Sunday, February 20, 2011

Social Media and Academia`s importance in Western Sahara territorial conflict resolution

Be the change you want to see in the world". New Media  empower us to be that change for peace.

By providing self-expression and interaction,  social media tools pave the way toward  conflict resolution in nowadays territorial disputes . A base line to  transfers of knowledge on social networks like Youtube, Facebook   and Twitter empower us to build understanding  and correct any misconceptions through lateral learning. While it is considered that teaching tends to be top-down, lateral learning  allows to  learn from one another  through day-day updates. We decide what we learn, as well as where, when and how.

Since the cease-fire between the Polisario and Morocco-monitored by MINURSO (UN)-has been in effect since 1991, the war has changed   tools and lands. The  territory conflict took  place on other fronts:  Social Media and diplomacy.

 In this paper, I shall tackle the importance of social media and the academic field as being part  and parcel of the Western Sahara conflict resolution.

Social media become a key weapon in what the press once termed as an`` arsenal of Internet tools``, it is playing a growing role for several reasons. There is a dramatic  increase in use of social networking through  the new  Moroccan generation and thanks to the democratic and openness process  in terms of freedom of speech  that Morocco was engaged  in since the last decade. This has galvanized large constituencies in and outside Morocco who are eager to lend their side in the media battle .

Yet  without  efficient media communication but also a global strategy, Morocco will remain weak in front of this grounded machine of the Polisario and Algeria.

The  case of Aminatou Haidar  is a striking  example of this  Polisario-Algeria social media  success. This woman is very well  known in the  Communcation and Media world: Sensitizing people and disseminating  misinformation repeatedly .
She has gained the field and many people`s hearts ,especially big  NGO`s through her so called  fight  against Morocco`s  Human  Rights Abuses`,  yet where are these abuses nowadays, do you they really still exist?

Morocco has   shown its democratic process by admitting its human rights abuses   and this through the establishment of  IER ( Instance of Justice and Reconciliation) .
Aminatou Haidar  and many like  her  were compensated with a huge amount of  money through IER. This  woman was given    the  freedom to travel all over the world with her  Moroccan  citizenship and inviting who  she wants to Morocco –her country, but  during  her trips she has been indoctrinating people and the international community with her lies and untruth about Morocco .Mrs.Aminatou has  used  the   most  used  media outlets  and social websites for  her propaganda, let alone the  money given by  the N1 peace process stumbling block –Algeria to run this propaganda
Morocco   has always done its utmost best by giving the rights to all the  Sahrawi in the Southern Province and integrating them into  the development process of the kingdom. I  will cite the democratic election of Cheikh Biaddillah  as an MP- whose family members have  key role position within the Polisario .Rachid Ould Souilm former founding Polisario who joined Morocco and made it cut and clear that  his  decision to join, comes from the fact that  Algeria is the main orchestrator of the conflict and it uses the population against their will. Mustapha Ould   Salma former Inspector General of the Judicial  RASD Police  who went to Morocco  to announce  his support for the autonomy plan  and his determination to defend Morocco`s credible solution   and its international relevance once he returns to the Tindouf camps . Until today no one knows Mustapha Ould Salma`s whereabouts.

The Polisario mobilizes a lot of people to vehicle its propaganda ,and  doctrine. In the  Metros  of  Madrid, one can see  Polisario  pamphlets lies being handed out to people. Approximately all the Spanish artists were endoctrinated by the  Polisario ideas. This can be seen during last year`s   manifestations lead by hundreds of Spanish in the streets  of  Madrid claiming Aminatou as Human rights activists and Morocco the colonizer .  Just this months , tents were laid out in the streets of Madrid  in support of the polisario making the information spread at an unprecedented speed .
In the  United States, many  Aminatou Hadair`s figures like  start to come out on  the  scene.In Amherst where I teach , I was  appalled to hear a student  from Tindouf  camps  disseminating  untrue information about Morocco in the Five  Colleges. I witnessed students  coming to me and  asking reasons
1-why Morocco still<span> Colonizes</span> Western Sahara,
2-why  Morocco commits  beatings and tortures on these vulnerable Saharaoui,
3-Why  Morocco uses Sahara`s natural resources-Phosphates- to its benefits and leave the Sahraoui starve in the Tindouf  Camps.

 I was flabbergasted to notice that many in this  Academic  arena  believe that Morocco is the criminal and the  Polisario is the victim, not being informed about  the historical events as well as the  whole development  process that  Morocco experiences from the North  to its the  southern provinces .

Another striking truth , at the academic field in the United States, there  are many resources and a large bibliography of books  tackling only one side of the  conflict :Morocco being the source of occupation,  let alone those visits from  representatives of our protagonists side  and the conferences held regularly in the Academic arena .

 This, should be  taken seriously, the Moroccans working  in Academia in the United States along with the government support should start  realizing  that this is a   very  serious issue that should be considered . Academic events should take place in order to correct these fallacies. Panels should be organized in these academic institutions and experts should be invited to talk about this conflict while mentioning the international law –that doesn`t recognize the word`` occupation`` - including the United Nations and the MINURSO.A state which is run by the Polisario, Marxist and non-democratic whose president is in power since 1979.While in Morocco, which is the most democratic country in the MENA region,in Tindouf ,NGO`s are not allowed to enter the camps without the Algerian Visa that they hardly ever get .


Time has come to get all Moroccan academicians and intellectual minds along with civil society actors  involved interdependently in counterattacking these invalid inferences.

