The Sahara Desert Should Belong to Morocco Country - Coursework Example

The Sahara desert should belong to Morocco Introduction Sahara desert is a region with a significant important for the economy of neighbouring countries. Morocco is the country most related with Sahara – not only in administrative terms but also in terms of common interests and ethics. Because of its dependency on the Moroccan economy and laws the region should remain under the control of Morocco, a prospect that is opposite with the interests and the will of the governments of other states that surround the specific area – especially Mauritania, see Figure 2; it should be noticed that Sahara desert covers an extensive area – see Figure 1 in the Appendix section. The exclusive control of all this area by one state would lead to severe conflicts and turbulences; however, not all parts of the desert are important for the economies of the relevant countries – part of which is already occupied by the desert. Countries in North Africa have been in long term conflict regarding the control over the west part of the desert – the Western Sahara where the resources of oil and other petrochemical products have been identified. Current paper focuses on the examination of the reasons for which Western Sahara should be under the control of Morocco – a country that already has the control of the specific region. 2. Reasons justified the control of Morocco over the Sahara desert Today, Sahara is under the control of Morocco, a fact that can be justified if taking into consideration the following issues: a) Sahara desert is already dependent on the Moroccan economy; any change on the existing legal and financial status of the country – in terms of its independency or its dependency on another country – could negatively affected the economy of the region – which is already under severe pressures, b) Western Sahara has already adopted the Moroccan government and law; a change of existing legal and political framework in the region would have severe implications – difficult to be identified and evaluated in advance; c) Being under the control of Morocco, citizens in Western Sahara could be given better conditions of life – especially if the resources of oil and other petrochemical products existing in Western Sahara are appropriately used. In the above reasons, other issues related with the interests of Western Sahara if remained under the control of Morocco can be presented. Sahara – especially its Western part is rich in oil and other petrochemical products; however, with no resources available for the extract and process of these materials, the local economy would not be particularly benefited. In other words, Western Sahara would need the support of Morocco – financial, political and technological in order to keep its growth at high levels. The above reasons are analyzed in the sections that follow. 2.1 Dependency of Sahara desert on the Moroccan economy Sahara desert is heavily depended on the Moroccan economy. There are various aspects of the specific support; in the case of tourism, the promotion of the whole region by the Moroccan tourism operators leads to the increase of the number of tourists attracted to the area – including the Western Sahara region. An indicative example is the case of Authentic Morocco, a Tour Operator organizing tours across Morocco; in the website of the specific firm it is noted that ‘Authentic Morocco is committed to promoting low impact tourism – supporting the local economy whilst retaining respect for traditional customs and way of life; our Policy is to employ local drivers and guides who are part of their traditional community, thus providing a sustainable income whilst protecting an established way of life’ (Authentic Morocco, 2009). The promotion of tourism in the area is not the only tool available for the development of the local economy. In fact, there may be different industrial sectors that can support the development of the region. However, the resources available for the realization of the relevant projects are limited – referring to Western Sahara. The support of Morocco in this case is therefore necessary. The existence of oil and gas resources in North Africa is not equal – in terms of the amounts available. In this context, it is noted that ‘fuel resources include coal, oil, and natural gas. Sources of coal include anthracite seams in Morocco and bituminous fields near Béchar’ (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2009). Specifically for Western Sahara, the existence of oil resources in the region has been proved to be particularly important for the region’s growth – both in the short and the long term. However, the conditions under which this growth is attempted are not clear; for this reason, it is made clear that ‘economic development of the desert offers enormous difficulties and has not changed the traditional Sahara; oil and ore extraction have brought modern technology and improved communications to scattered locations, but such activities provide limited opportunities for local employment’ (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2009). Oil and other sources of potential profit are not valuable if there are no tools and resources for their extract and process; Mauritania – a country that has also tried to get the control of Western Sahara – could possibly support the Western Sahara region to be developed; however, the support of Morocco is continuous – no differentiation in the existing financial, legal and political framework could take place for the moment – taking into consideration also the costs that would involved in this initiative. 2.2 Dependency of Sahara desert on the Moroccan government and law Up to its independency in 1956 Morocco was under the control of France; since its independency, the state has been transformed – especially in the political and financial fields. In the early 1990s Moroccan political framework changed – becoming more ‘liberalized’ as noted by Boyd et al. (2007, 123). However, the radical transformation of political power in Morocco started in 2002 – when elections were held in the country for the first time (Boyd et al., 2007, 123). The occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco has been gradual. The relevant initiatives by Morocco started in 1975 when ‘Spain withdrew from its Western Sahara territory’ (Boyd et al., 2007, 123). Morocco was one of the countries that took part in the occupation of Western Sahara in 1975. Mauritania also sent troops but the country did not have the necessary military forces in order to keep the control of the particular region; in fact, when the attack of Morocco’s military forces became quite strong, then Mauritania had to withdraw its military forces – the relevant conflict lasted only for 4 years. Through the years, Morocco established its power in Western Sahara – the region’s political system was also developed in accordance with the Moroccan political framework. It is clear from the above that the dependency of Western Sahara from Morocco its quite long – the specific relationship has a history of about 30 years. However, the structure of Moroccan political framework – at least as appeared to be up to 2002 when elections were permitted for first time – has been strongly criticized