Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Sahrawi Slam US Oil Exploration in Western Sahara
Activists warn Kosmos Energy's plans to explore for oil in Western Saharan waters will “put the final nail in the coffin of the Sahrawi people.”
Sahrawi activists have clammed Texas oil company Kosmos Energy for plans to explore for oil off the coast of the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
“By starting oil drilling operations off Cape Bojador, your company would damage world peace, and hurt the Saharwis and their just cause,” the Sahrawi Center for Media and Communication (SCMC) said in a letter to the company.
A copy of the letter was obtained by teleSUR on Wednesday. Kosmos is expected to begin drilling off the Western Saharan coast later this year, according to Reuters. The company claims its exploration is legal under international law.
“Kosmos' activities are focused on exploration and do not involve the removal of resources; and have yet to provide conclusive evidence as to whether hydrocarbon resources, sufficient to justify development, are present,” the company has stated.
On its website, Kosmos states it is “working with the Kingdom of Morocco” to “ensure that if commercial deposits were to be discovered offshore Western Sahara, they could be developed in a manner that both reflects international best practices on resource management and transparency as well as complies with international law.”
However, according to the SCMC, Kosmos' dealings with Morocco are at the heart of the problem.
“All your negotiations and deals were conducted with the Moroccan authorities and not the Sahrawis. This can only mean lack of respect for the rights of the people,” the activist group told the company.
Kosmos was granted exploration rights by Morocco's natural resources and mines ministry, while the Sahrawi say they have been left in the cold.
“It is illegal for international companies to operate in the land and coastal waters of Western Sahara without the consent of its people and without them being consulted and benefiting from these business operations,” the letter asserted.
"The Sahrawi people, living under the brutal yoke of the Moroccan occupation and their exiled relatives living in Algerian refugee camps, oppose Kosmos' plans. They fear that if oil is found in their occupied homeland, Morocco will never abandon its unfounded claim on their country."
However, according to an article from the Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW), the company appears to be pressing ahead with drilling.
The WSRW reported on Tuesday the oil rig commissioned by Kosmos to drill off Western Sahara's coast is “now slowly making its way to the occupied waters.”
“In a few weeks time, the rig may permanently damage the Saharawi people's aspirations to freedom and independence, as it commences unethical and illegal oil drilling in Africa's last colony,” WSRW warned.
Kosmos is the first company to drill for oil in Western Sahara.
"The Sahrawi people, living under the brutal yoke of the Moroccan occupation and their exiled relatives living in Algerian refugee camps, oppose Kosmos' plans. They fear that if oil is found in their occupied homeland, Morocco will never abandon its unfounded claim on their country," WSRW has warned.
The term “colony” refers to Western Sahara's legal status as the last non-self-governing territory in Africa. Most of Western Sahara has been subject to a Moroccan occupation since 1975, when Rabat launched a military invasion. Morocco claims Western Sahara is an integral part of its own territory – though this is disputed by the Sahrawi independence movement, the Polisario.
Although the Polisario has historically enjoyed overwhelming support of the indigenous inhabitants of Western Sahara – the Sahrawi – it only controls a thin strip of the country's eastern desert.
Morocco holds the coast, and all of the territory's major settlements. Moroccan security forces in Western Sahara have been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including repressing Sahrawi culture and freedom of speech.
Activist groups including the SCMC say international investment in the occupied west provide Morocco with an economic incentive to resist Sahrawi calls for a referendum of self-determination.
“By joining hands with Morocco, you are consolidating its sovereignty over Western Sahara,” the SCMC told Kosmos.
“This is exactly what Morocco needs to put the final nail in the coffin of the Sahrawi people,” they warned.
Saharawi Center for Media and Communication sends a Complaint letter to Kosmos Energy about Oil Drilling in Western Sahara.
Saharawi Center for Media and Communication
Elaaiun, Western Sahara
Email: saharawicmc@gmail.com
Date: September 19th, 2014
Mr. William Hayes
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs
Kosmos Energy Ltd.
c/o Kosmos Energy LLC
8176 Park Lane
, Suite 500
Dallas, Texas 75231
USA
RE: Complaint Letter about the illegal upcoming Oil Drilling in Western Sahara.
Dear Sir,
We are writing to you to let you know that we are Sahrawis from the Moroccan controlled side of the occupied territory of Western Sahara, and we strongly denounce your company’s decision to start oil drilling in the coastal waters off Western Sahara, namely in the Cape Bojador, Boujdour block zone.
It is our conclusion that your company’s decision will bring great damage to the Saharawi cause and it is thus rejected by all Sahrawis. Kosmos Energy has no right to conduct business in Western Sahara. Formally, it is illegal for international companies to operate in the land and coastal waters of Western Sahara without the consent of its people and without them being consulted and benefiting from these business operations. Such illegal business is also a direct threat to the whole peace settlement as it puts at stake the right of self-determination by ignoring international law and legality.
On February 5th, 2002 in a letter made public at UN Headquarters in New York, the senior UN Legal Counsel Hans Corell responded to a Security Council request for an opinion on the legality of certain contracts signed by Morocco with foreign companies to explore for mineral resources in Western Sahara. Mr. Corell determined that oil prospecting by foreign companies in disregard of the interests of the people of Western Sahara – the Sahrawi people – would violate international legal principles dealing with territories administered by another country. The Legal Counsel also concluded that as such the specific contracts of the time dealt with in the Security Council’s request were not in themselves illegal. If, however, further exploration and exploitation activities were to proceed without respect to the interests and wishes of the people of Western Sahara, the contracts would be in violation of the international legal principles dealing with non-self-governing territories. We are now at that point.