By Yasmine Hasnaoui

Mustapha Ould Sidi Mouloud released after 71 days of detention from the Polisario because of political view

Mustapha Ould Sidi Mouloud released after 71 days of detention from the Polisario because of political view


Mustapha Ould Sidi Mouloud, 42, former Inspector General of the Judicial Police of the Polisario, was kidnapped on Sept. 21 because he spoke out in favor of Morocco’s compromise autonomy plan to end the 35 year-long-old Western Sahara conflict.

Early in August Mustapha Ould Sidi Mouloud gave a press conference in Smara in the Southern Provinces denouncing the unbearable living conditions of the people living in the Tindouf camps. The camps, located in Southwestern Algeria, are run by the Polisario Front. The Saharawi people living there are reportedly denied the right to seek citizenship or refugee status. Recently, more than 1,500 people escaped to Morocco and many described abuse, slavery and deprivation of food in the camps.

Mustapha Ould Sidi Mouloud stated his determination to return to the camps in order show his support for the Moroccan plan for autonomy, which was a compromise negotiated between the Polisario and Morocco with the help of the U.N. It was seen as a solution to the long-running conflict which was sparked by Morocco’s reintegration in the Western Sahara, after being colonized by Spain. Moroccan forces and the Polisario guerrillas had fought for years until the two sides agrees to a ceasefire in 1991.

Under the plan for autonomy, Rabat, the Moroccan capital, pledged to grant Western Sahara widespread autonomy, which allowed the Southern Provinces the right to raise taxes and deal with regional issues and have their own parliament.

But upon his arrival in the Tindouf camps Sept. 21, Mustapha Ould Sidi Mouloud was arrested. His disappearance engendered an outcry from the international community, namely Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which vehemently condemned the abduction and expressed their concern for Mustapha. His health was believed to be worsening daily, following the injury he suffered when he was shot by the Polisario’s militia during his abduction.
Last month, Mustapha’s father and brother decided to take a courageous step, traveling to the United States to ask for help from the government, the Congress and human rights organizations to plead for the release of Mustapha as well as help to clarify his fate.

Mustapha’s father fought tirelessly for his son’s release, traveling not only to Washington D.C. but also to Madrid and Algiers. In Algiers he was detained and interrogated for a whole day before being released.

After continuous pressure from the international community, the international human rights organizations and the local Moroccan NGOs, Mustapha Ould Sidi Mouloud was released by the Polisario on Nov. 30. He is now in Mauritania and is not allowed to go back to the Tindouf camps where his wife lives with his newborn baby girl whom he has not still seen .

The release of Mustapha Ould Sidi Mouloud is an example of what activism can achieve. Celebrating the 2010 Human Rights Day is an important moment for all of us, highlighting the values that we care about: freedom, democracy and human rights. They are the very same values that Mustapha Ould Sidi Mouloud and other Human Right activists are fighting for.

On Saturday we will have the opportunity to hear the stories from human rights defenders from all walks of life.

Yasmine Hasnaoui is an Amnesty International member who is a professor languages and Moroccan culture in the Department of Asian Languages and Civilization at Amherst College

Being the exception or not? …that`s the question! by Yasmine Hasnaoui


During the riots that  shook Tunisia on  daily basis , many Moroccans have been following the events live either on facebook, Twitter ,youtube and the like.They gave their point of view , replayed the videos of the manifestations, supported the Tunisian and the Egyptian people on their actions toward democracy, denounced virtually the barbarian acts by the mercenaries . This episode has but further strengthened the presence of Moroccans on the Social Media outlets in which they showed their incisiveness.


Thanks to the easy and cheapest access to different telecommunication  carriers there are now around 80,000 Moroccan bloggers in the Kingdom,and approximately 2 million who use social network.An increase of 10,000% subscribers has been registered in  five years ( Source : National Agency of Telecommunication Authority (NTRA).

The recent events in Morocco show that it started from these social media tools which were undoubtedly ignited from the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. The question is , will these manifestation continue? Will there be a real revolution or an exception?  Will the butterfly revolution   in  the Arab world stop at the doors of the Moroccan Kingdom?

Objectively and one has to admit that Morocco has the means to  manage a social protest given the fact that it has undertaken major reforms  in the last eleven years and it continues to do so however on the other hand , Morocco has the same requests of young people of the MENA regions in the labor market due to the inequality at work .Adding to that, dissatisfaction with the Moroccan policy has been high in the last four years. Youth are mostly detached from Trade unions and political parties, the high level of abstentions in the last elections speak of themselves. This leads to conclude that there is a lot to do in governance ,thus Morocco is not an exception from making these youth going into the street and ask for change in the government and renewing its body while being with the monarchy and respecting its duties. Just to recall, since the enthronement of the king Mohammed VI , press freedom improved, non-profit organization increased and benefited from the government aid and the Arab world`s only truth and reconciliation committee was set to address the past human rights violations.

 Yet a lot has  to be done and this call will give a boost in the change process in Morocco and a strong message to the king`s entourage namely   government officials. No one denies that the king has done a lot  since he came the throne, he has instilled a politics of proximity with his people.

Today`s event will allow the government and the political elite to realize that the situation is not on their side and they have to set up to the plate and follow the king`s willingness and determination in the betterment of the country excluding nepotism and favoritism.

On the other hand of the game,to bring about the real change ,youth and everyone  have to set up to the polls and vote with determination and conviction-this will be a catalyst in Morocco`s 2012 elections

Yasmine Hasnaoui ,
Assistant Professor,Amherst