in the literature – comparisons with restrictive political systems – like the one of Tibet – have been unavoidable (Mayall, 1990, 62). The character of Morocco’s political system can be revealed using the governmental decisions – referring specifically to the decisions related with the occupation of Western Sahara. Regarding this issue, it is noted that ‘Morocco’s claims to territories beyond its own borders also rests on a doctrine of prescriptive suzerainty rather than on an appeal to the principle of popular sovereignty’ (Mayall, 1990, 62). It should be noted at this point that Morocco asked for the view of the World Court regarding the occupation of Western Sahara; the above initiative can be considered as quite important regarding the evaluation of Morocco’s claims on Western Sahara. Morocco does not consider the case of Western Sahara as a temporary support for its economy – referring to the region’s oil resources; rather Morocco seeks for the development of the specific region – the Moroccan political and legal framework are used as the base for the specific effort. There are of course opposite views: Morocco has developed claims for the territory of Western Sahara because of the ‘oil resources and the other extractable minerals’ (Quaye, 1991, 169). In this case, the issue of violation of political and personal rights of people in Sahara could appear. More specifically, the occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco can be considered as leading to the ‘limitation of self determination’ (Quaye, 1991, 169) of the people living in the specific region. However, another issue should be resolved in this case: who would be responsible for interpreting the existence or not of such violation? Probably the international courts but then a relevant claim should be brought before them. On the contrary no such claim seems to exist – apart from the relevant claim brought before the World Court by Morocco – trying to verify the occupation of Sahara. It seems that the occupation of the region has been the result of a series of relevant efforts of many countries – including Morocco, Mauritania and Spain. All the countries participated in the specific effort had their own interests in the region; even the decision of these countries to withdraw their forces and leave the territory to the control of Morocco can be characterized as an action decided in common; Morocco was proved to be the country that could best protect the territory of Western Sahara – taking all the benefits related with the region’s extractible minerals and oil. The specific issue is highlighted in the study of Jensen (2005) where it is noted that ‘on 8 November 1975 the government of Spain agreed to hand over the Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania without conducting a referendum’ (Jensen, 2005, 28). Spain left the control of Western Sahara in Morocco and Mauritania – a further withdrawal of the military forces of Mauritania from Western Sahara left the region to the exclusive control of Morocco – no terms related with the development of separate political, judicial and financial framework have been set by the previous occupiers of the region. 2.3 Expectations for improvement of quality of life in the Sahara desert under the dominance of Morocco In order to identify and evaluate the improvement of quality of life of people in Sahara under the influence of the Moroccan style of life and the financial support of Morocco, the following issues need to be highlighted: a) the differences in the style of life of people in Sahara and those in Morocco are many. In the literature it is noted that before the occupation of the specific region ‘Morocco was a people organized as a state; the Sahara was inhabited by tribes considered ‘wild’ by the Moroccans and it was the only neighbouring state with the same muslim faith’ (Lauterpacht , 1994, 164), It is not made clear however whether after the entrance of Morocco in Western Sahara, the life of people in the region has been influenced. In any case, it is supported that ‘the people of the Sahara who penetrated into Morocco settled there and forgot the poor and difficult territory of the Sahara’ (Lauterpacht, 1994, 164). In other words, the improvement of living conditions of people in Sahara after the occupation of the region by Morocco cannot be denied; however, it is an improvement limited geographically; the people of Sahara that decided to leave the country are living in accordance with the Moroccan style of life; those who remained in the desert – their territory – still face a series of challenges – their quality of life is just partially affected. 3. Conclusion The expansion of Morocco within the territory of Western Sahara has been based on a series of criteria; the value of the specific region for the development of Moroccan economy has been one of these criteria – within the context explained above; however it seems that the importance of Western Sahara for Morocco has many aspects. In accordance with Lauterpacht (1994, 164) ‘Morocco had reason to think, and indeed was right in thinking, that Sahara was a suitable territory for the natural expansion of the Moroccan Empire’. The limited similarities in the style of life of Moroccans and people in Sahara cannot justify the dependency of the specific region by Morocco; however, there are other reasons that lead to the assumption that Western Sahara interests are related with Morocco. The improvement of the quality of life of people in Sahara after the occupation of the region by Morocco cannot be denied; however, this improvement needs to be expanded covering not only the people of Sahara that live in Morocco but also those who remained in the region and try to survive without leaving their territory. Before the occupation of the region by Morocco ‘there were ties between the Sahara and Morocco but only of a transient nature and without legal or political significance’ (Lauterpacht, 1994, 164). After the occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco important political and legal ties between the two populations have been developed; the relevant context needs to be continuously reviewed taking into consideration the needs of the local people and the development of both regions. Works Cited A. Books Benvenisti, E. (2004) The international law of occupation. Princeton University Press Boyd, A., Comenetz, J. (2007) An atlas of world affairs. Routledge Griffiths, I., Rowland, S. (1994) The atlas of African affairs. Routledge Jensen, E. (2005) Western Sahara: anatomy of a stalemate. Lynne Rienner Publishers Lauterpacht, E. (1994) International Law Reports. Cambridge University Press Mayall, J. (1990) Nationalism and international society. Cambridge University Press Quaye, C. (1991) Liberation struggles in international law. Temple University Press B.Websites Authentic Morocco (2009) available from http://www.authentic-morocco.com/ Encyclopedia Britannica Online (2009) available from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/516375/Sahara/37017/The-economy Appendix Figure 1 – Sahara desert – position (source: http://geology.com/records/sahara-desert-map.shtml) Figure 2 – Western Sahara – position (source: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/type,MAP,,ESH,46398b1b2,0.html) Read More