International Peace Bridges Forum honors researcher, orientalist Sylvain Roman for his principled stance in favor of just Sahrawi cause 

BY: Hana Saada

ALGIERS- The International Peace Bridges Forum honored, on May 15th, 2023, in coordination with the Sahrawi Embassy in Algeria, the Franco-German researcher and orientalist Sylvain Roman for his tireless efforts to defend the just Sahrawi cause.

The Embassy of the Sahrawi Arab Republic hosted a ceremony to honor the Franco-German researcher and orientalist, Sylvain Roman, for his unwavering dedication to the just Sahrawi cause. The event was held with a large number of political and scientific figures in attendance.

During the ceremony, attendees praised Roman and all the free voices worldwide that support the Sahrawi people in their legitimate struggle to regain their land and sovereignty. They emphasized that “the holding of the ceremony at the Sahrawi embassy signifies the spirit of resistance to the forces of colonialism and evil, as the Saharawi people are fighting two colonial powers, namely the Kingdom of Morocco and the Zionist entity.”

The Sahrawi ambassador to Algeria, Abdelkader Taleb Omar, noted that “successive international developments are in favor of the struggle of the Sahrawi people, as bipolarity has faded away following the emergence of a new world order.”

Sheikh Youcef Mecheria, head of the International Peace Bridges Forum, explained that his organization has been honoring national and international personalities who have taken principled stances in the service of just causes. He chose the Sahrawi Arab Republic embassy because of the symbolism it represents in the struggle against colonialism.

In a statement to Dzair Tube, Mr. Sylvain Roman slammed the policy of double standards in dealing with just causes worldwide, reiterating his unconditional solidarity with the Sahrawi people and their just cause.

The ceremony was a testament to the power of international solidarity and the importance of standing up for what is right, even in the face of powerful opposition.

Sneak peek into Western Sahara cause

Western Sahara is a non-self-governing territory of the UN that lies in the Sahel region, bordered by Algeria, the Kingdom of Morocco, and Mauritania. This territory is home to the Sahrawis, a collective name for the indigenous peoples living in and around the region. They speak the Hassaniya dialect of Arabic. Similarly, many others also speak Spanish as a second language due to the region’s colonial past. It is also home to phosphate reserves and rich fishing grounds off its coast. It is believed to have untapped offshore oil deposits.

Western Sahara has been on the decolonization agenda of the UN and AU for more than fifty years. In 1963, Western Sahara was included on the list of non-self-governing territories under Article 73 of the UN Charter and UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) of 1960 on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

After Morocco’s independence in 1956, its aggressive foreign policy to build “Greater Morocco” sought to annex Western Sahara, Mauritania, northwest Mali, western Algeria, and the Spanish territories of North Africa. Failing to achieve its plans, it focused all its energy on attempting to seize control of the Western Sahara.

To dispel doubts raised by Morocco’s maneuvers to annex the territory, which boasts rich Atlantic fishing waters, phosphate resources, and a route to lucrative markets in West Africa, the UN asked the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICJ) for an advisory opinion to adjudicate the status of Western Sahara, which was issued on October 16, 1975, indicating that Morocco has never had sovereignty over Western Sahara.

The court concluded that “the decolonization of Western Sahara should be achieved “through the application of the principle of self-determination through the free and genuine expression of the will of the people of the territory. The UN General Assembly then demanded a referendum on self-determination.

The rejection prompted Hassan II, the Moroccan King at the time, to speak on state television and proclaim ‘the Green March’. Accordingly, on November 6, 1975, Morocco launched the so-called ‘Green March’, a march of 350,000 Moroccans, a number four times the size of the Sahrawi population back then, into the territory of Western Sahara.

According to Adala UK, on that day, Morocco organized what it called a “Green March” to officially invade the north of Western Sahara, moving 350,000 Moroccan settlers to the territory. This occupation coincided with the termination of Spain’ status as an administrative power, creating a vacuum that forced the UN to assume its responsibility there.

Subsequently, the UN Security Council deplored the holding of the march, calling upon Morocco to immediately withdraw all the demonstrators from the territory of Western Sahara; however, its effort was in vain.

The Polisario Front liberation movement, the sole and legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, founded in 1973, continued its struggle to end all foreign occupation of its country and, in 1976, formed a government-in-exile and declared the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic. In November 1984, the Polisario Front’s SADR was recognized by the then Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), which led to the withdrawal of Morocco from the OAU in protest. In May 1991, the Polisario Front and Morocco ended many years of fighting following an UN-sponsored peace settlement, culminating in the establishment of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which is assuming its responsibility till today.

Despite a 1991 cease-fire that put an end to armed combat, Western Sahara remains a disputed territory. Nowadays, Morocco controls parts of the territory. However, the United Nations refers to Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory and maintains a stance favoring self-determination for its people.

The UN body is attaching great interest to the Saharawi cause, expressing willingness to find a solution ensuring the self-determination of the Sahrawi people in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Council.

After almost 30 years of compliance with a 1991 ceasefire, Morocco and the Polisario Front have resumed war in Western Sahara, as Morocco torpedoed the 1991 ceasefire through its act of aggression on the Saharawi Liberated Territories on November 13, 2020. Since then, the region has been embroiled in an armed conflict.

The Moroccan new act of aggression has not only ended the ceasefire and related military agreements but has also undermined the UN peace process in Western Sahara and plunged the region into another spiral of extreme tension and instability.

Both the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council have confirmed the breakdown of the 1991 ceasefire on November 13, 2020. In his report (S/2021/843; para 2) dated October 1, 2021, the UN Secretary-General acknowledged, among other things, “the resumption of hostilities” between the occupying state of Morocco and the Frente Polisario. For its part, in its resolution 2602 (2021), adopted on October 29, 2021, the Security Council noted “with deep concern the breakdown of the ceasefire” (PP 14).

The acknowledgment by both the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council of the breakdown of the 1991 ceasefire and the realities on the ground render any attempt to deny or underplay the seriousness of the current situation in MINURSO’s area of operation unacceptable and even misleading at a time when the occupying state of Morocco continues its aggression on the Sahrawi Liberated Territories and its deliberate targeting and killing of civilians and destroying their properties.

The final status of the state of Western Sahara will only be settled when a UN-supervised referendum is held in which the country’s inhabitants exercise their legitimate right to self-determination.

For Algeria, the defender of just causes and colonized peoples worldwide, Western Sahara is a question of decolonization between the Polisario Front and the Kingdom of Morocco, given that this territory is inscribed on the list of non-self-governing territories, pending the implementation of the historic resolution 1514 of the General Assembly, which establishes the right of colonized peoples to self-determination and independence. Algeria will always remain a peace patron at the regional and international levels. Algeria has always reiterated its keenness to continue to support the Saharawi people in realizing their right to self-determination and independence, considering this firm and principled position as an international obligation, and the North African country will always assume its role as negotiations’ supervisor.