
Issue No 57		09 June 2000

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

International

The East Timor of Africa

Nobel laureate Jose Ramos Horta will this week tell a Sydney audience of the parallels between East Timor and the nation described as the last colony in Africa - the Western Sahara.

Both nations have been struggling for 25 years for independence from colonial powers. Only now while the people of East Timor have won their freedom, those of the Western Sahara are still waiting.

The public meeting will be held on June 14 at NSW Parliament and will feature Jose Ramos Horta and Kamal Fadel, the Australian representative of Polisario, the Saharawi Liberation Movement.

"Like East Timor only a year ago, the people of the Western Sahara are waiting for their freedom," Kamal said. "We all saw how quickly the colonising power there retreated once international public opinion was mobilised."

Western Sahara has been on the UN's decolonisation agenda since 1963. A UN mission (MINURSO) has been trying to organise a referendum in the Territory for the past nine years without success because of Morocco's obstructions.

Last week, the United Nations Security Council urged parties pushing for independence and the colonial power Morocco to continue negotiations towards a referendum on self-determination. Public opinion is crucial at this time in the history of the Western Sahara.

"The Australian people were instrumental in helping the people of East Timor gain their freedom," Kamal Fadel said. "We can only hope that they show the same spirit towards another people suffering the horrors of colonisation."

The unfinished struggle

The Morrocan occupation of the Western Sahara has been based on violence. Despite nearly ten years of international pressure to allow a free referendum on idependence, Morocco is still obstructing the process. Human rights violations are being used as a tool to block the Saharawi's path to independence.

* Human rights in the Western Sahara

Since its occupation Morocco has undertaken the systematic 'disappearing' of Saharawi people, kidnapping individuals, imprisoning and torturing them. It has been calculated that almost 1,000 have been disappeared since the Moroccan occupation.

In 1991, as a result of international pressure, Morocco released 270 Saharawis who had 'disappeared' for 16 years. Former Saharawi detainees have told of torture and the death of many of their people. None of those released have been compensated, nor have the families of those that have been killed.

Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International have regularly condemned Morocco's human rights record, especially its treatment of Saharawis in the occupied areas.

In 1995 the Deputy Chair of MINURSO's identification Commission, former US ambassador, Frank Ruddy, described Moroccan behaviour as 'Mafia-like" and characterised it as 'thuggery". He also stated that "Morocco does not want the referendum because the risks outweigh any possible gains".

The presence of the UN in Western Sahara has not deterred Morocco from continuing to abuse human rights. Peaceful demonstrations have been violently suppressed. For just listening to the Polisario radio, Saharawis have been tortured and jailed.

Saharawis in the occupied areas are under siege, very few foreigners have managed to visit the area, and travel outside the territories is very restricted. Amnesty International have identified 500 "disappeared" Saharawis whose whereabouts remain unknown.

* Towards a referendum on independence

After 13 years of war, diplomatic activity by the UN and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) resulted in a settlement plan which was accepted by both parties in 1988. UN Security Council

Resolutions - 658 (1990) and 690 (1991) outlined the settlement plan's objective to organise a free and fair referendum supervised by the UN.

The UN peace-keeping mission known as MINURSO was responsible for drawing up a list of eligible voters and organising the poll. MINURSO was also to monitor the lead-up to and holding of the referendum.

The referendum would offer voters two choices: either integration with Morocco or independence for Western Sahara. The UN planned to commence the official cease-fire from 1991 leading up to a referendum in 1992.

One month prior to the official cease-fire's commencement (an unofficial cease-fire had been in place for two years), Morocco launched fierce air strikes against POLISARIO settlements. Morocco subsequently denied freedom of movement to MINURSO, denied access to independent observers to the occupied territory and governed the territory in complete contravention of the UN peace plan.

In December 1991 the UN's Special Representative resigned in protest at the UN's failure to confront Morocco. In May 1994 Jean-Luc Held, former head of MINURSO's medical unit said "the UN is ....unable to react... the UN is frightened, those who work there are frightened..."

Morocco has delayed the referendum for years with arguments over voter eligibility. Approximately 200,000 Moroccan settlers have moved to the territory of Western Sahara with the aim of skewing the vote. A date for the referendum had been set for July 31 2000 but it now appears as if Morocco will continue its delaying tactics and not honour its agreement.

There appears to continue to be a breakdown in negotiations and diminishing hopes for a free and fair referendum. POLISARIO has intimated that if no referendum is held by the end of 2000 it may recommence hostilities.

The parallels with East Timor are striking. The key role of the international community in working toward a free and fair referendum cannot be overstated. POLISARIO made a commitment not to hijack planes, kidnap people or target civilians in order to seek world attention.

Thy have consequently been largely ignored by the international media and the communities whose opinions influence international efforts such as those of East Timor or in assisting organisations like the PLO.

The Western Sahara people require Australia's assistance raising the international attention needed to pressure Morocco to hold the vote that they have sacrificed everything to obtain.

For more information contact:

Kamal Fadel, Australian Representative, Polisario

Phone: 02. 9319 32 11

Mob: 0416 335 197

Paul Reid, Secretary of the Australia Western Sahara Association

Mob. 0407 242 092

Western Sahara, the unfinished struggle

Featuring speakers Jose Ramos Horta, East Timor independence leader and Kamal Fadel, Polisario representative. The film "The forgotten war" will also be screened.

When: Wednesday 14 June, 5:30 - 7:30 pm

Venue: Theatrette, NSW Parliament House, Macquarie St

RSVP : Janelle Saffin MLC 02. 9230 22 35.

   For more on the Western Sahara struggle click here

  View entire issue - print all of the articles!

  Issue 57 contents

Interview: Cocky Labor
On the eve of State Conference, Country Labor convenor Tony Kelly outlines how Labor is stealing the ground from under the National Party's feet.

Economics: Millenium Work Ethics - A New Social Partnership?
The future of work in the twenty-first century will be both provocative and challenging, according to Professor Russell Lansbury.

Politics: Extracting the Digit
Labor's federal communications spokesman Stehpen Smith outlines the Party's position on the controversial datacasting legislation currently before Parliament.

History: Hot Off the Press
Check out what's in the latest issue of Labour History - A Journal of Labour and Social History,

International: The East Timor of Africa
Nobel laureate Jose Ramos Horta will this week tell a Sydney audience of the parallels between East Timor and the nation described as the last colony in Africa - the Western Sahara.

Environment: MUA Snail Men Honoured
Brisbane wharfies Lehi Munday and Mal Monro look an unlikely Watson and Sherlock double, but their keen detective work has helped win the Southern Queensland MUA Branch two national environment awards.

Satire: Howard Says 'Sorry'
In a startling apology to the Aboriginal community, Prime Minister John Howard said last night he was deeply sorry that he turned up to the Corroboree 2000 celebrations.

Review: Front Stage and Pulp Fiction
The Waterfront War has made the transition from industrial showdown to cultural icon. Now it's inspiring artists.

» Rival Computer Deal Imminent

» Conference to Set New Ground Rules for Labor

» Call (of Nature) Waiting for Telstra Workers

» Democrats Come Through on Third Wave

» Joy's Bizarre Student Bid

» Commonwealth Bank Staff Strike

» Liberal Students Spark Uni Walk-Out

» Union Targets Asbestos Shonks

» Needle Stick Injury Sparks Waste Strike

» Security Guard Wins $100,000 in Back Pay

» Paddy Troy Memorial Prize

» Robbo for Post-Conference Smoko