Khalihenna Ould-Errachid ( ar, خلي هنا ولد الرشيد; ''Khalihuna Walad Al-Rashid'') is a
Sahrawi Moroccan politician. He is the president of the
Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs
The Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs ( ar, المجلس الملكي الاستشاري للشؤون الصحراوية; french: Conseil royal consultatif pour les affaires sahariennes) is an advisory committee to the Moroccan governm ...
(CORCAS), a
Moroccan government body supporting Morocco's claim on
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
.
Biography
Early life
Khalihenna Ould-Errachid was born in 1951 in a tent near
Laayoune to an influential
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
in the
Reguibat tribe.
In the 1960s, he attended reunions with
Muhammad Bassiri
Muhammad Sidi Brahim Sidi Embarek Basir ( ar, محمد سيدي إبراهيم سيدي مبارك بصير; born 1942 or 1944 – disappeared June 18, 1970) was a Sahrawi people, Sahrawi nationalist leader, disappeared and presumedly executed ...
and was part of the
Zemla Intifada.
Political career
In 1974, Ould-Errachid started the pro-spanish
Sahrawi National Union Party (PUNS). The PUNS, which had been created with the approval of the Spanish authorities, was the only authorized
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
(also in the rest of Spain, except the ruling
Falange
The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco F ...
movement) between 1974 to 1975, had been created to counter the territorial claims from neighbours
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
and
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
, as well as the
Sahrawi nationalism
Sahrawi nationalism is a political ideology that seeks self-determination of the Sahrawi people, the indigenous population of Western Sahara. It has historically been represented by the Polisario Front. It came as a reaction against Spanish co ...
Polisario Front, created in 1973.
In April 1975, during a press conference in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, Ould-Errachid declared that "if it weren't for
phosphates, nobody would vindicate the territory. What Morocco seeks is not the Sahrawi welfare, but the exploitation of phosphates. We want independence, and the circumstance is given that in the future state of Western Sahara there are phosphates deposits."
Under Hassan II
During the
United Nations visiting mission to Spanish Sahara in May–June 1975, and before the
Madrid Agreement
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, Ould-Errachid fled from El Aaiún to
Las Palmas, and then took another plane to Morocco. Few days after, on May 19, Ould-Errachid declared his allegiance to the King of Morocco,
Hassan II in
Fez
Fez most often refers to:
* Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire
* Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco
Fez or FEZ may also refer to:
Media
* ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
.
Ould-Errachid claims that he helped organize the
Green March in 1975.
Several sources alleged that he left Western Sahara with between 160,000 and 6,000,000
pesetas taken from a bank account linked to PUNS. Under
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Hassan II, he was appointed in 1977 as Minister of Saharan Affairs, and later as mayor (President of the Municipal Council) of
Laayoune from 1983 until 2006, when he was succeeded by his brother,
Moulay Hamdi Ould Errachid.
He was viewed as very close to the King Hassan's right-hand man, the minister of interior
Driss Basri, who held responsibility for the Saharan territories, where Polisario waged a
guerrilla war
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactic ...
against Morocco until the
1991 cease-fire (still in effect, pending final resolution of the conflict). Following the death of King Hassan in 1999, and the dismissal of Basri by the new king
Mohammed VI Muhammad VI may refer to:
* Muhammad Imaaduddeen VI (1868–1932), sultan of the Maldives from 1893 to 1902
* Mehmed VI (1861–1926), sultan of Ottoman Empire, from 1918 to 1922
* Mohammed VI of Morocco
Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس ...
's new government a few years later, Ould-Errachid believed his political career was over.
Under Mohammed VI
In 2006, King Mohammed VI created the
Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs
The Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs ( ar, المجلس الملكي الاستشاري للشؤون الصحراوية; french: Conseil royal consultatif pour les affaires sahariennes) is an advisory committee to the Moroccan governm ...
(CORCAS) to promote Morocco's autonomy plan. As head of the royal council, Khalihenna Ould-Errachid made a public comeback, and was featured prominently in Moroccan
diplomacy
Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...
.
Khalihenna Ould-Errachid considers the Polisario Front as an obstacle to a peaceful solution due to what he saw as deep dependency on Algeria. The Polisario refuses to acknowledge CORCAS and refuses Morocco's autonomy plan, opting for full independence instead.
In 2008, a transcript from a 2005
Equity and Reconciliation Commission
The Equity and Reconciliation Commission ( ar, هيئة الإنصاف والمصالحة; - IER) is a Moroccan human rights and truth commission created on January 7, 2004, when King Mohammed VI signed a '' Dahir'' (royal decree). The commissi ...
meeting regarding the
Western Sahara War was leaked to Al-Jarida al-Oula, during the meeting, Ould-Errachid declared that "there are some people
.. about three or four Army officers who have committed what can be called war crimes against prisoners outside the scope of the war" and that "many civilians were thrown from helicopters or buried alive".
See also
*
CORCAS
The Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs ( ar, المجلس الملكي الاستشاري للشؤون الصحراوية; french: Conseil royal consultatif pour les affaires sahariennes) is an advisory committee to the Moroccan governm ...
*
History of Western Sahara
*
Sahrawi National Union Party
Further reading
* Hodges, Tony (1983), ''Western Sahara: The Roots of a Desert War'', Lawrence Hill Books ()
*Pazzanita, Anthony G. and Hodges, Tony (1994), ''Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara'', Scarecrow Press ()
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Errachid, Khalihenna Ould
Living people
Moroccan politicians
Sahrawi National Union Party politicians
1951 births
Members of the Reguibat tribe