Endgame in the Western Sahara: What Future for Africa's Last Colony? [Paperback]

Toby Shelley (Author), José Ramos Horta (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 2004

For a remote strip of Saharan desert along the Atlantic seaboard, the Western Sahara has begun to attract a lot of attention. The European Union, the USA, the UN and Morocco have all declared an interest in this former Spanish colony, not to mention the indigenous Sahraoui people, who have fought for self-determination for over quarter of a century. Toby Shelley has talked to Moroccan, Western Saharan Polisario and other diplomats, as well as contacts in the oil industry. He has visited the territory and had access to both the Moroccan administration and the underground opposition. What emerges is that there is now a real prospect of a definitive resolution to this long-running, often bloody, conflict between Morocco and the Sahraoui people.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'In 1991, after 16 years of guerrilla war between Morocco and Polisario, the Western Saharan independence movement, both sides officially agreed that a referendum should be held in the territory to decide whether it should be independent or integrated with Morocco. The UN sent a mission to identify eligible voters. But the process was, and remains, a farce. Morocco will allow a referendum only if it can stack the votes by including Moroccan settlers and other tricks that ensure a vote for integration. The backing of its friends, America and France (on the same side for once), enables Morocco to stall indefinitely... Following the complex steps of the referendum minuet, Toby Shelley provides a detailed account of the region's history since 1975' - The Economist 'An excellent new book', Ian Black, The Guardian, 18 October 2004

About the Author

Toby Shelley works for the Financial Times as a reporter and is a regular contributor (under a pseudonym) to Middle East International.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Zed Books (October 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842773410
• ISBN-13: 978-1842773413
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #660,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > History > Africa > Western Sahara

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