Recorded May 10, 2023 — Veteran US activists on the issue of Western Sahara join Frente Polisario’s US Representative for a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Frente Polisario. Presented by The Campaign to End the Occupation of the Western Sahara (freewesternsahara.org) in partnership with the Institute of the Black World 21st Century and the Pan African Unity Dialogue.
About Host
Bill Fletcher, Jr.
Co-coordinator of the Campaign to End the Moroccan Occupation of the Western Sahara.
He is a longtime trade unionist, writer, and a past president of TransAfrica Forum.
About Panelists
Mouloud Said
Ambassador Said is the representative of the Polisario Front to the United States
Gare Smith
Gare Smith chairs the Global Business & Human Rights Practice at Foley Hoag LLP in Washington DC and has promoted the rights of the Saharawi people since 1989.
Isa Mirza
Isa Mirza is a Senior Advisor Foley Hoag’s Global Business & Human Rights Practice in Washington, DC and has represented the human rights and self-determination interests of the Sahrawi people since 2011.
Katlyn Thomas
Katlyn Thomas is an attorney and former MINURSO official who has written the book, The Emperor’s Clothes: The Naked Truth About Western Sahara.
Suzanne Scholte
Suzanne Scholte, chairperson of the US-Western Sahara Foundation
Stephen Zunes
Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he served as the founding director of the program in Middle Eastern Studies.
***
The Campaign to End the Occupation of the Western Sahara, a diverse coalition of organizations and individuals committed to international justice and respect for national self-determination seeks: The withdrawal of Morocco from Western Sahara; A transition of authority to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, in accordance with the Charter of the African Union; An expeditious return of Sahrawi refugees and Sahrawi diaspora to their homeland; An end to any U.S. assistance to Morocco that could be used to advance a claim to the Western Sahara and/or harm the Sahrawi people. Learn more — freewesternsahara.org
