Sahara Arab Democratic Republic

República Árabe Saharaui Democrática (Spanish) الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية (Arabic)
al-Jumhūriyya al-ʿarabiyya as-sahrāwiyya ad-dīmuqrātiyya (Arabic)
Sahara Arab Democratic Republic
flag coat of arms
Official language	Spanish and Arabic
Capital	constitutional: El Aaiún 1 , provisional (since 2011): Tifariti , provisional (until 2011): Bir Lehlu
Seat of government	Tindūf in Algeria
Form of government	republic
Government system	One-party system
Head of state	Brahim Ghali
Head of government	Mohamed Wali Akeik
surface	the actually controlled “free zone” covers only about a third of the official 266,000 km²
population	570,866 (2013 estimate), but in fact only about a tenth of it in the "free zone"
Population density	1.91 inhabitants per km²
currency	Saharawi peseta
independence	In 1976 it was proclaimed by the Polisario Front and recognized by up to 46 states
National anthem	Yā Banī s-Sahrā '
National holiday	27th of February
Time zone	UTC + 1
License Plate	SH
Internet TLD	.eh , currently not used
1 El Aaiún is located on the Moroccan administered territory of the Western Sahara.

The Democratic Arab Republic of the Sahara ( DARS , literally literally Arab Sahrawi Democratic Republic; Spanish República Árabe Saharaui Democrática , RASD ) was proclaimed by the Polisario Front in the course of the Western Sahara conflict in 1976 .

Conflict situation

The DARS claims the entire area of Western Sahara , most of which has been controlled by Morocco since the departure of Spain in 1975 . Morocco regards all of Western Sahara as part of its territory. Since El Aaiún , the capital of the DARS provided for in the provisional constitution, is located in the Moroccan-controlled part of the country, Bir Lehlu in the northeast of Western Sahara served as the provisional capital until 2011 . Tifariti has been the provisional capital and seat of the National Council since 2011 .

According to the UN proposal, the future of Western Sahara depends on a referendum , on which no agreement has yet been reached. The main point of dispute here is the question of whether the members of Saharawi tribes who lived in colonial times in southern Morocco (or their descendants) should also be eligible to vote in this referendum (this would correspond to Morocco's position).

geography

Only the yellow, outside the Moroccan Walls lying Free Zone is not under Moroccan rule.

The DARS claims the territory of the entire Western Sahara . Currently exercises the Government of the SADR, however, only about one-third of the territory of Western Sahara, and four refugee camps (named after cities in the Western Sahara: El Aaiun , Smara , Ausert , Dakhla ) near the Algerian town of Tindouf control out. The sparsely populated Saharawi area, consisting mainly of desert and administered by the DARS government, is separated from the Moroccan-administered part of Western Sahara by a 2700-kilometer-long, mined sand wall built by Morocco.

history

See also : History of Western Sahara

On February 27, 1976 in Bir Lehlu, the Polisario Front proclaimed the Sahara Democratic Arab Republic in the territory of Western Sahara.

Morocco did not recognize the DARS and in 1976 annexed the northern two thirds of the Western Sahara area, while Mauritania claimed the southern third. After Mauritania withdrew from Western Sahara in 1979, Morocco also declared the annexation of the southern third.

In 1991, a ceasefire agreement was signed between Morocco and the Polisario, but around 100,000 people are now living in five refugee camps near the city of Tindūf in the Algerian Sahara. These are called Smara, Bujador, El Aaiún, Dahla and Auserd, a sixth camp, Rabouni, is the seat of the government in exile and is primarily used for administration (for naming these refugee camps see above).

politics

DARS diplomatic relations

Full diplomatic relations, DARS embassy

Diplomatic relations with the DARS

Diplomatic relations suspended pending peace agreement

Diplomatic relations with DARS broken off

The final status of the two-part Western Sahara has not yet been clarified, as an agreement between the conflicting parties has not yet been reached and the referendum has been postponed several times. Morocco meanwhile rejects the plan to hold a referendum as a failure and offers an autonomy of the area under Moroccan sovereignty as a solution. Both the UN and the representatives of the DARS are sticking to the referendum plan.

The question of the citizenship of the Sahauris has not been clarified at international level.

recognition

→ Main article : International recognition of the Sahara Democratic Arab Republic

Flag of the DARS in front of the Bremen citizenship

Although the DARS is a member of the African Union , the majority of the other members do not recognize the republic as a state under international law - nor is it recognized by the majority of the member states of the United Nations . The information on the recognition of the DARS by states varies from source to source, with only 19 of the 46 countries currently in Africa and Latin America being AU members. A further 37 states (including 17 AU members) initially recognized the DARS, but have since withdrawn the recognition or suspended it until a referendum was held. Most states recognize the Polisario as a negotiating partner and representative of the Saharawi people .

philately

The DARS government in exile is issuing stamps with the inscription “(West) Sahara OCC. RASD ”. These stamps are not listed in the Michel catalog and have no international postage validity .

literature

• James Minahan: Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: SZ (= Ethnic and National Groups around the World. Volume IV ). Greenwood, Westport 2002, ISBN 0-313-32384-4 , pp. 1623-1629 (= Sahrawis ).

Web links

Commons : Sahara Arab Democratic Republic  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikimedia Atlas: Western Sahara  - geographical and historical maps

Wikivoyage: Sahara Democratic Arab Republic  - Travel Guide

• Current Amnesty International report on Morocco and the Western Sahara
• Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) / République Arabe Sahraouie Démocratique (RASD). at ARSO (information service on Western Sahara from Switzerland)
• Advisory Opinion of 16 October 1975 (Western Sahara). ( Memento of April 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) International Court of Justice
• Clemens Amelunxen: Morocco's claim to the Western Sahara. Retrieved June 24, 2016 (excerpt). 
• Alfred Hackensberger: Battle for the Western Sahara. In: Telepolis . June 10, 2005, accessed on June 24, 2016 (article on the situation in June 2005). 
• Western Sahara - a forgotten country! ( Memento of March 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 102 kB)
• Western Sahara, Landmine Monitor Report 2016

Individual evidence

1. ^ Newly elected Sahrawi President Brahim Ghali sworn in ( Memento from July 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Algeria Press Service, July 10, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2016
2. ^ Western Sahara. In: CIA World Factbook. Retrieved June 24, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Carta de Proclamación de la Independencia de la República Arabe Saharaui Democrática. In: ARSO. February 27, 1976, accessed June 24, 2016 . 
4. ↑ worldstatesmen.org
5. ↑ Source: Western Sahara Online

Coordinates: 24 ° 26 '47.4 "  N , 12 ° 43' 4.6"  W.