The Sahrawis believe strongly that your company has neglected then and you did not count them as stakeholders. This is a terrible mistake and very bad for business. In the joint declaration with the Moroccan agency involved, posted on your company’s web site, there are many misleading declarations and statements that will only stir problems and political and social unrest in the territory. Your company’s action will only bring instability to the region and will surely affect neighboring countries. All your negotiations and deals were conducted with the Moroccan authorities and not the Sahrawis. This can only mean lack of respect for the rights of the people. Most Sahrawis interpret your action as an incitement for violence and hatred as you only care about how much you will make at the expense of the Sahrawis and their long lasting misery and suffering. The whole affair is unethical and calls for immediate action from your side to put things back on track to prevent yet another human tragedy in Northwest Africa.
By starting oil drilling operations off Cape Bojador, your company would damage world peace, and hurt the Saharwis and their just cause. By signing an exploration agreement with Morocco, you are going against international efforts to find a just and a mutually accepted solution for the conflict. Also, by joining hands with Morocco, you are consolidating its sovereignty over Western Sahara. This is exactly what Morocco needs to put the final nail in the coffin of the Sahrawi people. You once spoke about "substantial recent progress in resolving the political situation" in Western Sahara to ease things and to present your company as a fortune stimulator, but this is untrue given that the UN led negotiations and peace plan remain a deadlock and things are not very promising as far as a near future solution. If no further action is taken, Sahrawis might consider resorting to international law to assert their rights and to stop your company’s unethical business in occupied Western Sahara.
We think that it is time your company considered the matter afresh, and whether unethical potential revenues can ever be balanced against the obvious risks to the Sahrawi people.
Please accept the assurances of our highest consideration and the hope of the Sahrawi people that your company will reconsider its decision.
We look forward to your early reply in this crucial matter.
Signature,
Saharawi Center for Media and Communication
Elaaiun, Western Sahara
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Monday, July 28, 2014
No End in Sight for Morocco's Media Blackout in Western Sahara
No End in Sight for Morocco's Media Blackout in Western Sahara
Activists say Morocco is systematically targeting journalists who speak out against the brutal occupation of Western Sahara.
Moroccan authorities have been accused of silencing journalists in the disputed territory of Western Sahara in order to cover up human rights abuses.
A sparsely inhabited stretch of desert between Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria, Western Sahara has been administered by the Moroccan government for decades, despite a fervent independence movement led by the indigenous Sahrawi people. However, the political crisis in Western Sahara rarely hits international headlines, largely due to a media blackout in the disputed territory by Morocco's occupation forces, which control around 80 percent of the territory.
Sahrawi journalist Mahmud Al-Haissan is the latest media worker to be targeted by Moroccan authorities.
According to sources in the Moroccan occupied city of El Aaiun, Haissan was arrested on July 2, after reporting on a Sahrawi demonstration for the pro-independence television channel, RASDTV.
Moroccan authorities have alleged Haissan was involved in a violent protest that left several police officers injured – a claim disputed by activists who spoke with teleSUR.
Footage posted on Youtube by the Sahrawi media group Equipe Sahara purportedly shows security forces moving in to disperse the gathering. In the footage, riot police can be seen marching through a neighborhood throwing stones. The Sahrawi group isn't visible, but activists have alleged Moroccan security forces violently dispersed the gathering.
A spokesperson for the El Aaiun-based Sahrawi Center For Media and Communication (SCMC) has told teleSUR that the Sahrawi gathering was “peaceful” until the police arrived and shut down the gathering with force. The SCMC has stated that one of their correspondents saw Haissan near a group of Sahrawi that had gathered on the street to “cheerfully celebrate the sport performance of the Algerian team in Brazil, in the football World Cup”.
Haissan was allegedly arrested merely for reporting on the violent dispersal of the celebration.
The SCMC spokesperson cannot be identified by teleSUR due to fears of reprisals by Moroccan authorities. According to the spokesperson, Haissan wasn't part of the demonstration, but did appear in the RASDTV report.
“According to his family, the Sahrawi journalist Haissan was taken to the Police Prefecture for interrogation, and then he was brought before the public prosecutor the next day on the charges [of] obstruction of traffic, and attacking law enforcement officers,” the SCMC spokesperson stated.
According to the SCMC, when Haissan's lawyers met with him three days later, they “reported seeing visible signs of torture on the prisoner’s [Haissans] body. El Haissan told them, on the other hand, that he had been intimidated and threatened by the public prosecutor who ordered his transfer to the Black Prison”.
The Black Prison is Western Sahara's Bastille. The site became infamous throughout Western Sahara during the years of war between Morocco and the Sahrawi independence movement, the Polisario Front. Scores of Moroccans and Sahrawi alike were tortured on an industrial scale in the secretive prison. Even though the war is effectively over, the Black Prison still exists.
The New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged the Moroccan government to drop charges against Haissan. In a statement issued earlier this month, the CPJ stated Haissan was “charged with protesting illegally, obstructing traffic, and attacking police officers, according to news reports”.
“[Haissan's] family said the journalist had been arrested in retaliation [to] his criticism of police abuse during the demonstrations, according to media reports posted on YouTube,” the CPJ stated.
Following Haissan's arrest during the morning after the demonstration, activists reported that Moroccan police surrounded Haissan's house “to discourage his colleagues from expressing solidarity with him,” the CPJ stated.
Unfortunately, Haissan's case isn't an isolated incident, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator Sherif Mansour told teleSUR.
