Western Sahara – 12 February 2016

Time for a Referendum in Western Sahara

Recently, former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Marc Ginsberg argued in the Huffington Post that Americans ought to “applaud” Morocco because “it is a challenge identifying a strong dependable, and extraordinarily supportive Arab ally in the chaos [of the region].” He gushed about the “privilege” of working with the Moroccans during his tenure as U.S. ambassador in Rabat, and praised the kingdom as a “worthy, historic, dependable ally.” Perhaps worried that we hadn’t quite got the point, he added that Morocco was a “shining Muslim star hovering above those stormy sands.” Gosh.

This effusive praise laid the groundwork for Ginsberg’s main argument: that the United States should not only allow Morocco to continue its illegal occupation of Western Sahara, but it should help to perpetuate the whole disgraceful enterprise.

Huffington Post

Moroccans Outraged with Air France for Listing Western Sahara as Independent Country

According to a video posted by a Moroccan customer who recently travelled onboard a Paris-Los Angeles flight, the geolocation screen found on the back of the passengers’ seats described Western Sahara as an independent country.

The video posted by the Casablanca-based business owner, Adil Bendabellah, clearly shows how the French flag’s carrier list describes the Moroccan territory as “Republique Arabe Saharawi Démocratique (Saharan Arab Democratic Republic). “On the geo-location map of an Air France flight, the national airline of a friendly country, we found in the southern Moroccan territory the name of SADR? Is this normal?” asks Benabdellah.

Morocco World News