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$Unique_ID{COW02504}
$Pretitle{249}
$Title{Morocco
Appendix B. Government Jurisdiction in the Western Sahara}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Frederick Ehrenreich}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{sahara
polisario
western
sadr
council
camps
executive
members
morocco
refugee}
$Date{1986}
$Log{}
Country: Morocco
Book: Morocco, a Country Study
Author: Frederick Ehrenreich
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date: 1986
Appendix B. Government Jurisdiction in the Western Sahara
Administrative authority over the Western Sahara is asserted by both
Morocco and the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), which was proclaimed
a government-in-exile in 1976 by the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro (Frente Popular para la Liberacion de Saguia el
Hamra y Rio de Oro-Polisario). Morocco has established four provinces in the
territory as well as other bodies conforming to the local governmental
structures in Morocco proper, including elected communal councils and
provincial assemblies. The administrative machinery of the SADR is largely
on paper; existing organization is confined to the refugee camps outside the
borders of the Western Sahara.
Moroccan Administrative Units
After the occupation of the Western Sahara in 1975, Morocco assumed
administration of an area that was divided into the three provinces of
Laayoune, Semara, and Boujdour. When Mauritania renounced its claims in the
south in 1979, the fourth province of Oued ed Dahab (formerly Tiris al
Gharbia) was organized. Native Saharawi governors of the provinces were
appointed by King Hassan II. Ten seats in the Moroccan parliament were
allotted to representatives from the Western Sahara territory.
Communal, provincial, and parliamentary elections were held in the
Moroccan-controlled portion of the Western Sahara in 1977 and again in
1983-84. A Consultative Council on the Sahara of 80 members was elected in
1981. Personnel from several ministries in Rabat were assigned to work in
Moroccan-occupied areas, as well as pashas and qaids to administer cities
and towns; other civil servants and most village officials were native
Saharawis. Large-scale development was initiated, concentrating on schools,
hospitals, housing, and water supplies in built-up areas. The objective
was to gain the allegiance of the Saharawi population by demonstrating the
benefits of Moroccan rule and to underscore Morocco's ability to administer
and control the disputed territory.
The Polisario
Founded in 1973 as an embryonic movement for the liberation of the
Spanish Sahara, the Polisario has as its highest decisionmaking body a
Congress of 500 members, which in principle meets every two years. The
Congress elects a seven-member Executive Committee and a subordinate
25-member Political Bureau. The Executive Committee is headed by the
secretary general of the Polisario, who is also head of state. Mohammed
Abdelaziz has held this position since 1976.
The Polisario is regarded as a mass movement to which all adult
Saharawis belong. The party organization is confined to the refugee camps
run by the Polisario and is organized into 11-member cells. Although the
refugee camps are inhabited mainly by women, children, and men over military
age, political indoctrination aimed at imparting a national consciousness for
the Western Sahara is said to be pervasive.
The Saharan Arab Democratic Republic
In a practical sense, the SADR is synonymous with the Polisario, which
timed its announcement of the creation of a formal government on February
27, 1976, to correspond with Spain's official withdrawal from the Western
Sahara the previous day. An abbreviated constitution of 31 articles was
adopted, declaring that the new SADR was part of the Arab nation, the African
family, and the people of the Third World. Islam was designated the state
religion. Among the SADR's objectives were the achievement of socialism
and the application of social justice. Freedom of expression was guaranteed
"within the limits of the law and the interests of the people." Natural
resources were declared to belong to the people, but private property was
protected as long as it did not lead to exploitation.
The constitution prescribes that the supreme executive body of the
SADR is the Council for the Command of the Revolution. The Executive
Committee of the Polisario, however, will fulfill the functions of the
council for the duration of the war. A nine-member Council of Ministers
consists of a prime minister, various other ministers, and secretaries
general of ministries. Since 1982 the prime minister has been Mahfoud Ali
Beiba, a member of the Executive Committee. The Saharawi National Council,
a parliamentary-style body, includes, ex officio, the 21 members of the
Polisario Political Bureau, the remaining 20 members being elected by
people's base committees in the refugee camps.
Eventually the SADR will be divided into three wilayaat (sing., wilaya),
or provinces, each to be administered by a wilaya People's Council headed by
a wali (governor). The councils will be composed of officials heading lower
administrative units called dairaat (sing., daira), or communes, whose
members are to be elected by the people's base committees. Pending
establishment of the SADR in the territory of the Western Sahara, this
structure is found only in the refugee camps.
The Polisario movement shares with existing African Marxist states a
number of principles, as set out in its constitution and in statements by
its leaders. The absence of any real distinction between the governing arm
(the SADR) and the single party (Polisario) is a further similarity. Some
observers give little weight to the leftist ideological slant, which they
note has scarcely any relevance to the actual state of development in the
Western Sahara and is alien to the traditions of the Saharawi people. To a
large extent the Polisario's leaders may have been motivated by the desire
to please their Algerian and Libyan benefactors. The senior figures of the
SADR have been depicted by these observers as inexperienced yet pragmatic
individuals for whom any ideological labels may be premature at a time when
they are engaged in a precarious military struggle.