3.04.03 cease fires, armistices, and peace treaties

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Western Sahara is a sparsely populated territory about the size of Colorado, located on the Atlantic coast in northwestern Africa just south of Morocco. Traditionally inhabited by nomadic Arab tribes, collectively known as Sahrawis and famous for their long history of resistance to outside domination, the territory was occupied by Spain from the late 1800s through the mid-1970s, well over a decade after most African countries had achieved their freedom from European colonialism.

The nationalist Polisario Front launched an armed independence struggle against Spain in 1973, and Madrid eventually promised the people of what was then still known as the Spanish Sahara a referendum on the fate of the territory by the end of 1975.

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Archbishop Odama of Gulu has offered himself to the International Criminal Court in place of the indicted Lords Resistance Army leaders -- if they agree to end the war.

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Are conditions ripe for a grand bargain in the Middle East?

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Resolution 1701 contains some disturbing ambiguities that may make a permanent peace between Lebanon and Israel elusive.

The UN Security Council resolution passed on August 11 which belatedly imposed a ceasefire to end the fighting in Lebanon was certainly good news in terms of ending the carnage. Resolution 1701 was also a marked improvement over the original US draft and contains some positive language. Both sides, for instance, are called upon to honor “a full cessation of hostilities.” And Israel must provide the UN with maps of landmines planted in southern Lebanon during Israel’s 22-year occupation that ended in 2000.