I never thought that a film review by our valued contributor, Marion D.S. Dreyfus, would elicit such controversy, but apparently there are those who disagree vehemently with the conclusions drawn in the documentary she wrote up for our website earlier this month.
I want to go on the record and state unequivocally that I am no expert in the conflict taking place in the Western Sahara between the government of Morocco and the Polosario Front. Beyond some rudimentary knowledge of its beginnings in 1975, and an acute awareness that both sides have extensive lobbying operations inside of the United States-intended to sway policymakers and diplomats to the “right” side-I can’t speak with any authority on this subject.
However, I believe in giving everyone the right to defend his or her views-within reason and the limitations delineated in this website’s terms of service-so when a supporter of the Saharawis, from the Australia Western Sahara Association, contacted us in order to address what he regarded as mischaracterizations in the documentary Marion reviewed, I thought I would give his opinion the fair hearing that it deserved. I should preface this by declaring that this does not constitute an endorsement of his view of the conflict in the Western Sahara. That aside, here are links to his organization’s weblog, and to a critical profile of the film done by Australia’s national public broadcaster, ABC.
I welcome any and all comments-including responses from the filmmakers-to this story, which is deserving of much more public attention than it currently receives.
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