“Haissan's case is not unusual. As we mention in the alert, coverage of Western Sahara is one of the most sensitive issues in Morocco, according to CPJ research,” Mansour stated.
Is Morocco Covering Up Human Rights Violations?
Morocco has ruled most of Western Sahara with an iron fist since it invaded the territory in late 1975 – just months after the International Court of Justice advised that Western Sahara should be an independent state. Moroccan forces pushed the indigenous Polisario government into the territory's eastern fringe. The Polisario claims it has the support of most Sahrawi living under the Moroccan occupation, though Rabat denies this. A ceasefire has been in effect for over two decades, but the Sahrawi population living under the Moroccan occupation in the west of the territory regularly complains of repression and abuse.
In May, Amnesty International warned that despite Moroccan pledges to stamp out human rights violations, security forces continue to commit abuses. In a report, Amnesty stated that “supporters of self-determination for Western Sahara” and other activists have reported “torture and other ill-treatment … particularly during pre-arraignment detention and interrogation following arrest by the police or gendarmerie”.
Sahrawi activists have claimed Morocco is targeting journalists to cover up massive human rights abuses, and suppress independence advocates. In a recent letter to the United Nation's free speech rapporteur, the SCMC accused Moroccan forces of systematically targeting Sahrawi journalists responsible for the "exposure of the human rights violations committed by the Moroccan police against Sahrawi civilians".
According to the CPJ, the current media blackout on Sahrawi protests dates back to 2004.
The SCMC estimates that around 30 Sahrawi journalists have been “beaten and severely injured” by Moroccan security forces, and 13 have had equipment “confiscated or damaged” over the past four years.
Scores of Sahrawi journalists have already been arrested this year, according to activists in El Aaiun.
Four Sahrawi journalists – Sidi Sbai, Bouamoud Bachir, Jamour Mohamed and Tobali Hafed – were arrested in southern Morocco in February 11, according to the SCMC.
“They were sentenced to four to six months in prison,” the SCMC spokesperson stated. These were small sentences compared to those handed down to Bachir Khadda and Hassan Dah.
Khadda and Dah both worked for Equipe Media – the organization that secretly filmed Moroccan security forces moving in on the protest that led to Haissan's arrest. The two journalists have since been sentenced to 30 and 20 years.
Haissan's fate is set to be decided in a Moroccan court next week.
On the ground, activists are demanding an end to the curtain of silence hanging over the disputed territory.
“Arbitrary arrests, intimidation, assaults against Sahrawi journalists by the Moroccan occupying authorities are attacks on freedom of expression and on freedom of the press,” SCMC warned.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
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Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Desert Storm: Why Canadian fertilizer firms’ phosphate from Western Sahara is causing controversy
Desert Storm: Why Canadian fertilizer firms’ phosphate from Western Sahara is causing controversy
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Armina Ligaya | February 11, 2014 | Last Updated: Feb 11 1:25 PM ET
More from Armina Ligaya | @arminaligaya
On the streets of Laayoune, Western Sahara in May, a boy waves a flag representing the Polisario Front, a separatist group that opposes Morocco’s claim to the territory. Holding up a Polisario flag is an act banned in Western Sahara, the last remaining colony in Africa.
Armina Ligaya/National PostOn the streets of Laayoune, Western Sahara in May, a boy waves a flag representing the Polisario Front, a separatist group that opposes Morocco’s claim to the territory. Holding up a Polisario flag is an act banned in Western Sahara, the last remaining colony in Africa.
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This article appears in the February 2014 edition of the Financial Post Magazine. Visit the iTunes store to download the iPad edition of this month’s issue.
LAAYOUNE, WESTERN SAHARA • A lumbering four-storey-high dragline excavator rumbles and clanks as it digs its teeth into the gritty taupe layers of phosphate rock in the pit below. The machine swivels the excavator’s arm to the right, and hoists the dragline’s scoop, now spilling over, towards the sky. Its dusty haul is dumped on a growing pile in the mine, located in the heart of Western Sahara, a territory on the northwest coast of Africa.
From here, the world’s longest conveyor belt transports the phosphate rock — prized for its phosphorus, a key ingredient in fertilizer — more than 100 kilometres across Western Sahara and offshore to a marine port in the Atlantic Ocean. This phosphate from this isolated region has a global footprint. Shipping vessels then load up with the rock and head to customers in many corners of the globe, including Canadian fertilizer companies PotashCorp of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc. Exporting natural resources would be routine business in most places, but in Western Sahara — the last remaining colony in Africa — it is a political landmine, and some argue, against international law.
The Phosboucraa mine — home to an estimated 1.1 billion cubic metres of phosphate rock — is front and centre in a bitter 30-plus-year battle between Morocco, which took control of Western Sahara in 1976, and the Saharawi people of this region. Much is at stake, financially as well as politically, given that Morocco and Western Sahara are home to 75% of the world’s phosphate reserves, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It’s a battle little discussed on the other side of the world, even by investors looking to cash in on PotashCorp and Agrium’s steady profits in recent years (although both have hit a rough patch in recent months on falling fertilizer nutrient prices).
Concerns over the legality of removing natural resources from the non-self-governing territory — via the Moroccan owned and operated mining company Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP) — has already pushed some investors in PotashCorp and Agrium to either divest their stakes, or press the companies to clarify their involvement. Most recently, four pension funds from Sweden last September announced they were divesting their holdings in PotashCorp over its involvement in the contested region.
