|
Background
Western Sahara is a contested territory in
north-west Africa. Formerly known as Spanish Sahara, it covers
266,000 sq km and is mainly desert, with a traditionally
nomadic population. The land is rich in phosphates and is
believed to have oil deposits off-shore.
1884: Area comes under Spanish rule
1934: Area becomes a Spanish
province
1973: Polisario Front established
as representative of the Sahrawi people
1975 (October): International Court
of Justice rejects territorial claims by Morocco and
Mauritania, recognises Saharawis' right to self-determination
and Spain agrees to referendum
1975 (November): King Hassan II of
Morocco orders a "Green March" into the territory.
Spain agrees to end colonial rule and negotiates partition of
the territory between Morocco and Mauritania ("Madrid
Agreement")
1976: Polisario proclaims the
Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) announces a
government.
1978: Mauritania signs peace deal
with Polisario and renounces all territorial claims; Morocco
moves to occupy areas previously allocated to Mauritania;
guerilla war continues until 1991
1991 (April): UN establishes Minurso, the United Nations
Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara
1991 (September): UN-brokered ceasefire declared
1996: UN suspends preparations for
referendum
2001: Following mediation between
Morocco and the Polisario, former US secretary of state James
Baker (acting under UN auspices) proposes a compromise
solution known as the "Baker Plan" or the
"Third Way"
2004: Baker resigns as UN envoy.
Deadlock ensues
Further information
Western
Sahara - Wikipedia
Western
Sahara
-
CIA Factbook
Western
Sahara - BBC
History
of Western Sahara - Wikipedia
Western
Sahara - Moroccan government web page
The
Green March - Wikipedia
Polisario
Front - Wikipedia
International
Court of Justice
Advisory Opinion on Western Sahara, 16 October 1975
MINURSO
United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara -
official website
MINURSO -
Wikipedia
Elections
in Western Sahara - Wikipedia
Human
rights in Western Sahara - Wikipedia
The
Baker Plan - Wikipedia
Western
Sahara Online
A variety of information about the Sahrawis and their
struggle.
ARSO
A large website produced by the Association de
soutien à un référendum libre et régulier au Sahara Occidental (in English,
French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese)
Sahrawi
Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)
SADR's
television channel
SADR's
news agency
Sahara
Update
A Yahoo group monitoring news about Western Sahara
The
Western Sahara Archaeology Project
Western
Sahara photographs
A large and varied collection of images
Forced
Migration Online
Pictures of refugee camps
Sandblast
Cultural website featuring "voices and visions from
Western Sahara".
Sahrawi
art
Pictures by Ofei Dako
Sahara
Marathon
"Solidarity race for the Sahrawi people"
|
