Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy, 15 April 2016
BY TOM O’BRYAN

Ban Ki-Moon has sparked a diplomatic crisis in Western Sahara… but a crisis may be just what’s needed after decades of deadlock. Ban Ki-Moon’s criticism of Morocco’s 40-year “occupation” of Western Sahara during his visit to the territory on March 8, 2016 has sparked the most serious crisis in the region in decades. Morocco denounced the Secretary General’s “biased” rhetoric, and“irreversibly” expelled U.N. peacekeepers stationed in Western Sahara. .(cont.)

Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy article >>

By Dr. Fikrejesus Amahazion, April 06 2016
Black Agenda Report, Global Research, Center for Research on Globalization

In his recent article, “Just Say No to Another Failed State,” published by Foreign Policy, Lester Munson claims that the only solution to the long standing issue between Western Sahara and Morocco is autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty. Problematically, however, the article lacks context and is overly simplistic, is strewn with inaccuracies and errors, and is heavily tinged with paternalistic overtones.

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RNZ, Broadcast, 3 April 2016

A few weeks back UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon described the Western Sahara as an occupied land that had been forgotten. Morocco promptly expelled UN staff from the region in protest. Stephen Zunes is the co-author of Western Sahara War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution – one of the only books on the struggle by the indigenous Sahrawi people for independance.

Listen to Prof Stephen Zunes broadcast >>

Algeria Press Service, 14 February 2016

NEW YORK-The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Saturday called on all officials and UN bodies not to participate in the Crans Montana Forum, scheduled for March in the occupied city of Dakhla, Western Sahara.
The Saharawi President and Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Mohamed Abdelaziz, recently sent a letter to Ban Ki-moon, deplored the decision of the board of the Crans Montana Forum to hold its next edition in the occupied city of Dakhla. (cont.)

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AfricaNews. 10/03 – 08:16

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday rejected Morocco’s criticism after his visit to the region to restart talks between Rabat and the Polisario Front over Western Sahara, claiming that his goal remained a priority. Mr. Ban visited Mauritania and a Sahrawi refugees camp in Algeria last week in the hope of shifting positions on the conflict that has lasted four decades.

Article in AfricaNews. >>

See also Yahoo!News report >>

Photo: Ariel Armeno

March 4, 2016 · posted by Independent Diplomat in Blog

“UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is set to arrive in Western Sahara tomorrow (Saturday 5 March) for the first visit of his tenure. The trip comes at a crisis point for UN talks on Western Sahara following Morocco’s refusal over the last three years to participate in any direct negotiations, its refusal to receive the UN Secretary-General during his current visit to the region, and its killing this week of a Saharawi civilian in the demilitarized buffer zone….(cont.)”

Independent Diplomat post >>

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Off-the-Cuff, Rabouni, 5 March 2016

“I am honored to be able to visit here today. I had a very good meeting with Secretary-General [Mohamed] Abdelaziz and I would like to take this opportunity to express my most sincere thanks for their very kind welcome…..(cont.)”

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Middle East Eye, In Pictures, Tuesday 23 February 2016

Some 500 runners from North Africa, Europe and North America competed in the 16th Sahara Marathon on Tuesday, organisers said.
The event – which sets off from the Tindouf refugee camp in Algeria – was timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the declaration of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) on 27 February 1976, Saharawi Minister of Youth and Sports Ahmed Lahbib Abdi, told reporters….(cont.)

Middle East Eye article >>