Africa
ALSO SEE Dr. Zunes’s book and website:
Western Sahara: War, Nationalism and Conflict Irresolution
Emmaus Artikel 2, Stockholm May 2024 An hour-long May 2024 interview (in English) of Dr. Stephen Zunes and a prominent Sahrawi activist in Stockholm on the situation in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara and international legal implications. More at Western-Sahara.org
Emmaus Artikel 2, Stockholm May 2024
(Dr. Stephen Zunes is quoted extensively): The opposition to Trump’s rushed and unrighteous recognition of Morocco’s alleged sovereignty over Western Sahara prompts President Biden to correct this mistake… Biden could resend the U.S. recognition with the stroke of a pen, however, this has put him in something of a dilemma… More at Western-Sahara.org
April 20, 2024: On Dr. Zunes’ recent talk at the Gothenburg Science Festival on the West’s role in the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. More at Western-Sahara.org
U.S. Campaign to End the Moroccan Occupation newsletter April 11, 2024: A short essay comparing U.S. policy towards the Palestinian and Western Saharan struggles for self-determination:
Western Sahara. [source]. More at Western-Sahara.org.
The Progressive, March 1, 2022: There’s No Justification for Russia’s Aggression, But U.S. Double Standards on Illegal War Are Hard to Stomach: Nothing can excuse Putin’s invasion, but the hypocrisy could hardly be more striking.
Al Jazeera quotes Zunes March 7, 14 and 29
*The limits of Iran’s influence on Yemen’s Houthi rebels
*Analysis: Can the UAE be a safe haven for Russian oligarchs?
*Can Russia return to the world stage as other aggressors have?
Find more at Western-Sahara.org.
KBBF Radio: Zunes on the occupation of Western Sahara and much more, plus Palestine Update and some poems by Naomi Shihab Nye.
Find more at Western-Sahara.org.
KZFR public radio, Chico, CA, 11 February 2022
[Audio’s no longer available. Find more at Western-Sahara.org]
WHMP Bill Newman Show, KZFR public radio, Chico, CA, 9 Feb. 2022 (Zunes begins at 39:00). Find more at Western-Sahara.org.
WBAI FM, NYC, February 7, 2022: Stephen Zunes discusses his updated edition of Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution.
January 24, 2022 Zoom: The UN and the World Court have called for the Sahrawi population to be allowed the right of self-determination. The U.S. meanwhile, remains the only country in the world that formally recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. The presentation is timed with the release of the second revised expanded edition of Professor Zunes’ book Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution, and his return from visiting Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria. Professor Zunes will assess the human rights situation under the Moroccan rule, the nonviolent and armed resistance to the occupation, U.S. policy, and more. Find more at Western-Sahara.org.
Foreign Policy In Focus, Jan. 21, 2022: In his final weeks in office, President Donald Trump stunned the international community in formally recognizing Western Sahara as part of Morocco. Morocco has occupied much of its southern neighbor since 1975, when it invaded and annexed the former Spanish colony in defiance of the United Nations Security Council and a landmark ruling of the International Court of Justice… Find more at Western-Sahara.org.
The Progressive Jan. 6, 2022, by Stephen Zunes [source]
The threat of further Russian aggression against Ukraine is very real. Unfortunately, the Biden administration is in a weak position to lead an international response. Find more at Western-Sahara.org.
12 November 2021 (begins at 23:10, but item is no longer available).
See the Archives, Blog and Reviews at Western-Sahara.org.
Stephen Zunes’ April 2021 report* reviews the chronology of the resistance struggle in Sudan, the critical role of nonviolent discipline, other factors contributing to the movement’s success, and the current political situation. It seeks to explain how the movement was able to succeed despite enormous odds against it, and what lessons could be learned by those facing similarly difficult circumstances. Given the serious challenges facing the new civilian-led government, there is a real possibility that—as was the case following successful pro-democracy struggles decades earlier—the military could again seize power. However, there are also reasons for hope… Download the PDF here or at *The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC).
See WSahara.stephenzunes.org for reviews, related articles, audio and video, and to order the book.
DemocracyNow! Feb. 5, 2021, full transcript and video
President Donald Trump broke with decades of U.S. foreign policy in the waning days of his administration and recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a territory the country has occupied since 1975 in defiance of the United Nations and the international community. U.S. recognition came as Morocco agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, becoming the fourth Arab nation to do so in recent months as part of a regional push by the Trump administration to strengthen Israel without addressing the Palestinian conflict. Now the Biden administration must weigh whether to reverse Trump’s decision…. “The United Nations Charter is very clear expansion of territory by military force is illegitimate.”
See Zunes’s website and book Western Sahara.
This article is no longer available. See WSahara.stephenzunes.org for reviews, related articles, audio and video, and to order the book.
Washington Post December 13, 2020: Last week, President Trump formally recognized Morocco’s annexation of Western Sahara as part of a deal to get Morocco to normalize relations with Israel. But Morocco’s claim on Western Sahara is rejected by the United Nations, the World Court, the African Union and a broad consensus of international legal scholars that consider the region a non-self-governing territory that must be allowed an act of self-determination. This is why no country had formally recognized Morocco’s takeover — until now…
Truthout: On December 10, the US became the only country to formally recognize Morocco’s illegal annexation of Western Sahara, the former Spanish colony forcibly seized by Moroccan forces in 1975. Trump’s proclamation is directly counter to a series of UN Security Council resolutions and a landmark World Court ruling calling for self-determination. Trump’s decision was a quid pro quo…