As part of its mission to restore Dominica’s credibility with the membership of the African Union and its allies in the region, the United Workers Party (UWP) called on World Leaders to stand firmly with the people of Western Sahara and ensure prompt resolution of their long standing struggle for the right to freedom and self determination.
Says UWP Political Leader, Lennox Linton, “In affirming our solidarity with the people of Western Sahara at this time, we urge World Leaders to convince Moroccan officials to free dozens of Western Sahara prisoners and secure a breakthrough in talks between Morocco and the Polisario Front to settle the Western Sahara issue. Global human rights icon Nelson Mandela was passionate about such a settlement and it would be a fitting tribute to his memory”.
Morocco’s invasion of the territory in 1975 did not find favor with the international community. A deadly conflict ensued with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, now widely regarded as Western Sahara’s Government in waiting. The self determination struggle from Colonization by Morroco remains unresolved 22 years after a UN-brokered ceasefire went into effect.
Dominica was among the first countries to recognize the Polisario Front and the efforts of the people of Western Sahara to free themselves from the shackles of colonialism. Successive governments of the Dominica Labour Party, the Dominica Freedom Party and the United Workers Party maintained this principled pro-independence position until the current Labour Party administration, lead by Roosevelt Skerrit, withdrew recognition of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) proclaimed by the Polisario in 1976. The move caused shock and dismay in the African Union and among Dominica’s key allies in Latin America.
Political Leader of the UWP Lennox Linton says “the Skerrit regime’s flip-flop was an act of betrayal”.