In its protracted dealings on the Western Sahara issue, the United Nations Security Council persists in urging ”the parties” to reach a political solution.
It did this again recently when, after a three-minute meeting, the mandate for the UN mission in the disputed territory (Minurso) was extended for a further six months.
In fact, there is only one party — Morocco — that still needs spurring in this 29-year process.
The government-in-exile of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) has accepted the UN formula for ending the illegal occupation of its country by Morocco.
But because this peace plan calls for a referendum of the people of the Western Sahara, Morocco knows it cannot possibly pass this test.
And Morocco’s backer, France, will not press it to do so because it fears that losing the territory would be a lethal blow to the shaky throne of King Mohammed VI and begin the disintegration of his kingdom.
The divisive impact of the Western Sahara was dramatically illustrated at the gathering in Sandton last month of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) steering committee when those at the helm of Africa’s rescue plan retraced familiar positions on the continent’s last colonial issue.
Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bou-teflika weighed in with a detailed motivation of his government’s support for the estimated 250 000 Saharawis who have sought refuge in his country. They have been there since Morocco’s invasion 29 years ago.
He reiterated Algeria’s energetic support for the Saharawis’ right to self-determination as it had for other countries such as Belize, Surinam or Timor. He gave an assurance that Algeria was not about to wage war on Morocco in pursuit of this.
”Algeria will never declare war on Morocco, because we are men of peace. In the border war of 1963 the victor was neither Algeria nor Morocco, but war.
”The Western Sahara is no casus belli between Algeria and its Moroccan brothers. The conflict is between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front.”
This week Algeria cancelled massive military parades scheduled to mark the 50th anniversary of the start of its war of independence with France.
Bouteflika said he ordered the cancellation ”to avoid erroneous interpretations” by the Moroccan press that accused Algeria of preparing to seize parts of Moroccan territory.
Bouteflika suggested that Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, who has gone against the international tide to support Morocco’s land grab, should now play a role in mediating a settlement between the kingdom and the Saharawis.
Bouteflika also mooted a mediation role for South Africa and Nigeria, both of whom officially recognise the SADR. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo called for the return of Morocco to the African fold that it quit in protest against the SADR being admitted first to the Organisation of African Unity and then to its successor, the African Union.
But he insisted that Morocco could not expect any special treatment — and certainly not the expulsion of the SADR. He made it clear there would be no concessions.
It is not clear whether Bouteflika’s suggestion was driven by the passion of the moment, or if it signalled longer-term plans to take the Western Sahara out of the UN ambit and make it an AU issue.
In Tunisia earlier this month, President Thabo Mbeki was adamant that this chestnut should stay firmly on the UN fire. Neither South Africa nor Nigeria has the military capacity to take on any more peacekeeping operations in Africa.
However, officials dealing with the region realise that South Africa’s recognition of the SADR — 10 years after it was initially promised — will look rather flat if it does not provoke some movement in the peace process.
Spain this week upped the ante in favour of the SADR by officially backing the so-called Baker Plan.
This is a compromise named after the former United States secretary of state James Baker who devised the plan in his capacity as special representative on the Western Sahara to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
The plan would give Morocco autonomy over the territory for a five-year period leading to a referendum on its future.
In his latest report on the occupied country, Annan says no progress has been made towards implementing the peace plan. ”The goal of enabling the people of Western Sahara to exercise their right to self-determination thus remains elusive,” says Annan.
Hanging over the issue is Annan’s warning that if by the middle of next year there is still no progress, withdrawal of the UN presence has to be one of the options considered.
In this case, Africa would have no option but to take the Saharawi case on to its books.
The AU would look to Western financial and logistical support as it does in other operations like Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia. Morocco’s position outside the continental family would complicate matters. But it could finally flush the kingdom out of the bolt hole provided by its powerful backers in the West.