-Norway must do a lot more to free Western Sahara

The West Saharan liberation movement Polisario´s chief negotiator Emhamed Khadad (right) visited the Norwegian Human Rights House yesterday. -Norway must do a lot more to push Moroccan authorities to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, Khadad stated. With its occupation of Western Sahara, declared illegal by the UN, Morocco remains Africa´s last colonial power. (31-AUG-05) 

Norwegian flagship company benefitting from the occupation
Several Norwegian companies benefit directly from the occupation. The best known was probably Yara, a sub-division of the century old Norwegian flagship company Hydro, who, until this month was buying phosphate from mines in the occupied Western Saharan territories for its production of fertilisers. Even if the the State of Norway is the majority shareholder in Yara, the company saw no reason to inform Minister of Trade Borge Brende that the ompany has dealt in phosphate with Morocco for a decade. Now, however, the company has promised to find its phosphate elsewhere, but it does not rule out a return to Morocco, it says in a statement, even if the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs now for two years has made it very clear that it wishes for Norwegian companies to stay out of Western Sahara. 

-And there are more ….
Among them was TGS Nopec, who was involved in the mapping of potential oil resources under the seabed off the coast of Western Sahara. TGS Nopec was doing this for the French and American oil giants Total and Kerr-McGee, but withdrew after pressure from a long and well-coordinated international campaign for them to do so. The Norwegian Petroleum Fund has since sold its shares in Kerr-McGee, explicitly explaining this, through a declaration from the Morwegian Minister of Finance, Per-Kristian Foss, as a consequence of the company´s “particularly severe violations of basic ethical norms”. Other Norwegian companies benefitting from the occupation include Finsam, which has delievered a factory to produce ice to preserve fish in Laayoune, the capital of Western Sahara, and Selfa Arctic, who has carried out training for Moroccan fishermen, for them to catch more off the coast of Western Sahara. 

Referendum postponed, for fourteen years. So far
For 30 years, the Saharawis have fought Moroccan authorities for their right to self-determination. Now, the exile Saharawi government urges Norway to join the UN in acknowledging Western Sahara´s right to independence, and treat it, diplomatically and otherwise, as such; an independent state. It is now fourteen years since the Saharawis were promised a referendum on the question of self-determination, but ever since, Moroccan authorities have ignored the requests for such a vote to actually take place. Above, the Western Saharan flag, still treated as illegal by the Moroccan occupant.

Norway protested, at last
It was HRH, in cooperation with the Support Committee for Western Sahara, who arranged the two-hour-long mini-seminar with Mr. Khadad. During his brief stay in Norway, Mr. Khadad also had meetings with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a selection of parliamentarians and made the same opinion clear to them; that Norway has to become a lot more proactive, and directly confrontational towards Moroccan authorities on this issue. It was not until a Norwegian delegation, lead by the Bergen Human Rights House based Rafto Foundation´s Arne Lynngard, was arrested and thrown out of Morocco last summer that Norwegian authorities issued a formal protest to Morocco.

-Here, have our last prisoners of war back
Mr. Khadad also drew attention to the fact that 37 Saharawi human rights activists are currently hunger striking in Moroccan prisons. Norway must address the existence of these prisoners with Moroccan authorities, and point out the unacceptability of keeping these prisoners of conscience detained, in many cases without charge or trial. As a last attempt to get something back from Morocco, Polisario has recently unconditionally released its last 404 Moroccan prisoners of war. While these were prisoners who had taken up arms against the Saharawis, none of the Saharawi peace and human rights activists have used or encouraged others to use any kind of violence.

Aminata Haidar, a Saharawi human rights activist, pictured before and after a spell in a Moroccan prison. Photo: Anne Torhld Nilsen and Rådmund Steinsvåg

For further information on Western Sahara, go to the the Support Committee for Western Sahara´s website at www.saih.no/skvs

For direct approaches, please write to wsahara@online.no