Statement of Congressman Joseph R. Pitts

European Conference of Support to the Sahrawi People

Zaragoza , Spain

November 28, 2004

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentleman, it is an honor to be here with you today and it is an honor to work with the people of Western Sahara as they seek to exercise one of their most basic rights, the right of self-determination and the right to exist in peace on their own land.  

It is a great privilege to work with President Abdelaziz and Ambassador Mouloud Said in Washington , D.C. in order to help bring an end to the conflict over Western Sahara . 

The Sahrawi people have suffered for over 25 years, yet they still are not allowed to do the one thing promised to them: hold a free, fair and transparent referendum for self-determination.  We are gathered here to ensure that this most basic right to self-determination is protected and upheld.  As all of us from the various nations and regions represented work more closely together, it will be increasingly difficult for those who oppose this most basic right for the Sahrawis to continue to thwart progress and democracy.  

There is an urgency to this cause – as peoples and nations around the world watch to see if the international community truly supports those who seek to establish freedom and democracy, the case of Western Sahara provides a powerful test.  If the international community refuses, whether through action or inaction, to support the rights of the people of Western Sahara , the sound of that refusal will reverberate for years to come.  If, however, leaders and nations join together to support those who are peacefully seeking to exercise their rights, the sound of freedom will ring for years to come.  

Those of us gathered here today are keenly aware of the various diplomatic and political maneuvers utilized to create endless delays and obstacles to, and in certain parties’ minds completely undermine, the holding of a referendum.  What those parties have not realized is that no matter how long it takes, there are leaders and peoples who will not stop working and agitating until a referendum is held.   Samuel Adams, an important leader in U.S. history said, “It does not take a majority to prevail … but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” 

I am grateful that the people of Spain , independent of any policy changes of their government from 1975 to the current day, have actively supported and have shown an important commitment to seeing justice for the Sahrawis.   The Spanish people are to be commended because, whether or not their government has acted accordingly, they recognize that Spain has a particular responsibility regarding the conflict over Western Sahara .  

Legally, Spain is still the administering power and has the duty to play a leading role in the decolonization of the Western Sahara .  Almost 30 years of Moroccan occupation of the land does not reduce the degree of responsibility of Spain towards the Sahrawi people.  Just as Portugal ’s role in the decolonization of East Timor ultimately led to freedom for the East Timorese people, so the same leadership can be exerted by Spanish officials on behalf of the Sahrawi people.

I would like to express my admiration to the government and people of Algeria for their support of the people of Western Sahara .  We are all aware of the role played by Algeria in the liberation of Africa .  The people of Algeria struggled for freedom – they understand the longings of the Sahrawi people to exercise their most basic rights.  Since 1975, Algeria has stood firmly in support of the Sahrawis.  It has been a pleasure working with President Bouteflicka and Ambassador Idriss Jazairy on this issue. 

I would also like to commend the U.S. Western Sahara Foundation, Suzanne Scholte, Janet Lenz, and others in the U.S. who have worked tirelessly to help the Sahrawis and put the issue of their self-determination before the American people and government. 

Sadly, there are those who refuse to acknowledge the reality on the ground - we must look past the diplomatic niceties that come from state capitals.  Currently, the Kingdom of Morocco illegally occupies a swath of land to its south.  Powerful friends here in Europe and in Washington , D.C. have helped the Moroccan government maintain its alleged control over Western Sahara .  The Moroccan government says its colonial rule over Western Sahara ensures its “territorial integrity” and preserves stability in the region.  But this idea is simply divorced from the reality on the ground.

The people of Western Sahara have established a deep-rooted culture of democracy, capable of supporting a viable state.  They have their own elected leaders, many of them women.  They have provided education and equal rights to all their citizens – men and women.  The only stability a sovereign, democratic Western Sahara disrupts is a status quo defined by tyranny.  His Majesty the King will deny this.  But it is the truth.

As this battle over land and resources rages, the Sahrawis suffer.  The Moroccan government continues to imprison Sahrawi activists, exploit the natural resources of Western Sahara , and prohibit foreign journalists from transmitting the truth to the outside world, as evidenced by the expulsion of several Danish reporters from the occupied area.  Despite the fact that the Polisario has taken importance confidence-building measures by releasing over 700 Moroccan POWs since July 2003 -- the number of POWs the Polisario has liberated since 1991 now totals 2,000 – the fate of over 565 disappeared Sahrawis in Morocco and over 160 disappeared Polisario military troops remains unknown.    

