The Dispute Over the Territory of Western Sahara: Finding a Final Political Solution - Research Paper Example

It has now become quite necessary as well as relevant to enlighten the basic matters of the dispute that concerns Morocco and Western Sahara and has been in existence since more than three long decades. In this respect, the main question that pops up almost in every mind is what the main dispute is, that has troubled situations in Western Sahara since such a long time. To find the answer, we have to go back to the year of 1975 when Spain had given up administering the territory of Western Sahara.

Spain had agreed to the plan of parting the territory between Mauritania and Morocco. Spain, of course, did not consider the opinions of the population of Sahara regarding this. This was a secret deal and Algeria backed pro-independence Polisario Front was in much opposition to this deal. As a result, the Polisario Front had launched an armed liberation struggle and also declared the Independent Saharan Arab Democratic Republic. In was in the year of 1978 that Mauritania got weary of being engaged in a fighting.

Therefore, it renounced its territorial claims over Western Sahara. This resulted in Morocco being the only claimant over the territory. The Moroccans, of course, did not give up its claim over the territory. The basis of its claims was not in the fact that Spain had parted the territory between Morocco and Mauritania and the later having to renounce its territorial claim, Morocco remains the only claimant. Rather, Morocco had the claim that it had been since long past that the territory of Western Sahara had been belonging to Morocco.