Malainin Lakhal, Secretary General of the Saharawi Journalists and Writers Union and Sidi Omar, Ambassador of the Sahrawi Republic to Ethiopia and the African Union
The Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony, and is the scene of Africa's longest-running territorial dispute. The phosphate-rich territory was annexed by Morocco after Spanish settlers left in 1975. The Polisario liberation front fought a guerrilla war against Morocco until the UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991. Morocco now offers to grant it autonomy, while Polisario is demanding a referendum on full independence. The talks between both sites have been deadlocked for years, and the last meeting in February 2010 ended without any movement in the dispute. On Monday November 8th at least ten people have been killed in clashes in Western Sahara, after Moroccan security forces broke up a protest camp near the territory's capital, Laayoune. This protest camp has been the biggest protest against Moroccan rule in the 35-year dispute. The repression by Moroccon forces came just days before a meeting in New York between Polisario and Moroccan officials to try and broker peace in the region.
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