuses on the phosphate mine in Bou Craa, southeast of Laayoune. It’s run by Morocco’s state-owned phosphate producer. The world’s top exporter of the mineral, which is used in fertilizer. Activists, using their own calculations, say that Sahrawis hold only 30 percent of the mine’s jobs”. (SPS)
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