There are quite a few tracts of land on this planet we share that are denied the full dignity of nationhood and we all have our favourites, not to mention our political reasons for noticing them. (Yes, this is only one example and I know there are many more but I'm only espousing the cause of this one.)
Our thanks this week goes to McDonalds for bringing to the attention of anyone who cares the plight of one such territory, even if it was done inadvertently. Those nice, politically astute, burger people highlighted the non-existence of a huge swathe of desert by omitting it from a map on a child's toy. People complained and it made the news. Way to go McDonalds!
The non-country in question is Western Sahara and it drops on down into the Sahara desert from its border with southern Morocco. Next door also to Algeria and Mauretania. Europe started the problem to begin with when in 1884 Spain annexed this bijou little property with an ocean view and went on to declare it as one of its provinces in 1934. In the 1960s the population started to agitate for independence like the rest of Africa, but no-one much cared other than Morocco, Mauretania and Algeria.
1975 was a big year for all concerned. Spain agreed to organise a referendum to determine the territory's future, but the King of Morocco organised a different method of dealing with the thorny issue and ordered the “green march” in which 300,000 of his citizens did precisely that, they marched into Western Sahara and took up residence. The result was that Spain relinquished its claims; Morocco took two thirds of the land and Mauretania the other third; all very civilised except that he Western Saharans weren't really consulted.
Another complicating factor was the Polisario Front which had Algerian support. They wanted a slice of the action too, rather a large slice, and felt frozen out by the other players. In 1978 Mauretania gave up its claim on the bottom bit of the desert, and Polisario waged a guerrilla war on Moroccan interests until 1991, with the Algerians laughing up their sleeves at their neighbour Morocco.
Then came the promise of another referendum with greater international clout, but who should vote in it? The choice was to be between joining the northern neighbour and going it alone, but should the 300,000 “green marchers” of 1975 and their descendants participate?
Ping-pong continued to be played until 2003 when US Envoy James Baker devised a plan which the Moroccans rejected and there has been deadlock since.
And now McDonalds have delivered another insult to the people of Western Sahara by dropping their homeland from the map. The up side to all this however (and yes, there is an up side) is that now YOU know about the situation, YOU have privileged invitation, and YOU can bore the pants off everyone at the office Christmas party in a few weeks time.
PS. Western Sahara may have oil offshore, lots of it, and that's a lot closer to the US and UK than is Iraq. Mmmm.