The international reach of Phosboucraa’s phosphate is a sore point for many Saharawis. Local groups say Morocco is slowly draining their lucrative natural resources, and that when — or if — their political situation is resolved, there may be little remaining for the people of Western Sahara. Among those with a rightful claim include thousands who were displaced by the decades-long conflict, and are now languishing in refugee camps in neighbouring Algeria and Mauritania.
“I always feel bitterness when I do the math, and see how much money is being plundered,” says Salmani Mohamed, a Saharawi man who lives in Laâyoune. He says his people face discrimination and unemployment, since just 30% of the employees at the Phosboucraa mine are from the territory. Many Moroccans have moved into Western Sahara, enticed by tax breaks and other incentives from the Moroccan government over the years, leaving Saharawis as a minority in their own land.
Mohamed is part of a local group pushing for the protection of Western Sahara’s natural resources, and is calling on international firms to stop their involvement. “This is not right because this is disputed territory,” he says. “And, as long as these foreign companies are accomplices with Morocco plundering the natural resources, this is against the international law.”
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Western Sahara is one of 17 remaining non-self governing territories worldwide, according to the United Nations. At 266,000 square kilometres — slightly smaller than New Zealand — it is the largest of these remaining territories, left behind after a decades-long global decolonization process that has seen 80 former colonies gain independence.
Western Sahara, now with a population of more than 500,000, has been under Moroccan rule since 1976 after Spain, its previous colonial power, vacated the region. After a long and violent war ensued between Morocco and the Polisario Front, a separatist group that opposed Morocco’s claim to the territory, the UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991. But not before thousands of Saharawis fled into nearby countries such as Algeria, where many still languish in refugee camps. The Algerian government currently estimates the number of refugees in its country at 165,000, but the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees pegs the number closer to 90,000 across four camps and one settlement.
A UN plan brokered in 1991 to hold a referendum to allow the people of Western Sahara to decide the fate of their land has been stymied by problems — such as identifying exactly who is Saharawi and eligible to vote after years of migration — and has yet to come to fruition. In late 2010, thousands of indigenous Saharawis organized a massive protest 12 kilometres east of Laâyoune to oppose the Moroccan authorities, gathering at a camp, called Gdeim Izik, says El Idrissi Mohamed Lamine, one of the protesters. The figures cited vary widely, ranging between a few thousand to as many as 38,000 people who set up in tents on the desert sand. The crackdown by the Moroccan authorities was swift, dismantling the camp and dispersing the crowd using light ammunition and arresting hundreds, Lamine says.
Armina Ligaya/National Post
Armina Ligaya/National PostProtesters flash the peace sign during a peaceful demonstration on the streets of Laayoune, Western Sahara, in May. This symbol signals their support for the Polisario Front, a separatist group opposing Morocco's claim to the territory.
It was the first spark of unrest in the North Africa and Middle East region that would go on to be referred to as the Arab Spring (and, ultimately, one little talked about, and with little to no success.) Ongoing frustration in the region over the lack of progress spurred thousands of people to protest in recent months on the streets of Laâyoune. In May, thousands of men and women, of all ages, marched peacefully along the city’s main road, brandishing the red, white, green and black flags of the Polisario Front (an act banned in Morocco). They also chanted “Viva Polisario” and flashed peace signs to signal their support for the separatist group. The protests ended after nightfall, and after rocks were thrown and a car was smashed. Both the government and Saharawi protesters accused each other of violence. Beyond the protests, human rights groups say Saharawis have been the victims of forced disappearances, torture and abuse.
Many Saharawis argue that foreign companies that continue doing business with Morocco in Western Sahara lend a legitimacy to their limbo, and leave little financial incentive for their occupiers to change the status quo. Neither PotashCorp nor Agrium would disclose annual figures or the specific amounts of phosphate rock they source from Western Sahara, and figures are hard to obtain. But PotashCorp said in an April statement that the amount it imports from the mine in Western Sahara represents 6% of the total phosphate processed company-wide.
Armina Ligaya/National Post
Armina Ligaya/National PostThe Moroccan flag flutters in the sun at the port in Laayoune, Western Sahara, on the northwest coast of Africa. From here, phosphate rock from the Phosboucraa mine is deposited onto tankers for export to countries around the world, including Canada.
A Norwegian activist group says PotashCorp is the biggest recipient of the mine’s phosphate with an estimated 720,000 to 840,000 tonnes of phosphate rock per year delivered to its U.S. subsidiary in Geismar, La. At roughly US$108 per tonne in January, it represents a large amount of money and resources out of the hands of the indigenous population, says Erik Hagen, of Norway-based Western Sahara Resource Watch. “It’s kind of a paradox that in one of the world’s richest territories — rich on phosphates, rich on fish — you find at the same time unemployment, marginalization, refugees,” he says.
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PotashCorp says it is mindful of the dispute between Morocco and parties claiming to represent the interests of the inhabitants of Western Sahara. “PotashCorp — and its U.S. subsidiary — has consistently adhered to applicable trade and customs laws regarding the importation of phosphate rock,” it said in a four-page statement issued in April. (The fertilizer company declined to comment further for this article.) “Neither the UN nor any other competent legal authority has concluded that the production and use of phosphate rock from Western Sahara is in violation of international law.”
PotashCorp cites a UN legal opinion that concluded such activities would be illegal “only if conducted in disregard of the needs and interests of the people of that Territory.” Given the amount that OCP has invested in Western Sahara, in terms of employment, social services and infrastructure, its involvement is beneficial for the region, PotashCorp said. A team from the Saskatoon-based company visited Western Sahara in January 2013 to observe this first hand, it added.
