A former Spanish colony annexed by Morocco in 1975. Since then it has been the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Morocco and its indigenous Saharawi people, led by the Polisario Front.
A 16-year-long insurgency ended with a UN-brokered truce in 1991 and the promise of a referendum on independence which has yet to take place.
A buffer strip, "Moroccan Wall" or "berm" with landmines and fortifications, stretches the length of the disputed territory and separates the Moroccan-controlled and administered western portion, which Morocco calls its "Southern Provinces" or "Moroccan Sahara," from the eastern area controlled by the Polisario Front, called the "Free Zone."
The Sahrawi (Saharan) Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), declared by the Polisario Front in 1976, is recognized by 84 governments and became a full member of the African Union in 1984, but not the UN.
Moroccan control over the rest of the peninsula is recognized by most of the Arab League, save Algeria (a big sponsor of Sahrawi independence), Syria and Mauritania (which took the southern part of Western Sahara in 1975, calling it Tiris al-Gharbiyya or Western Tiris, battled the Polisario until withdrawing in 1979, then recognized the SADR on February 27, 1984).
This territory, long ignored, out of sight and out of mind, may heave up from obscurity soon, if only because the political havoc affecting neighbor and SADR-backer, Algeria, has twisted her head to her navel.
The SADR control a third of this land, you see, and its only true ally and financial backer has been the team behind Algeria's 'system', now under siege.
A nation close to ruin and penniless, stewing under super high unemployment and even higher discontent - sweating the heat of Arab Spring II....the outcome in Algeria can't be good.
Whomever or whatever oligarchy takes command of El Mouradia Palace this year will be forced to submerge and cower for decades. One immediate act of future Algeria will be to relieve herself of foreign obligation, expense and adventure (bye bye SADR).
Morocco's been itching to annex/administer/organize (name a word to camouflage true intent) what it doesn't already control in Western Sahara. Now's the time to fulfill a heartfelt desire. Countdown to launch has begun.
This territory, long ignored, out of sight and out of mind, may heave up from obscurity soon, if only because the political havoc affecting neighbor and SADR-backer, Algeria, has twisted her head to her navel.
The SADR control a third of this land, you see, and its only true ally and financial backer has been the team behind Algeria's 'system', now under siege.
A nation close to ruin and penniless, stewing under super high unemployment and even higher discontent - sweating the heat of Arab Spring II....the outcome in Algeria can't be good.
Whomever or whatever oligarchy takes command of El Mouradia Palace this year will be forced to submerge and cower for decades. One immediate act of future Algeria will be to relieve herself of foreign obligation, expense and adventure (bye bye SADR).
Morocco's been itching to annex/administer/organize (name a word to camouflage true intent) what it doesn't already control in Western Sahara. Now's the time to fulfill a heartfelt desire. Countdown to launch has begun.
We have a bit of a problem here: Western Sahara contains an independent country called the SAHRAWI ARAB DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. It's turning 45 year's old next year. It has its own flag, government, prime minister, president, parliament, capital, culture, coat of arms, anthem, stamps, unique cuisine - all the trappings of a full-fledged independent nation. It has embassies in, and is recognized by, 40 other countries.
The rest of Western Sahara is sand and Berbers, ostensibly part of Morocco - we guess, they guess. No one really knows what Morocco has in mind for this bordering desert-mirage they rather disdainfully call the "Southern Provinces." It's static and undeveloped - free of settlements, funds and armies. A no-man's land.
Should we therefore do the right thing and create a new country here called the Sahrawi Republic, tagging the rest of the Western Sahara, those 'Southern Provinces', within the Morocco container?
We have a bit of a problem here: Western Sahara contains an independent country called the SAHRAWI ARAB DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. It's turning 45 year's old next year. It has its own flag, government, prime minister, president, parliament, capital, culture, coat of arms, anthem, stamps, unique cuisine - all the trappings of a full-fledged independent nation. It has embassies in, and is recognized by, 40 other countries.
The rest of Western Sahara is sand and Berbers, ostensibly part of Morocco - we guess, they guess. No one really knows what Morocco has in mind for this bordering desert-mirage they rather disdainfully call the "Southern Provinces." It's static and undeveloped - free of settlements, funds and armies. A no-man's land.
Should we therefore do the right thing and create a new country here called the Sahrawi Republic, tagging the rest of the Western Sahara, those 'Southern Provinces', within the Morocco container?
It is neither recognized by the UN nor the US. More than 40 countries have also withdrawn recognition for it.
I think the current indeterminate status is correct for now.
It is neither recognized by the UN nor the US. More than 40 countries have also withdrawn recognition for it.
I think the current indeterminate status is correct for now.
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