WSO,  Jun 22 01

Since the mid-sixties, the United Nations began to issue resolution after resolution calling for the Sahrawis' right of self-determination. But the resolutions, which have only piled up since, have not been implemented, and, in any case, failed to deter Morocco and Mauritania from invading the territory after Spain's withdrawal in 1976 ; which had promised the Sahrawis a referendum. But Morocco and Mauritania invaded the country before the vote could occur . It was Polisario, not the UN, which forced Mauritania to renounce its claim to the territory and instead recognise the Saharawi Republic. Again, it was Polisario, not the UN, which forced Morocco to sit in the negotiating table and accept Polisario as the legitimate representative of the Saharawi people.

The security council's resolutions called for a referendum that allows the people of Western Sahara to choose between independence and incorporation into Morocco. MINURSO is charged with overseeing the implementation of the peace plan as well as monitoring a UN-brockered ceasefire, in effect since September 1991, between Morocco and Polisario. Polisario considered itself released from all ceasefire obligations in January this year after the Rally Paris-Dakar crossed the territory .

France, a staunch Moroccan ally, is committed immutably to Moroccan rule over Western Sahara and it is using all ways and means, however disingenuous, to make it happen. Annan and Baker's plan- which actually is a Moroccan proposal- is a striking example of how, despite all dilatory tactics, the both men still see - or so they pretend- no wickedness in Morocco. They accept Morocco's blatant attempts to make of Minurso a laughingstock, and remain ever willing to excuse almost anything it does because they want to allow the new king to consolidate his hold on power and not upset his journey to "democratization". So what if Morocco made a mockery of the peace plan? Morocco could not have obstructed the Peace Plan without the consent of France. After all, Morocco knows where its bread is buttered.

Saharawis, who fled the territory when the Moroccans marched in, are languishing in refugee camps in southern Algeria, barely surviving on humanitarian aid. The Sahrawi people is dire, and the Moroccans - with France and Annan's help - are moving in for the kill. Saharawis have incesantly stated that they will go to war if they are not able to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence through a free and fair referendum. Any other attempt out of this framework is nothing but a manouevre to refurbish colonial domination. It is, in fact, an invitation to unstability and war in the region.