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

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