Sahrawi Republic

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic National motto: Liberty, Democracy, Unity Official language Arabic (Spanish is widely used as a second language) Capital and largest city (العيون) - Arabic translitteration -- El Aaiún - Spanish translitteration -- Laâyoune - French translitteration; Bir Lehlou, temporary capital President Mohamed Abdelaziz Prime Minister Abdelkader Taleb Oumar Area - Total - % water Ranked 83rd 266,000... The politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic take place in a framework of an area occupied and claimed by Morocco, and a republic in exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, that doesnt recognize the claims by Morocco. ...

Constitution President Mohamed Abdelaziz Prime Minister Abdelkader Taleb Oumar National Council Political parties Polisario Front Elections Foreign relations Free Zone

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Main article: Western Sahara

The Free Zone is the part of Western Sahara that lies to the east of the Border Wall and the actual border with Algeria (for map, see external links). Western Sahara is on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The office of President of Western Sahara is a head of state position over the parliamentary government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. ... Mohamed Abdelaziz, pictured c. ... This page contains a list of Prime Ministers of Western Sahara. ... Abdelkader Taleb Oumar (Arabic: عبد القادر طالب عمر) is the current Prime Minister of Western Sahara, in the framework of the exiled Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). ... The Sahrawi National Council or simply National Council (SNC) is the parliament in exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. ... Political parties in Western Sahara lists political parties in Western Sahara. ... The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro) is a Sahrawi movement working for the independence of... Elections in Western Sahara gives information on election and election results in Western Sahara. ... Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony claimed and mostly administered by Morocco since Spain abandoned the territory in 1975-76, but sovereignty is unresolved and the United Nations is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue through the mission MINURSO. Part of the territory is controlled by the... The Free Zone is in yellow on the map. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... The sand wall of Western Sahara is an approximately 2,700 km-long defensive structure, running through Western Sahara and the southeastern portion of Morocco. ... The United Nations maintains a list of territories that do not govern themselves. ...

The area is patrolled by Polisario forces ^[1], and access is restricted, even among Sahrawis, due to the harsh climate of the Sahara, the military conflict and the abundance of land mines.^[2] Still, the area is traveled and inhabited by many Sahrawi nomads from the Tindouf refugee camps of Algeria and the Sahrawi communities in Mauritania. Both Morrocan and United Nations MINURSO forces are also present in the area. The UN forces oversee the cease-fire between Polisario and Morocco agreed upon in the 1991. Settlement Plan.^[3]. The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Peoples Liberation Front of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro) is an army and political movement in the Western Sahara, comprising... A landmine is a type of mine which is placed onto or into the ground and explodes when triggered by a vehicle or person. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Tindouf, also written Tinduf, (Arabic: تندوف) is a city and wilaya in the west of Algeria, population 30,000. ... Refugee camp for Rwandans located in what is now the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo following the Rwandan Genocide A refugee camp is a camp built up by governments or NGOs (such as the ICRC) to receive refugees. ... The Kingdom of Morocco is a country in northwest Africa. ... The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ... MINURSO is a UN peacekeeping mission, established in 1991 to monitor the ceasefire and to organize and conduct a referendum which would enable the people of Western Sahara to choose between integration with Morocco and independence. ... An armistice is the effective end of a war, when the warring parties agree to stop fighting. ... The Settlement Plan was an agreement between the Polisario Front and Morocco on the organization of a referendum, which would constitute an expression of self-determination for the Sahrawi people of the non-decolonized territory of Western Sahara, possibly leading to full independence. ...

The Polisario forces (of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army, SPLA) in the area are divided into seven "military regions", each controlled by a top commander reporting to the President of the Polisario proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic^[4]. The total size of the Polisario's guerrilla army present in this area is unknown, but it is believed to number a few thousand men, despite many combantants being demobilized due to the cease-fire^[5]. These forces are dug into permanent positions, such as gun emplacements, defensive trenches and underground military bases, as well as conducting mobile patrols of the territory.^[6] The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro) is a Sahrawi movement working for the independence of... The office of President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a head of state position over the parliamentary government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), an exile government based in the refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria. ... Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An armistice is the effective end of a war, when the warring parties agree to stop fighting. ...

