Tell us, what do you know about Western Sahara?

2526 Views 18 Replies 18 Participants Last post by ^Anton^, May 5, 2007

Skylandman

Discussion Starter · May 4, 2007

WELCOME TO THE WESTERN SAHARA THREAD

LOCATION

COUNTRY PROFILE

Western Sahara (Arabic: الصحراء الغربية; transliterated: al-Ṣaḥrā' al-Gharbīyah; Spanish: Sahara Occidental) is a territory of northwestern Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The largest city is El Aaiún (Laâyoune), which is home to over a third of the population of the territory.

Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories since the 1960s when it was a Spanish colony.

The Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front independence movement (and government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic or SADR) dispute control of the territory. Since a United Nations-sponsored cease-fire agreement in 1991, most of the territory has been controlled by Morocco, with a rump under the control of Polisario/SADR. Internationally, the major powers such as the United States have taken a generally ambiguous and neutral position on each side's claims, and have pressed both parties to agree on a peaceful resolution. Both Morocco and Polisario have sought to boost their claims by accumulating formal recognition, from largely minor states. Polisario has won formal recognition for SADR from roughly 45 states, and was extended membership in the African Union, while Morocco has won formal recognition for its position from 25 states, as well as the membership of the Arab League[1][2]. In both instances, recognitions have over the past two decades been extended and withdrawn according to changing international trends.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Sahara

So anyone ever heard about this occupied country?
What comes up to your mind when you think of this country?
is this the firs time you heard about it?
Would you like to visit it?

Tell us what comes up to your mind when you hear about this country called Western Sahara.

Express yourself freely and tell us your thoughts

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1 - 19 of 19 Posts

jmancuso

· #2 · May 4, 2007 (Edited)

So anyone ever heard about this occupied country? yes
What comes up to your mind when you think of this country? run by morocco
is this the firs time you heard about it? no, learned about it as a kid
Would you like to visit it? sure, why not

Tell us what comes up to your mind when you hear about this country called Western Sahara. it's in the western sahara. :crazy:

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gonzo

· #3 · May 4, 2007

So anyone ever heard about this occupied country? yes
What comes up to your mind when you think of this country? disputed region
is this the firs time you heard about it? not at all
Would you like to visit it? The coast or some aoses maybe...not the interior.

Crocodine

· #4 · May 4, 2007

Redalinho, me cago en tu puta madre.

DonQui

· #5 · May 4, 2007

Crocodine said:
..

Edit that!

:bash:

BIPV

· #6 · May 4, 2007

Why would you ask what we know, then give us the basic info?

Shogun

· #7 · May 4, 2007

Morocco have make in Western Sahara the same that Indonesia have make in Timor Est.

schmidt

· #8 · May 4, 2007

Pretty much nothing hah. Well, it has the Sahara Desert and it's a disputed region. That's it.

Any Spanish speakers there yet?

BMW_Z4

· #9 · May 4, 2007

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Kelsen

· #10 · May 4, 2007

Just what you 've wrote!

Adams3

· #11 · May 4, 2007

I know that Morocco has brutally occupied the country for 30 years, expelled a big part of the native Saharawis to Algeria and built a huge wall of shame, and settled the area with Moroccan settlers.

Purple Dreams

· #12 · May 4, 2007

All I know is that I'm tired of hearing about this issue and can't wait til it's resolved.
Personally (and I hope I don't get banned for saying this because apparently the Moroccan mods follow the Moroccan government's stance, i.e. no dissent), I think the fairest way to resolve this dispute is to hold a referendum with independence being an option. If the Sahrawis vote to be independent-so be it and if they vote to be part of Morocco so be it. I just think that they should have the right to self-determination.
I'll just add that given the way this whole issue is covered and presented by the Moroccan press, I wonder what will happen, if a referendum is eventually held and the people vote for independence. Or rather I dare not imagine what would happen.

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[email protected]

· #13 · May 5, 2007

/\

It's good to see that there are also Moroccans who have this opinion. Unfortunately you seem to be a small minority there, which isn't very surprising given the fact how much brainwashing is done in the Moroccan media when it comes to the Western Sahara and the Green March, which is even celebrated with a national holiday.
And although Mohammed VI is way more liberal than his father I doubt that he would ever allow such a referendum, especially considering that the Western Sahara is also home to the world's largest phosphate reserves and as we all know countless wars have already been fought over mineral resources.

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Xusein

· #14 · May 5, 2007

It's on the Atlantic coast, in the western part of Sahara desert?

Fern~Fern*

· #15 · May 5, 2007

I know absolutely nothing about it....

arriaca

· #16 · May 5, 2007

Purple Dreams said:
All I know is that I'm tired of hearing about this issue and can't wait til it's resolved.
Personally (and I hope I don't get banned for saying this because apparently the Moroccan mods follow the Moroccan government's stance, i.e. no dissent), I think the fairest way to resolve this dispute is to hold a referendum with independence being an option. If the Sahrawis vote to be independent-so be it and if they vote to be part of Morocco so be it. I just think that they should have the right to self-determination.
I'll just add that given the way this whole issue is covered and presented by the Moroccan press, I wonder what will happen, if a referendum is eventually held and the people vote for independence. Or rather I dare not imagine what would happen.

:applause: :applause: :applause:

As you can see, a black hand changed my Western Sahara avatar and my signature

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Purple Dreams

· #17 · May 5, 2007

[email protected] said:
/\

It's good to see that there are also Moroccans who have this opinion. Unfortunately you seem to be a small minority there, which isn't very surprising given the fact how much brainwashing is done in the Moroccan media when it comes to the Western Sahara and the Green March, which is even celebrated with a national holiday.
And although Mohammed VI is way more liberal than his father I doubt that he would ever allow such a referendum, especially considering that the Western Sahara is also home to the world's largest phosphate reserves and as we all know countless wars have already been fought over mineral resources.

Oh yes, there's al ot of brainwashing done when it comes to the Western Sahara. I don't know if you saw the spin given to the new UN resolution.

Anyways, I know that in Morocco there are 2 versions of history: 1) the official version 2) the real version. That's not to say that the 2 are never the same, but I know better than to trust the Moroccan press or Moroccan history books.

As for the referendum, I agree there's absolutely no way Mohammed VI would ever voluntarily hold it. Even if the area were barren he wouldn't hold it as it has become a question of honor (for the gov't) and if the Sahrawis were to vote for independence, his throne could be in jeopardy. The referendum will only be held if the UN (or US) decides it has had enough of this conflict and imposes it. But for the moment the resolution of this conflict isn't an international priority.

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willo

· #18 · May 5, 2007

schmidt said:
Pretty much nothing hah. Well, it has the Sahara Desert and it's a disputed region. That's it.

Any Spanish speakers there yet?

yeah, still a large part of the population can speak spanish

^Anton^

· #19 · May 5, 2007

So anyone ever heard about this occupied country? yes
What comes up to your mind when you think of this country? risk of being banned on SSC
is this the firs time you heard about it? no way, learned about it at school
Would you like to visit it? I'm not really interested in visiting it

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

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