But Hagen argues that exports of natural resources, according to the UN, even if beneficial to the people of the territory, must also be done according to their wishes — and many continue to object.
Agrium started importing phosphate rock from OCP, including from the Phosboucraa mine, last June, says Todd Coakwell, Agrium’s director of investor relations. Agrium, too, says its involvement in Western Sahara helps bring jobs and funds into the region. The phosphate rock is destined for Agrium’s Redwater facility in Alberta, which consumes one million tonnes of phosphate rock annually. This plant used to source phosphate rock from Agrium’s mine in Kapuskasing, Ont., but that mine has reached its end life, he says.
“Agrium’s agreement with OCP does comply with the respective trade and custom laws of these jurisdictions,” Coakwell says. “And we certainly sought and received third-party legal advice under international Canadian and U.S. laws to make sure we are in compliance.”
Armina Ligaya/National Post
Armina Ligaya/National PostThe Phosboucraa mine — home to an estimated 1.1 billion cubic metres of phosphate rock — is front and centre in a bitter 30-plus-year battle between Morocco, which took control of Western Sahara in 1976, and the Saharawi people of this region.
But some investors aren’t so sure. In September, four Swedish pension funds known as the AP funds announced they were divesting their holdings in PotashCorp and Australian fertilizer company Incitec Pivot Ltd. for “being purchasers of phosphate from a Moroccan supplier that mines its product in Western Sahara,” said the Ethical Council, which coordinates the funds’ work on environmental and ethical issues.
The Ethical Council in a statement said it has engaged both fertilizer companies since 2010, aiming to persuade them to either stop the practice or prove that the extraction of phosphates complies with the interests and wishes of the local population. “The Ethical Council concludes that further dialogue with Potash and Incitec Pivot would be to no avail as neither company has indicated an intention to cease procurement of phosphate from Western Sahara in the near future or been able to demonstrate that the extractive process accords with the interests and wishes of the Western Saharan people,” it said.
It’s kind of a paradox that in one of the world’s richest territories you find unemployment, marginalization, refugees
Norway’s state pension fund — one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world with about US$818 billion in assets — blacklisted investment in PotashCorp over ethics concerns in 2011. Within the last year, Meritas SRI funds, a Canadian manager of socially responsible equitable funds, has been in dialogue with both Agrium and PotashCorp to clarify their involvement. Generally, though not all agree, the removal of resources from a non-self governing territory by an occupying power is considered contrary to international law, says Gary Hawton, president of Vancouver-based OceanRock Investments, which owns Meritas. “Given that Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara is not internationally recognized, but Potash[Corp] is sourcing the phosphate from OCP, which is a Moroccan state-owned enterprise, Potash[Corp] then could be seen complicit in being both offside international law and generally international human rights accords and agreements as well.”
The intent of Meritas’ ongoing dialogue with both PotashCorp and Agrium is to assess whether they understand the full spectrum of the conflict and the potential pitfalls. “As an investor, we want to understand if they acknowledge the risk,” Hawton says. “We need to make sure that they know that at least one of their investors is raising a yellow or red flag on this issue.”
Executives from OCP, which transformed into a private corporation in 2008 with Morocco owning a 97% stake, say they have heavily invested in the Phosboucraa mine with about US$2 billion in infrastructure and other projects. OCP also says it has made a concerted effort to provide jobs to local Saharawis and invest in social programs, including US$7.5 million in training programs between 2011 and 2013, and US$7 million in social, environmental and health projects between 2007 and 2011. “All the profits which the company is making remain here,” says Mohamed Belhoussain, marketing director of OCP.
As well, between 2001 and 2011, 78% of the more than 1,000 people who were hired were from the region, OCP says. It adds that it has programs for locals to get the skills required to take on jobs at the mine and other facilities, but not everyone is qualified for the roles they need to fill.
Armina Ligaya/National Post
Armina Ligaya/National PostLaâyoune, the largest city of Western Sahara.
“As a private company, we have to manage the operations properly,” says Maoulainine Maoulainine, the mine’s director, through a translator. “Our duty is merely to invest in the region, and contribute to its development. Obviously, there are people who may not be satisfied by the outcome… Sometimes there are just certain needs that cannot be satisfied, [due to] business economics.”
Until just four years ago, the Phosboucraa mine was a losing operation, Belhoussain says. Infrastructure for the phosphate mine was costly, and the market price for phosphate was below US$50 until 2007, according to Index Mundi. But an upswing in phosphate prices in 2008 has put OCP in the black at Phosboucraa. By September 2008, the price skyrocketed to US$430 per tonne. In 2009, the price slipped back down to US$90, but climbed back up to US$165 in June 2013. It has since slipped to about US$108 per tonne. (Overall prices for phosphate and fertilizer nutrients potash and nitrogen have fallen steeply since the start of 2012.)
Meanwhile, global demand for phosphate — key for crops to thrive, and to help feed the world’s growing population — is mounting. The world’s phosphate fertilizer demand increased 2.4% to 41.5 million tonnes in 2012 from 40.6 million tonnes in 2011, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. It is expected to touch 45 million tonnes by 2016, amid worries of dwindling global supply.
Morocco earned money from the company, from Canada, for goods on occupied land
PotashCorp and Agrium both say they have no plans to stop sourcing from Western Sahara in the future. PotashCorp’s U.S. subsidiary requires “very high-quality phosphate rock” to meet the specifications required under a long-term agreement with a customer that produces food-grade phosphoric acid, it says. Other sources, including from its own mines in the U.S., are “not a viable option,” it says. “We recognize the issue is both politically-charged and complicated. Like many interested parties to the dispute, we are looking forward to a peaceful United Nations-sponsored resolution and are encouraged that they continue to work towards this outcome.”
