Western Sahara

The Western Sahara (Spanish Sahara Occidental) is a territory on the Atlantic coast of northwest Africa, which was claimed by the departure of the former colonial power Spain from Morocco and mostly annexed. Morocco considers the in pre-colonial times in a loose dependency ratio standing at his area as part of its territory.

The resulting to Spanish colonial times, leftist "liberation front " of the Saharawi people ( the people of Western Sahara), the Polisario Front, fighting for an independent state, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, on the whole territory of Western Sahara. Since the ceasefire of 1991, the Polisario Front controls a strip to the east and south of Western Sahara from the border with Algeria to the Atlantic coast ( see map).

The United Nations require the holding of a referendum on the final status under international law in the area. So far no agreement between Morocco and the representatives of the Sahrawi people could be reached on the modalities of the implementation of such a referendum. Main point of contention here is the question of whether this referendum, the members of Sahrawi tribes who lived in colonial times in southern Morocco (or their descendants) should be considered as eligible to vote locals ( this would correspond to Morocco's position).

Geography

The territory of Western Sahara is located in northwestern Africa on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and covers an area of ​​266,000 km ². It is divided geographically into a northern part of the province about Saguia el Hamra made ​​it to the Spanish colonial period and predominate in the flat corrugated gravel and scree ( Hammada ). The terrain rises from the coast inland gradually to a height of about 400 meters, with the highest elevations above 700 meters in the north near the Algerian border. The southern area roughly corresponds to the former province of Río de Oro, and is almost completely flat, with very sand dunes ( ergs ), which provide the uniform, almost barren gravel plain just for some variety. The third type of landscape represent the after the rainy season in places, water-bearing dry river valleys ( wadis ), of which the Saguia el Hamra for the oases of the greatest importance. It is up to its end at Aaiun just before the Atlantic Ocean with 350 km the longest river in the country.

Climate, flora and fauna

Desert climate prevails, rain is rare, and in coastal areas often leads to fog formation. A luxuriant vegetation is only to find the river oases and some Gueltas. It is found in the arid habitat adapted animals, for example, gerbils and thorn -tailed Agama. In the caves on the Atlantic coast, especially on the Cabo Blanco Peninsula, harbor the largest populations of the endangered Mediterranean monk seal.

Administrative divisions

Morocco is divided Western Sahara in the five provinces Aousserd, Boujdour, Es Semara, Laayoune and Oued ed Dahab. Whether the Polisario, which controls the east of the country has made a different layout in the provinces, is not known.

The largest cities are ( September 2, 2004 census ):

Population

The population of the territory of Western Sahara 539,000 inhabitants (July 2013) consists mainly of Arabs and Arabized Berbers. In the originally colonized the area Sahrawis are Arab nomads, but of which a part for many years living in refugee camps at Tindouf in Algeria. Is spoken mainly Moroccan Arabic immigrants from the north, besides also the Hassaniya dialect of the original population before the Moroccan population, a widespread also in neighboring Mauritania regional form of Arabic. Almost 100 % of the population are Muslims.

History

Phoenician branches have left little trace, and only with the introduction of the camel, the area was important as Karawanendurchgangsort. After the advance of Islam emerged on the territory of today's Western Sahara Islamic groups, the Almoravids and later as a large part of North Africa and southern Spain dominated.

1884 built by the Spaniards on the Rio de Oro peninsula 's base Villa Cisneros, who later became City Ad- Dakhla. At the Berlin Conference 1884-1885 in Berlin, the colonial powers divided Africa among themselves. Spain was awarded the Western Sahara. The influential Sheikh Ma el- Ainin organized the resistance against the French and Spanish colonial armies in North West Africa. He founded in 1900 the city of Smara, which became the religious, political and economic center of the region. The city, cultural center of the Sahara, in 1913 destroyed along with their major Islamic university and library of the French. After decades of resistance of the Sahrawi territory of Western Sahara has been occupied by Spanish troops.

In 1965, the UN General of Spain demanded repeatedly in - international non-legally binding - Resolutions decolonization of Western Sahara. In May 1973, the Saharawi Liberation Front Polisario Front, which took up arms against the Spanish colonial power established.

1974 called for Morocco's King Hassan II to connect the Western Sahara to Morocco. In May 1975, established a UN delegation in Western Sahara that the people want the independence and the Polisario Front 'll get broad support. The International Court of Justice, whose jurisdiction was disputed in this matter by Morocco, dismissed the same year sovereignty claims of Morocco and Mauritania. Nevertheless, it came in October 1975 to the first assault the Moroccan army on the territory of Western Sahara.

After the death of Francisco Franco's Spain left the territory. 1975 covered the so-called Green March about 350,000 Moroccans in the former colony, in order to make Moroccan claims to the territory claimed.

On February 26, 1976, a meeting of Sahrawi tribal leaders agreed to the division of the Western Sahara between Morocco and Mauritania, whereupon the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was proclaimed on 27 February 1976 by the Polisario. Morocco recognized that State not to. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was admitted to the Organization of African Unity in 1984. In response, Morocco withdrew from the Organization of African Unity and has since been the only African country that is not a member of this organization and the products resulting from their African Union.

Morocco 1976 declared the annexation of the northern two-thirds of the Western Sahara territory, and in 1979 the remainder of the territory, after Mauritania withdrew from the territory. These annexations were not recognized by the United Nations. Nor were recognized on the territory of Western Sahara without the holding of the referendum demanded by the United Nations, the claims of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

The United Nations is present with a permanent observer mission MINURSO in the entire territory of Western Sahara. The final status of the territory is still unclear, as no referendum was held on the future of the area.

1991, a ceasefire agreement between Morocco and the Polisario was closed. To date, about 100,000 Sahrawis live in four refugee camps near the town of Tindouf in the Algerian Sahara. The territory of Western Sahara is currently divided by a fortified and mined border plant. It was built by Morocco along the ceasefire line.

Economy

Large parts of the country are economically undeveloped, the road network is thin. The main economic activities are fishing, the extraction of mineral resources ( particularly phosphate, the incidence is one of the largest in the world ) and the cultivation of date palms ( oases ). The west coast is attributed to a large potential for the production of wind energy. The entire economy of the western parts of the former Spanish colony is heavily subsidized with tax revenue from Morocco and greatly expanded as part of the settlement by Moroccans, while the non- occupied eastern part as well as the refugee camps in Algeria are largely dependent on international support.

Of particular importance is the phosphate mining at Bou Craa, which is connected to the port of El Aaiun with the longest conveyor belt in the world. Since this is to prevent unauthorized removal of natural resources from international law occupied territory, it happened in the past that this is denounced as theft and the ships with their name, IMO number and the shipping company have been published. Before the ceasefire agreement between Morocco and the Polisario Front, the conveyor belt was often destroyed by fighters of the Polisario Front. There are states such as India, on the one hand recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and on the other hand import this exact phosphate.

The Western Sahara is accessed from Morocco, increasingly, tourism. In particular, the beaches at Dakhla are already used for tourism in its infancy. The tourist infrastructure is still poorly developed, although there are now direct flights from the neighboring Spanish Canary Islands. Package tourism hardly takes place.

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