I posted this story on the Huffington Post about the alarming consequences of a misinterpreted interview with the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In 2009, Mrs. Clinton visited Morocco. While there, she gave an interview, unreported here in the US, praising Morocco’s human rights record and appearing to endorse the Bush administration’s policy to support Morocco’s plan for the Western Sahara. Morocco has been illegally occupying the Western Sahara since invading in 1975
In my work on the Western Sahara (Independent Diplomat advises the Polisario Front, who represent the Saharawi people), I have met Aminatou Haidar, the 42-year old Saharawi human rights campaigner (pictured). She is a brave and determined woman who had dedicated her life to reporting on the repression and abuse of the Saharawi people, most of whom were forcibly expelled from the territory in 1975 and have remained in desert refugee camps ever since.
Continue Reading on Huffington:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carne-ross/a-brave-woman-pays-the-pr_b_359501.html