But Norwegian activist Hagen argues that their involvement hampers efforts to reach that goal. “In that difficult negotiation process, Morocco earned money from the company, from Canada, for goods on occupied land,” Hagen says. “Now, why would Morocco enter into any serious peace talks if they earn money from that territory?”
Meanwhile, the Moroccan government is pushing ahead with economic plans for Western Sahara, which includes foreign direct investment and potentially exploring mining and offshore oil reserves, according to the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, a Moroccan government advisory board.
The council’s general secretary Driss Guerraoui says this is aimed at alleviating unemployment problems in Western Sahara, where the rate is between 15.8% and 17%, compared with 9% nationally. Development in the territory has historically been driven by government-led investment, and this model must be changed, he says. “We can’t continue to support public subsistence and finance this development, we need to create a big private sector in order to create more jobs.”
Although Western Sahara’s political status is still in flux, Morocco cannot pause its plans for the region, Guerraoui says. “We are constructing the future and we know there will be a solution,” he told journalists in May. “It’s becoming very urgent, we cannot wait until we reach a resolution… we can’t wait, independent of the political question.”
Armina Ligaya travelled to Western Sahara and Morocco with the support of the International Women’s Media Foundation.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
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Thursday, November 28, 2013
الصحراء الغربية: بين التفاؤل و التشاؤم على اثر التصريح الأمريكي المغربي المشترك
الصحراء الغربية: بين التفاؤل و التشاؤم على اثر التصريح الأمريكي المغربي المشترك
كثر اللغط و الجدال مؤخرا حول زيارة ملك المغرب للولايات المتحدة الأمريكية و ما تلا ذلك من تصريح مشترك لملك المغرب و الرئيس الأمريكي بخصوص قضية الصحراء الغربية.
يمكن تفسير و تأويل التطورات الأخيرة التي تهم قضية الصحراء على مستوى الساحة الأمريكية و ربطها بالظروف و التغيرات الجهوية و الدولية.
هذا التأويل يمكن تناوله من منظارين:
1 - المنظار الأول:
فوجئ الرأي العام الوطني و الدولي بتصريح للناطق الرسمي للبيت الأبيض بقوله أن مبادرة الحكم الذاتي يمكن أن تكون مقاربة محتملة لحل النزاع بكونها ذات مصداقية و جدية و واقعية. نفس الشيء أشار إليه التصريح المشترك بعد لقاء ملك المغرب و الرئيس الأمريكي حين نعت مبادرة الحكم الذاتي بكونها ذات مصداقية و جدية و واقعية و لكن في إطار حل سياسي مقبول و متوافق عليه. كما أن التصريح آتى على ذكر مسألة حقوق الإنسان و ضرورة العمل على تحسينها و النهوض بها من أجل تمكين الشعب الصحراوي من العيش بكرامة. و التزم الزعيمان بالسهر على ذلك دون إغفال قضية الثروات و تمكين الشعب الصحراوي من الاستفادة منها. البيان شدد على حكم المبعوث الدولي أيضا.
في قراءة سريعة لهذه الأحداث المتسارعة، نجد أن الموقف الأمريكي المتضمن في هذا التصريح المشترك يبدو تقليديا و كلاسيكيا إذا ما نظرنا إلى كرونولوجيا الأحداث حيث أن الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية تحت إدارة اوباما قد نوهت بمبادرة الحكم الذاتي أثناء الحوار الاستراتيجي بين المغرب و USA و مرة ثانية على لسان وزيرة الخارجية السابقة هيلاري كلينتون في مارس 2011. و بالتالي فهذا التصريح يبدو فقط كإعادة لمواقف مهادنة سابقة لمحاباة المغرب. التنصيص على حقوق الإنسان هنا يدل على أن الإدارة الأمريكية تدخل على الخط الحقوقي بكل ثقلها في قضية الصحراء، و بالتالي سنرى تحولات حقوقية مهمة في الصحراء الغربية بما فيها الترخيص للجمعيات و حق التظاهر من بين حقوق أخرى ما فتئ الصحراويون يطالبون فيها.
من جانب أخر تحاول أمريكا أن توازن موقفها فتؤكد في البيان أن الحل يجب أن يكون توافقي و برعاية الأمم المتحدة، كما أنه يشيد بجهود المبعوث الشخصي للأمم المتحدة، السيد كريستوفر روس، و بالتالي هذا تأكيد على أن أمريكا تثق في رجلها و تدعمه بكل ثقلها.
أما بخصوص ملف الثروات فإن البيان لم يكن واضحا بشأنه و لكن تمت الإشارة إليه بصفة مقتضبة على أساس تمكين الشعب الصحراوي من الاستفادة بصفة مباشرة من عائدات تلك الثروات لتمكينه من العيش الكريم.
لقد تجنب الملك المغربي أن يأخذ معه أي صحفي لتغطية الحدث، كما أن البيت الأبيض تجنب إقامة ندوة صحافية كما جرت العادة عليه و ذلك لرغبة العاهل المغربي في تفادي الإحراج و الأسئلة المحرجة له.
يضاف إلى هذا، أن تشكيلة الوفد المغربي اقتصرت فقط على حكومة الظل و استثنى منها وزراء حزب العدالة و التنمية. هذا الوفد يترأسه صديق الملك "فؤاد علي الهمة" الذي يعتبر حامل الأسرار و طباخ القرارات و مهندس النظام المغربي.
