Violence and Media Frenzy Around Western Sahara: the Region Needs Appeasement

    PARIS and BRUSSELS, November 29, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --
    - Antonin Tisseron, Research Fellow at the Thomas More Institute
    - Published on Monday 29 November 2010
    - French and English versions Available at http://institut-thomas-more.org

With the dismantling of the El-ayoun camp by Moroccan authorities on 8 November and the failure of the round of talks conducted between Morocco and the Polisario Front in New York, the Western Saharan issue has caught the attention of Western leaders and the public opinion.

While the circumstances surrounding these obstacles are not yet fully understood, it cannot be denied that the media frenzy escalated immediately- with its share of excessive reactions. The usage of photographs of Palestinian children (published on a pro-Polisario website) by several Spanish media agencies in order to illustrate the consequences of the actions of the Moroccan security forces, is an example of irresponsible behaviour which only serves to add fuel to the fire.

In any case, this sudden violent episode has allowed us to observe, once again, the Front Polisario's current tendency towards radicalisation (noted by some experts), a probable sign of its weakening, even its disintegration...

In sharp contrast to these excesses, the UN has shown more reserve.

What the region needs is stability and appeasement. Suggestions are on the table (including the 2007 Moroccan proposal of regional autonomy). It is time for all the actors- of countries within this zone but also Europeans, as Christopher Ross, special UN for the Sahara, has stated- to participate in a dialogue whose aim is to allow all the protagonists to come out of the conflict with their dignity intact.

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    Contact > Jean-Thomas LESUEUR, managing director of the Thomas More
    Institute
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SOURCE Institut Thomas More