- Professor Stephen Zunes on Western Sahara, Russia, Ukraine, Biden, Israel and Morocco. February 2023
- This is a very short segment of a story about Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara on a Swedish television network (in English, 2 min., 02/27/2024).
- Interview for a podcast on U.S. policy towards Israel/Palestine and Morocco/Western Sahara:
Part I (37 min) & Part II (20 min) January 2024. - Transcript of interview for La Tribune Diplomatique Internationale, Jan. 20, 2024 (English) making the links between the Israeli and Moroccan occupations
- Lecture: Occupied: Palestine and Western Sahara
(April 2024, Copenhagen, Global Aktion, 1:43 video) - Also see Western Sahara Uncovered, Episode 01: History of Western Sahara (5-min. video below, November 2023).
Find more at Western-Sahara.org.
Category: Western Sahara/Morocco
Western Sahara/Morocco
Russian aggression, US hypocrisy and is UAE a safe haven for oligarchs?
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.
Interview: Speaking of Palestine: The Occupations of Western Sahara and Palestine
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 Peace and Justice: U.S. and Western Sahara
KZFR public radio, Chico, CA, 11 February 2022
[Audio’s no longer available. Find more at Western-Sahara.org]
U.S. and Western Sahara
WHMP Bill Newman Show, KZFR public radio, Chico, CA, 9 Feb. 2022 (Zunes begins at 39:00). Find more at Western-Sahara.org.
WBAI Leonard Lopate at Large: Western Sahara and U.S. Policy
WBAI FM, NYC, February 7, 2022: Stephen Zunes discusses his updated edition of Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution.
Western Sahara: Oberlin Club of Washington, DC
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.
Biden’s Dangerous Refusal to Reverse Trump’s Western Sahara Policy
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.
US Western Sahara stance emboldens Putin
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.
Tufts University: Western Sahara
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, co-author (with Jacob Mundy) of book ‘Western Sahara’
See WSahara.stephenzunes.org for reviews, related articles, audio and video, and to order the book.
Will Biden Admin Reverse Trump’s “Dangerous” Recognition of Morocco’s Occupation of Western Sahara?
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.
Western Sahara: The Struggle for Self-Determination
This article is no longer available. See WSahara.stephenzunes.org for reviews, related articles, audio and video, and to order the book.
Trump’s deal on Morocco’s Western Sahara annexation risks more global conflict
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…
Trump Recognized Morocco’s Illegal Occupation to Boost the Israeli Occupation
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…
The East Timor Model Offers a Way out for Western Sahara and Morocco
Foreign Policy Dec. 9, 2020 – It’s not often that Western Sahara makes international headlines, but in mid-November it did: Nov. 14 marked the tragic—if unsurprising—breakup of a tenuous, 29-year cease-fire in Western Sahara between the occupying Moroccan government and pro-independence fighters. The outbreak of violence is concerning not only because it flew in the face of nearly three decades of relative stasis, but also because Western governments’ reflexive response to the resurgent conflict may be to upend—and thereby hamper and delegitimize for perpetuity over 75 years of established international legal principles…
Western Sahara-Morocco dispute remains stalemated as federation proposal advanced
Stephen Zunes’ Testimony before the UN conference on decolonization
freedomsupport June 29, 2016: My interest in the dispute over Western Sahara is based not simply upon my belief in justice for that country’s people, but its implications in regard to international law and the principles upon which the United Nations organization is founded. These include the right of self-determination…
Morocco continues occupation of Western Sahara, in defiance of UN
National Catholic Reporter June 6, 2016: As Morocco continues to defy the UN, the International Court of Justice, and much of the international community in its continued occupation of Western Sahara, the United States continues supporting that autocratic government.
Reasons to oppose the proposed state anti-boycott bill
Santa Cruz Sentinel June 2, 2016: The California State Assembly is considering a bill entitled the “Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions of Recognized Sovereign Nations or Peoples Act” (AB 2844) that could lead to penalizing California businesses that boycott any country or any products from a particular country — even if the product is being made in a colony or occupied territory or if it is made under illegal, inhumane or environmentally deleterious conditions. It would also deny state or local government contracts to sole proprietorships who participate in such boycotts.