Major Sahrawi political events, such as Polisario congresses and sessions of the Sahrawi National Council (the SADR parliament in exile) are held in the Free Zone (especially in Tifariti and Bir Lehlou), since it is considered politically and symbolically important to conduct political affairs on Sahrawi territory. A concentration of forces for the commemoration of the Saharawi Republic’s 30th anniversary ^[7] were however subject to condemnation by the United Nations^[8], as it was considered an example of a cease-fire violation to bring such a large force concentration into the area. Both parties have been accused of such violations by the UN, but to date there has been no serious hostile action from either side since 1991. The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro) is a Sahrawi movement working for the independence of... The Sahrawi National Council or simply National Council (SNC) is the parliament in exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. ... Tifariti is a small town or village in the Polisario-held parts of Western Sahara. ... The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ...

Annual demonstrations against the Moroccan Wall are staged in the region by Sahrawis and international activists from Spain, Italy and other mainly European countries. These actions are closely monitored by the UN.^[9] World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven continents of the Earth. ...

Tifariti, in the northeast Free Zone, 2005

Image File history File linksMetadata Tifariti_2005. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Tifariti_2005. ... Tifariti is a small town or village in the Polisario-held parts of Western Sahara. ...

External links

United Nations (Map):

• [ http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/dpko/minurso.pdf ] Minurso Deployment as of October 2006, Map No. 3691 Rev. 53 United Nations, October 2006 (Colour), Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Cartographic Section

See also

• History of Western Sahara

// Background The Western Sahara area has never formed a state in the modern sense of the word. ...

References

1. ^ http://www.newint.org/issue297/wall.html "Up Against the Wall", Chris Brazier, New Internationalist Magazine (297), December 1998
2. ^ Landmine Action UK, “Explosive Ordnance Disposal and technical survey in Polisario-controlled areas of Western Sahara,” Project proposal, February 2006, p. 2 - 4, quoted in Land Mine Report, Western Sahara, http://www.icbl.org/lm/2006/western_sahara.html#fn16 , footnote 15 and 17
3. ^ http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/minurso/ MINURSO homepage Accessed May 21, 2006
4. ^
   • http://www.arso.org/bhatia2001.htm Western Sahara under Polisario Control: Summary Report of Field Mission to the Sahrawi Refugee Camps (near Tindouf, Algeria) by Michael Bhatia, 2001
   • http://www.newint.org/issue297/wall.html "Up Against the Wall", Chris Brazier, New Internationalist Magazine (297), December 1998
   • http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/book-2056 Michael Palin, "Sahara with Michael Palin" ISBN 0297843036, 2002
5. ^ http://www.arso.org/bhatia2001.htm Western Sahara under Polisario Control: Summary Report of Field Mission to the Sahrawi Refugee Camps (near Tindouf, Algeria) by Michael Bhatia, 2001
6. ^
   • http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/photogallery.php?offset=10&photobook=1&series=12 Michael Palin, "Sahara with Michael Palin" ISBN 0297843036, 2002
   • http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4132213,00.html "Saharan rebels stranded in camps, casualties of the stalemate between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario rebels; 100,000 refugees subsist on aid." by Rory Carroll in Tifarity, Guardian, Wednesday February 7, 2001
   • http://www.newint.org/issue297/wall.html New Internationalist, Chris Brazier, "Up Against the Wall", New Internationalist Magazine (297), December 1998* http://www.tobysavage.co.uk/Article%20texts/4x4%20mag%20WS%20article.html
   • http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/book-2056 Michael Palin, "Sahara with Michael Palin" ISBN 0297843036, 2002
7. ^ http://www.spsrasd.info/sps-e270206.html Commemoration of the Saharawi Republic’s 30th anniversary in liberated territories of Western Sahara Sahara Press Service, February 27, 2006
8. ^ http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/310/51/PDF/N0631051.pdf?OpenElement Secretary General's report to Security Council on Western Sahara , 19 April 2006
9. ^ http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/310/51/PDF/N0631051.pdf?OpenElement Secretary General's report to Security Council on Western Sahara , 19 April 2006 (pdf file)