الصحافة الأمريكية و القنوات المتلفزة لم تحتفي بهذه الزيارة و لم تولها اهتماما باستثناء صحيفة آو اثنتين، هذا الجفاء ليس بالغريب حيث أن صحيفة NEWYORK TIMES وWASHINGTON TIMES و WASHINGTON POST و BOSTON GLOBE و غيرهم من الصحف و القنوات الإعلامية لم تأتي في صف المغرب في الفترة الأخيرة، خصوصا آن العديد من المقالات المنشورة انتقدت المغرب و تحدثت بصفة ايجابية عن الصحراء الغربية و الصحراويين.
و لقد أقيم حفل عشاء ترأسه وزير الخارجية المغربية لكن الحضور كان بئيسا و غابت عنه العديد من الوجوه المهمة، و شهد غياب العائلة الملكية. في حين نجد أن البيت الأبيض لم يقم مأدبة عشاء كما حدث أثناء لقاء العاهل المغربي و الرئيس الأمريكي "بوش".
المغرب يتطلع من خلال هذه الزيارة إلى رفع مستواه من شريك استراتيجي إلى حليف.
إلى هنا تبدو الأمور جيدة و تسير بوتيرة عادية، إلى حد ما لصالح القضية الصحراوية مع وجود بعض الشوائب التي لابد منها في السياسة.
و لكن...
عندما نربط الأحداث بعضها البعض، و نقرأ بين السطور، سيتضح لنا ما خفي، و سنفاجأ بقراءة أخرى تجعلنا ندق ناقوس الخطر و نقرع أجراس التعبئة و الاستعداد و هذا سيحيلنا على المنظار الثاني.
2- المنظار الثاني:
لقد رأينا العاهل المغربي يكثف من جولاته على مستوى إفريقيا، و يعزز من الحضور المغربي بين الدول الإفريقية رغبة منه في تمتين العلاقات المغربية الإفريقية، و في محاولة للاستحواذ على المشهد الإفريقي و خصوصا في منطقة مالي و الساحل فزيارته لمالي لم تكن زيارة مجاملة أو ذات بعد إنساني، كما أن محاولة التدخل عنوة و بكل السبل في أزمة مالي كان يريد منها كسب مقعد محاور و طرف شريك في إيجاد حل في إطار التدخل الغربي هناك. لا ننسى أيضا أن القارة الإفريقية و خصوصا منطقة مالي و الساحل تزخر بمخزون هائل للطاقة و البترول و المعادن النفسية الشيء الذي يسيل لعاب أمريكا و حلفائها و بالتالي المغرب، عن طريق فرض نفسه بوابة الغرب نحو إفريقيا، و وسيط تجاري محتمل مستقبلا. التدخل المغربي في إفريقيا يأخذ بعدا دينيا ( حالة السينغال )، بعدا اقتصاديا ( حالة موريتانيا و بوركينافاصو و السينغال) و بعدا استراتيجيا (حالة مالي). يضاف إلى كل هذا، فالمغرب يشهر ورقة محاربة الإرهاب في وجه أمريكا، و يستغل تغلغل القاعدة في شمال إفريقيا من أجل خطب ود الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية للتبخيس من دور الجزائر و للضرب في مصداقية و وجود جبهة البوليساريو.
انطلاقا من كل هذه الوقائع و الحقائق، فإن زيارة العاهل المغربي لواشنطن في هذا التوقيت لم تكن بريئة و ذات أبعاد متعددة. فالمغرب يحاول تحقيق أجندته الاقتصادية و السياسية و الإستراتيجية و التسويق لها أمريكيا. إن العائق الكبير للمغرب نحو فرض نفسه كقوة محورية و كحليف عربي إفريقي مسلم، و كبديل للأنظمة التي سقطت في شمال إفريقيا و الشرق الأوسط في إطار الغضب العربي، و على ضوء توتر العلاقات السعودية الأمريكية فرنسا لم تعد دركي إفريقيا مع انتهاء الحرب الباردة و مجيء العولمة، الكل صار الآن يريد قطعة من الكعكة الإفريقية.
للوصول إلى ذلك، فإن المغرب يحاول التخلص من المشكل الصحراوي بصفة تحفظ له ماء الوجه و تعزز من مكانته إفريقيا و دوليا، بالإضافة إلى جعل نفسه الحارس الجديد لإفريقيا الشمالية و الساحل. لذلك زيارة الملك كانت من أجل التسويق لكل هذا لتوفير الأجواء الملائمة له.
إن البيان المشترك للعاهل المغربي و الرئيس الأمريكي تمت صياغته بحيث يبدو انه متوازن و يرضي جميع الأطراف. إلا أن الغريب في الأمر هو كون هذا التصريح يحمل بين طياته العديد من الرسائل الملغومة للقضية الصحراوية و للصحراويين قيادة و شعبا.
أولا: أتى الحديث على قضية الصحراء لأول مرة على لسان رئيس أمريكي عوض ترك ذلك لموظفين أو كبار الساسة الأمريكيين. هذا الأمر ليس مطمئنا على أساس أن هناك توجه رسمي أمريكي يترأسه الرئيس لمحاباة و مهادنة المغرب و العاهل المغربي.