It is clear that it is not only the referendum and the right to self-determination that is at stake here.  Over the years, particularly in October of 2002, I and other officials received disturbing reports that the Moroccan Government signed contracts with foreign companies for the exploration of resources in the territory of Western Sahara .  Reports detail agreements made between various business interests and the government of Morocco to exploit resources in an area of land under international dispute.  

More recent reports reflect that exploration activities continue in blatant violation of the January 29, 2002, UN legal opinion on these economic actions in Western Sahara .  The legal opinion given to the UN Security Council states that Morocco has neither sovereignty over Western Sahara nor rights of legal administration.  Further, the opinion confirms that any exploitation of the resources of this land without the consent of the Sahrawi people is in violation of international law: if “exploitation activities were to proceed in disregard of the interests and wishes of the people of Western Sahara, they would be in violation of the international law principles applicable to mineral resource activities in Non-Self-Governing Territories.”   

This summer the U.S. government completed a free trade agreement with the country of Morocco .  I voted in support of this agreement because it is mutually beneficial to the people of the U.S. and Morocco .  However, I voted in favor of the agreement with the caveat that the U.S. Administration make it clear that the agreement covers only the internationally recognized borders of Morocco .  

In a letter from the U.S. Administration’s U.S Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, the U.S. position is stated as follows, “The Administration’s position on Western Sahara is clear: sovereignty of Western Sahara is in dispute … The United States and many other countries do not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara … The FTA [Free Trade Agreement] will cover trade and investment in the territory of Morocco as recognized internationally, and will not include Western Sahara.”

The United Nations has spent over $600 million to allegedly implement a referendum.  Yet, because the government of Morocco does not want a democratic solution, the UN is not implementing the referendum.  One report I received even stated the UN could not enforce the results of the referendum if Moroccan officials did not like what happened.  This is tragic.  The very foundation of the UN is at stake when one party holds the world community hostage by creating obstacles that lead to inaction and impotence. 

Since 1991, the United Nations, with partners such as the African Union, have attempted to implement the Settlement Plan and the Houston Accords, accepted and signed by both the Polisario and Moroccan leadership.  Yet, at every turn, Moroccan officials have created obstacles to implementation.  Perhaps because they know that they could lose the referendum if the Sahrawi people are allowed to freely express their desire.  Yet, even when former U.N. Special Envoy James Baker presented a plan that allowed over 100,000 Moroccan settlers to take part in the referendum, Moroccan officials still blocked implementation of the referendum.  Ironically, they seem afraid not only of the Sahrawis’ desires for freedom, but also those of their own settlers in the territory of Western Sahara .  The Sahrawi and the Moroccan people deserve much better. 

What will it take to resolve this conflict?  Do the U.N. and the international community mean what they say?   They said that a referendum would happen, it has not been held.  They said they would implement the peace plan, yet they have not.  The needed action is clear – both parties signed a number of agreements upholding a referendum for self-determination.  The voting lists are established.  What’s next?  Implement the United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 1541, adopted April 29, 2004, which reaffirmed support for the Baker’s Peace Plan for Self-Determination of the People of Western Sahara.  Let the voting proceed.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Sahrawis voluntarily laid down their arms to pursue a peaceful solution to the conflict because the international community committed to resolving that conflict.  Yet, as of today, the international community has not assisted in the holding of a referendum, has not assisted in breaking down the wall that keeps them from returning home – we have not kept our word.  Instead, we have allowed one country to dictate its own will.  In 1993, His Majesty King Hassan II stated, “I have always said that, in this country, the rights of man stopped at the country of the Sahara .  Anyone who said that the Sahara was not Moroccan could not benefit from the rights of man.”  

What have the Sahrawi people done in the face of such blatant disregard for their rights by the leadership of Morocco and by the international community?  They have continued to respond with dignity and compromise and they have wholeheartedly pursued the establishment of democracy.  The Sahrawis deserve better.  Those who use violence to achieve their ends should not be promoted.   Instead we must unreservedly support and assist those who model peaceful change.  The Sahrawis deserve our support.  

We owe the democratic people of Western Sahara no less than the support we have given others in their fight for independence -- the right to have a say in their own future.  A free, fair, and transparent referendum for self-determination must go forward.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, thank you again for the opportunity to be here and join with you in the march for freedom for the people of Western Sahara .