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Western Sahara

The Dispute between Morocco and Algeria
***From the visit of the Moroccan emissary to our Prime Minister, it would appear that Morocco has launched a diplomatic campaign for integrating Western Sahara. It is noteworthy that the campaign has started close on the heels of the election of the new Secretary General of OIC. The new Secretary General is a Moroccan and the Foreign Ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur had to bend the rules to accommodate the new Secretary General.***
Tl IE question of Western Sahara has remained dormant for quite some time. Indications are that the question is about to come before the international community. In the very recent past a special envoy of the King of Morocco has visited Bangladesh and met the Prime Minister Sheikh Haslna. The laconic statement from the Government of Bangladesh stated that among the subjects discussed was the question of Western Sahara. The visit of the Moroccan envoy would indicate that the authorities in Morocco are ready to launch a fresh diplomatic initiative on this dispute.
The question of Western Sahara is a little over a quarter century old. It was exactly tn 1974 that It burst upon the world scene. Until then Western Sahara, which has a border with
Morocco and Algeria, was a Spanish colony. These were the years when following the death of the long ruling dictator Gen. Franco. Spain had started dismantling her Empire. Western Sahara was one of them. Spain and Morocco have very old ties going back to the long rule of the Moors in Spain, which left an indelible mark of Moroccan civilisation on Spain. Indeed thanks to the occupation of Spain by Morocco, that Renaissance reached Western Europe, which till then remained in utter darknes$.
Ai Spain was planning to withdraw from Western Sahara, she made a deal with Morocco, behind the back of Algeria. Is vividly recall those years. I was resident Ambassador tn Algiers and was concurrently accredited to Morocco. There was extreme Jealousy between Morocco and Algeria and to present the credentials to the King of Morocco, while residing in Algiers, was quite a feat. In 1974 I failed in my first attempt to present credentials. I was. however, amazed to discover that in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, the only subject loudly talked about was Western Sahara. In Algiers with the tightly controlled state media, not a word had filtered regarding this fast developing crisis.
In the very sparsely populated
Western Sahara, Morocco moved in with her forces, as the Spanish soldiers departed. President Houari Boumediene of Algeria had a violent reaction, mainly because the wfiol^ affair was enacted behind his back. Masterminding the entire action from Algiers, Polisario guerillas were raised to fight in the inhospitable desert of Western Sahara. Military action has been few and far between. It is specially In the diplomatic front that the two neighbours Morocco and Algeria have continued a strenuous campaign. Finally it has come to the lap of the United Nations. The UN has appointed a succession of mediators but there has not been any progress worth mentioning. In other words there Is stalemate on the question of Western Sahara.
No worthwhile natural resources has been discovered in Western Sahara. It is supposed to
be rich in fish, there is talk of deposit of iron ore and other minerals. However, the entire region is a vast desert with very few people living. There has been talk of organising a referendum among the Saharaowi people although finding the original inhabitants of Western Sahara, is going to be a very difficult task indeed. It is certain, therefore, that Morocco and Algeria will have to find a mutually acceptable formula.
With new leadership emerging tn Algeria and Morocco, it was hoped that the two countries would shun the path of confrontation and choose the path of negotiated settlement. The new President of Algeria is AbdelAzlz Bouteflika and Morocco has a new young King Mohammad VI. President Bouteflika used to be the brilliant young Foreign Minister of President Boumediene and is fully familiar with the Western
Sahara dispute. They young King of Morocco was being groomed by his late father. The two sides have every reason to wipe the slate clean and start talking in a brotherly fashion. Indeed Algeria and Morocco have much in common and are part of the Great Maghreb family. During Algeria's eightyear war of liberation against France, the main camp of the freedom fighters used to be in a border town inside Morocco called Ouljda. There are numerous blood ties between the two peoples. •. , ,,/ . ,' . .
From the visit of the Moroccan emissary to our Prime Minister, it would appear that Morocco has launched a diplomatic campaign for integrating Western Sahara with Morocco. It is noteworthy that the campaign has started close on the heels of the election of the new Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Conference in Kuala Lumpur. The new Secretary General is a Moroccan and the Foreign Ministers meeting tn Kuala Lumpur had to bend the rules to accommodate the new Secretary General. The Charter of the OIC states that the Secretary General can be elected to a second term only. In the case of the new Moroccan Secretary General the former Secretary General
Ezzedlne Larakl of Morocco has been dumped unceremoniously by his government. The Charter of the OIC does not state that a new Secretary General, although from the same country, can be elected. However, the OIC is tilted heavily on the Gulf Arabs, who believe tn the practice of Rais" (Chief) and pay scant attention to the Charter.
From the march of events it would be possible to speculate that Morocco may be tempted to involve the OIC in her Western Sahara dispute with Algeria. For the last quarter century Algeria has tried strenuously to solve the dispute bilaterally and as a last resort has allowed the involvement of the UN. Algeria would surely vehemently object to the involvement of OIC in her dispute with Morocco. This is for no better reason than that OIC is tiljed_
1 fact Arab monarchies play a major role within the OIC and the involvement of this body would be viewed by Algeria with extreme suspicion. The precedent for Morocco is the question of Kashmir. which Pakistan, after many years of effort, has succeeded In raising within the OIC and get resolutions passed, that are favourable to her. The only difference here is that India is not present within the OIC. whereas Algeria is very much present
Iran-Iraq war of the eighties and the Iraq-Kuwait war of the nineties put unbearable strain on the OIC. We can only hope that a new crisis will not be faced by this organisations in the shape of the dispute of western Sahara between Morocco and Algeria.