ثانيا: للمتمعن في التصريح المشترك، سيلاحظ أن الحديث عن مقترح الحكم الذاتي و التنويه به يعتبر غير مفهوم على أساس أن الإدارة الأمريكية الآن تحاول بذلك ضمنيا تحويل القضية الصحراوية من قضية سياسية إلى قضية إنسانية تضمن للمغرب السيادة في إطار الحكم الذاتي، و تضمن للصحراويين حقوقهم الاقتصادية و الاجتماعية و الثقافية و غيرها لتمكينهم من العيش الكريم و بحرية على حسب تعبير التصريح المشترك. هذا الأمر أو التحول يعتبر خطيرا جدا إذا ما كان هذا التأويل صحيحا و له تداعيات خطيرة على القضية الصحراوية.
ثالثا: لقد ذكر التصريح أن الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية ترى إمكانية الحل في إطار الأمم المتحدة و قرارات مجلس الأمن و التوصيات الأممية. إلا أن الشيء الخطير هنا هو أنه لم يأتي أي ذكر للاستفتاء و حق تقرير المصير. لقد تم بتر هذا الجزء المتعلق بهذا الحق من هذه الفقرة التي ما فتئنا نراها كاملة غير مبتورة في توصيات و قرارات الأمم المتحدة عندما يتعلق الأمر بقضية الصحراء الغربية و حق الصحراويين الغير قابل للتصرف منذ القرار الأممي سنة 1963.
رابعا: إن الفقرة الأخيرة في البيان المشترك تنص على أن الزعيمان يلتزمان بالنهوض بوضعية حقوق الإنسان لشعب الصحراء الغربية. و لكن هذا الأمر يعد انعطافا غير مسبوق في إطار تناول وضعية حقوق الإنسان في الصحراء لأنه استثنى المينورسو من هذا الالتزام. فالمينورسو هي التي يجب أن تراقب وضعية حقوق الإنسان.
و بالتالي تم اختزال مراقبة حقوق الإنسان و حصرها بين المغرب عن طريق مؤسساته المخزنية، و الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية عن طريق المنظمات الحقوقية، هذا إن كان أمرا مهما إلا أنه لا يكب في مصلحة الصحراويين. هذا الدور يجب أن تضطلع به البعثة الأممية المينورسو كما هو الحال عليه لدى البعثات الأخرى في باقي دول العالم.
يا ترى، بعد كل هذا، هل نحن نشهد بداية تحول خطير و جدري للموقف الأمريكي الذي عرف بالحياد و بالرجوع إلى الشرعية الدولية على غرار الرسالة الأمريكية الصادرة عن البيت الأبيض فيما يخص استثناء منطقة الصحراء الغربية من اتفاقية التجارة الحرة؟
لقد ذكر " حدامين مولود سعيد " في مقال له صادر في بداية صيف هذا العام أن مجموعة موالية للمغرب في الكونغرس الأمريكي بقيادة النائب : DIAZ BALART ، و التي أصدرت توصية بضرورة دعم المغرب فيما يتعلق بمقترح الحكم الذاتي بالصحراء الغربية في ظل السيادة المغربية. ربما يكون هذا تفسيرا محتملا لهذا التأويل المحتمل عن التغيير المفاجئ للموقف الأمريكي. إلا أنه في نفس الوقت لن نعرف بالتأكيد إن كانت هذه الشكوك في محلها أم لا بدون أن ننتظر و نتريث لغاية معرفة إن كان الرئيس الأمريكي اوباما سيوقع على مرسوم مجلس الشيوخ الأمريكي الذي يربط المساعدات العسكرية للمغرب باحترام حقوق الإنسان في الصحراء الغربية. هذا التوقيع سيكون في شهر ديسمبر العام الجاري.
رئيس لجنة الشؤون الخارجية في الكونغرس و رئيس لجنة العلاقات الخارجية في مجلس الشيوخ من المؤسسين سنة 1998 للجنة البرلمانية للصحراء الغربية، و انضموا مؤخرا إلى جانب المغرب و كانوا من الموقعين على رسالة لاوباما قبل زيارة ملك المغرب لواشنطن، طالبوا فيها اوباما بضرورة التعاون مع المغرب و دعمه، هذا التحول خطير و خسارة كبيرة لحلفاء كبار في السلطة التشريعية في أمريكا بالنسبة لصحراء الغربية. فلماذا هذا التحول المفاجئ؟ و لماذا انفضوا من حولنا؟
خلاصة القول، إن السياسة لا تعرف صديقا و لا عدوا. فهي مبنية على المصالح و ترسم طريقها الاستراتيجيات.
إن ترحيب القيادة الصحراوية بالبوليساريو بمضامين هذا التصريح المشترك يمكن أن يكون صك اعتراف به ضمنيا ضدها مستقبلا إذا ما صدقت التأويلات.
القضية الصحراوية قضية عادلة، و الشعب الصحراوي شعب متميز، اختار احترام القوانين الدولية. إن نضاله السلمي خير شاهد على طينة هذا الشعب الذي بذل الغالي و النفيس و الكثير من التضحيات الجسام، و قدم العديد من الشهداء في سبيل استصدار حقه في تقرير المصير.
فهل يا ترى ستنصف أمريكا و العالم الشعب الصحراوي، بعيدا عن الحسابات السياسية الضيقة و البراغماتية؟
بقلم: محمد إبراهيم
27 نوفمبر 2013
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
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Thursday, November 07, 2013
Strife in the Sahara
http://www.youtube.com/v/_lexOBpKy5k?version=3&autohide=1&showinfo=1&autohide=1&autoplay=1&feature=share&attribution_tag=-DLulRzNuFIzaP0a9hQCMw
Sunday, October 27, 2013
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