| Independence Intifada | |||
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| Part of Western Sahara conflict | |||
| Date | 1999–2004 main phase: September 1999–early 2000 | ||
| Location | Western Sahara, south of Morocco | ||
| Goals | Respect of Sahrawi human rights | ||
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| Resulted in | Sahrawi uprising suppressed [1] [2] [3] | ||
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The First Sahrawi Intifada forms part of the wider and ongoing Western Sahara conflict. It began in 1999 and lasted until 2004, [4] transforming into the Independence Intifada in 2005.
| Part of a series on the |
| Western Sahara conflict |
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| Background |
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| Peace process |
Western Sahara, formerly Spanish Sahara, was annexed by Morocco in 1975, as Spain pulled out. This sparked a war with the Polisario Front, which, according to the UN, represent the indigenous Sahrawi population; it was backed by neighboring Algeria. In 1976, the main Sahrawi movement, the Polisario Front, declared statehood of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Polisario-controlled areas of Western Sahara. In 1991, a ceasefire between Polisario and Morocco was agreed upon, on the condition of a referendum on self-determination of Moroccan-occupied Southern Provinces (including the options of independence or integration into Morocco). Since 1991, the terms of a referendum have been subject to years of dispute between the parties, although the ceasefire continues to hold despite remaining tensions. Morocco controls the majority of the territory, with Polisario forces controlling a rump. A UN mission, MINURSO, patrols the demarcation line.
Sahrawi political activity in the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara remains severely restricted, and police crackdowns and forced disappearances have been a frequent response to civil protest. [5] The political climate gradually relaxed in the 1990s after the ceasefire, and following considerable liberalization in Morocco proper.
Since political liberalization, intermittent protests have broken out and pro-Polisario groups have declared minor "intifadas" in 1999 and 2000, often resulting in dozens of demonstrators being arrested. [6] [7] The First Sahrawi Intifada began in late 1999 and was characterized by large-scale protests. King Hassan II, who had pledged democracy and reform, had died on 23 July, creating a new political atmosphere. [4]
In early September 1999, Sahrawi students held a sit-in at al-Zamlah Square in al-'Ayun, the capital of the territory, demanding scholarships and transportation subsidies to Moroccan universities located in northern Morocco. [4] Many students sat in a constant vigil underneath tents in the square, which directly faced Najir Hotel, where United Nations personnel stayed during their visits. [4] The square was also symbolic because of its past history: in 1970, the Spanish army had killed a group of Sahrawis protesting for independence in the square. The students were also joined by Sahrawi political prisoners, arguing for compensation and an end to the common "disappearances" of other political activists. [4] Shortly, they were also joined by Sahrawi mine workers and Sahrawi members of the "National Association of Unemployed University Graduates" in Morocco. [4] The demonstrators occupied al-Zamlah Square for 12 days before Moroccan officials responded, sending police to break up the protest, beating protesters, and arresting many; some Sahrawis were reportedly driven out into the desert and left there. [4]
Sahrawi activists organized another protest five days later in which they demanded independence and a referendum. [4] It is claimed that in response, Moroccan officials authorized local thugs to ransack Sahrawi homes and businesses. State security forces arrested 150 demonstrators during the protest, and rounded up many more in the early months of 2000. [4] Though security forces released the prisoners fairly quickly, Sahrawi activists accused the police of torture and other maltreatment during detainment. Throughout the First Intifada, Sahrawi protests attracted other Moroccan settlers. Witnessing the violence and injustices, many of Morocco's own Sahrawis became disillusioned with Moroccan government policy. [4]
In November 1999, Sahrawi political activists, who had been jailed and "disappeared", formed the Truth and Justice Forum, which sought government redress of human rights violations and injustices. [4] A branch of this group was formed in al-'Ayun, Western Sahara, by Sahrawi activists on 26 August 2000. [4] The Moroccan government had little tolerance towards the Sahara Branch, stating that it was a pro-independence campaigner, and in November 2002, Moroccan courts created legislation to outlaw the organization. [4] Protests persisted throughout the years 2000 to 2004, but small peace developments were made during the time period (such as the Baker Plan of 2003, which was the United Nation's proposal to grant self-determination to the territory), influencing activist mindsets and the protest environment. [4]
In January 2004, Sahrawi political activist groups united under the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders. [4] The collective demanded the formation of an international commission of inquiry to investigate human rights injustices in the Western Sahara. [4] Aminatou Haidar, the president of the collective, and Ali Salem Tamek, vice president, were both organizers of the Sahrawi plight. Also in January 2004, Moroccan King Mohammed released and pardoned twelve Sahrawi activists, some of whom had been involved in the Sahara Branch of the Truth and Justice Forum. By 2005, however, discussions for peace negotiations had reached a standstill. Out of this, a new wave of Sahrawi nonviolent protest erupted, in what is known as the Second Sahrawi Intifada or Independence Intifada.
The Independence Intifada refers to a series of disturbances, demonstrations, and riots that broke out in May 2005 in the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara and in southern Morocco. [8]
The nonviolent campaign of the Second Sahrawi Intifada focused more openly on the issue of independence than had the First Intifada, which mainly highlighted human rights; however, the First Intifada was pivotal in showing Sahrawis that they could dissent, protest, and state their demands.
An intifada is a rebellion or uprising, or a resistance movement. It is a key concept in contemporary Arabic usage referring to a legitimate uprising against oppression.
Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast of Africa. Western Sahara is the last African colonial state yet to achieve its independence. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 80% of the territory is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco. It has a surface area of 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi). It is the second most sparsely populated country in the world and the most sparsely populated in Africa, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at just over 500,000, of which nearly 40% live in Laayoune, the largest city in Western Sahara.
The history of Western Sahara can be traced back to the times of Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator in the 5th century BC. Though few historical records are left from that period, Western Sahara's modern history has its roots linked to some nomadic groups such as the Sanhaja group, and the introduction of Islam and the Arabic language at the end of the 8th century AD.
The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro, is a rebel Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement claiming Western Sahara.
The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara is the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, established in 1991 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 690 as part of the Settlement Plan, which had paved way for a cease-fire in the conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front over the contested territory of Western Sahara.
Spanish Sahara, officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958, then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was occupied and ruled by Spain between 1884 and 1976. It had been one of the most recent acquisitions, as well as one of the last remaining holdings, of the Spanish Empire, which had once extended from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies.
The Independence Intifada or the Second Sahrawi Intifada and also May Intifada is a Sahrawi activist term for a series of disturbances, demonstrations and riots that broke out in May 2005 in the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara and south of Morocco. This event has also been called The El-Aaiun Intifada by the same sources.
Mohamed Cheikh Elmoutaoikil is a Sahrawi human rights activist working in Western Sahara and Morocco. He is a member of the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA).
The Settlement Plan was an agreement between the ethnically Saharawi Polisario Front and Morocco on the organization of a referendum, which would constitute an expression of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, leading either to full independence, or integration with the Kingdom of Morocco. It resulted in a cease-fire which remains effective until 2020, and the establishment of the MINURSO peace force to oversee it and to organize the referendum. The referendum never occurred.
The Government of Morocco sees Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces. The Moroccan government considers the Polisario Front as a separatist movement given the alleged Moroccan origins of some of its leaders.
The Western Sahara conflict is an ongoing conflict between the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic/Polisario Front and the Kingdom of Morocco. The conflict originated from an insurgency by the Polisario Front against Spanish colonial forces from 1973 to 1975 and the subsequent Western Sahara War against Morocco between 1975 and 1991. Today the conflict is dominated by unarmed civil campaigns of the Polisario Front and their self-proclaimed SADR state to gain fully recognized independence for Western Sahara.
The Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, are a collection of refugee camps set up in the Tindouf Province, Algeria in 1975–76 for Sahrawi refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces, who advanced through Western Sahara during the Western Sahara War. With most of the original refugees still living in the camps, the situation is among the most protracted in the world.
The Western Sahara War was an armed struggle between the Sahrawi indigenous Polisario Front and Morocco from 1975 to 1991, being the most significant phase of the Western Sahara conflict. The conflict erupted after the withdrawal of Spain from the Spanish Sahara in accordance with the Madrid Accords, by which it transferred administrative control of the territory to Morocco and Mauritania, but not sovereignty. In late 1975, the Moroccan government organized the Green March of some 350,000 Moroccan citizens, escorted by around 20,000 troops, who entered Western Sahara, trying to establish a Moroccan presence. While at first met with just minor resistance by the Polisario Front, Morocco later engaged a long period of guerrilla warfare with the Sahrawi nationalists. During the late 1970s, the Polisario Front, desiring to establish an independent state in the territory, attempted to fight both Mauritania and Morocco. In 1979, Mauritania withdrew from the conflict after signing a peace treaty with the Polisario Front. The war continued in low intensity throughout the 1980s, though Morocco made several attempts to take the upper hand in 1989–1991. A cease-fire agreement was finally reached between the Polisario Front and Morocco in September 1991. Some sources put the final death toll between 10,000 and 20,000 people.
Sahrawi nationality law is the law of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic's (SADR) governing nationality and citizenship. The SADR is a partially recognized state which claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, but only administers part of it. The SADR also administers Sahrawi refugee camps.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic:
The Gdeim Izik protest camp was a protest camp in Western Sahara, established on 9 October 2010 and lasting into November that year, with related incidents occurring in the aftermath of its dismantlement on 8 November. The primary focus of the protests was against "ongoing discrimination, poverty and human rights abuses against local citizens".
The 2011 Western Saharan protests began on 25 February 2011 as a reaction to the failure of police to prevent anti-Sahrawi looting in the city of Dakhla, Western Sahara, and blossomed into protests across the territory. They were related to the Gdeim Izik protest camp in Western Sahara established the previous fall, which had resulted in violence between Sahrawi activists and Moroccan security forces and supporters. The protests also purportedly drew inspiration from the Arab Spring and successful revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, though according to some commentators, the Arab Spring proper did not reach Western Sahara.
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, also known as the Sahrawi Republic and Western Sahara, is a partially recognized state, recognised by 46 UN member states, located in the western Maghreb, which claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, but controls only the easternmost one-fifth of that territory. Between 1884 and 1975, Western Sahara was known as Spanish Sahara, a Spanish colony. The SADR is one of the two African states in which Spanish is a significant language, the other being Equatorial Guinea.
The Western Sahara peace process refers to the international efforts to resolve the Western Sahara conflict. The conflict has failed so far to result in permanent peace between Morocco and the Polisario Front. The standing issues of the peace process include Sahrawi refugees, and human rights in Western Sahara.
Sahrawi nationalism is a political ideology that seeks self-determination of the Sahrawi people, the indigenous population of Western Sahara. It has historically been represented by the Polisario Front. It came as a reaction against Spanish colonialist policies imposed from 1958 on, and subsequently in reaction to the Mauritanian and Moroccan invasions of 1975.
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