Author Archives: appleton

New online publication about Western Sahara

The inaugural edition of the Western Sahara Review can be viewed online now

Note: the interesting and provocative article by Jeff Smith and Pedro Pinto Leite. Here they are presenting the idea that the time for a referendum has passed and that Western Sahara should become independent by declaration. If enough states recognise SADR, the UN could just accept its independence without a vote.

Western Sahara: The voiceless lament of the last colony in Africa

EMAJ Magazine – an intercultural magazine, made by a network of young journalists from the Middle East, North Africa (MENA) and the EU.
Feature, January 04, 2013 | By Ana Isabel Martinez Molina

The international community is failing once again in the matter of Western Sahara, writes author Ana Isabel Martínez Molina. The EU only acts in its interest for fishing rights. Neighboring Morocco indirectly legitimizes the occupation through commercial oil treaties.

150 people disappeared, 10 deaths, 700 injured – This was the final balance reported by the Moroccan Police regarding the dismantlement of Agdaym Izik, the “Camp of Dignity”, in November 2010

Aljazeera: Inside disputed Western Sahara

Aljazeera, 3 Jan 2013
Laayoune, Western Sahara. Ruled by Morocco for decades, some say Western Sahara shares commonalities with the occupied Palestinian territories.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara has limited jurisdiction and a small staff

…Read full report by Tom Stevenson reporting for Aljazeera.

Accepting status quo on Western Sahara ‘serious miscalculation,’ warns UN envoy

UN News Centre, 28 November 2012
Christopher Ross, the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara has expressed concerns over delays in a resolution to the Western Sahara conflict. He said the conflict over the final status of the territory of Western Sahara has gone on for far too long and must be resolved, adding that any acceptance of the status quo is a “serious miscalculation.”

European Parliament Resolution – Press release from the Polisario European office

Strasbourg 13/12/12
The European Parliament has expressed its concern at the deterioration in the human rights situation in Western Sahara, through an amendment to the annual resolution on Human Rights in the World, approved today.

Commenting on the vote, Dr. Mohamed Sidati, Polisario’s representative for Europe, said, “It is very significant that the European Parliament, as the democratic voice of the European Union – which itself has just been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize has again called for the fundamental rights of the people of Western Sahara,

Continue reading →

Javier Bardem: We must stand up for abused people of Western Sahara

Special for CNN, December 13, 2012

Javier Bardem first visited the Western Sahara in 2008 for the Sahara International Film Festival, the only one of its kind to take place in a refugee camp. He went there knowing little about the conflict in Western Sahara and returned from this visit with a determination to speak out about the Moroccan abuse of Saharawi rights and openly advocate for a resolution to the conflict.

Report and interview with Javier Bardem >>

Western Sahara is not Mali: on islamist extremists and Saharwi freedom fighters

By Celeste Hicks,
www.africanarguments.org, December 18, 2012

Following his most recent visit to Laayoune in November, the UN envoy for Western Sahara Christopher Ross said that “the conflict over the final status of the territory” has gone on too long.

Read article by Celeste Hicks >>

Incitec Pivot must stop theft of Western Sahara phosphate

Tuesday, 18 December 2012, 11:52 am
Press Release: Australia Western Sahara Association

17 December 2012

The Australia Western Sahara Association (AWSA) will be protesting at the IPL AGM outside the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, 2 Clarendon St, Southbank as shareholders arrive from 1.30-2pm, Tuesday 18 December.

Swedish Parliament urges government to urgently recognize SADR

Stockholm (Sweden), Thursday, 6 Dec 2012

The parliament of Sweden has urged its government to urgently recognize the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), in a resolution adopted on Wednesday by the Majority of this Swedish legislative institution…(cont.)

Are We Heading Toward Peak Fertilizer?

By Tom Philpott, Wed Nov. 28, 2012

“You’ve heard of peak oil—the idea that the globe’s easy-to-get-to petroleum reserves are largely cashed, and most of what’s left is the hard stuff, buried in deep-sea deposits or tar sands. But what about peak phosphorus and…(cont.)

Read article >>