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The following is the testimony given by Pastor Dan before the United Nations October 9th 2007.
 

October 9, 2007

 

His Excellency and Members of Committee IV:

 

I am a Pastor of a local church in North Carolina and I have been praying for the independence of Western Sahara since 1999. The right of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara was started in 1960 by your own Resolution 1514.  As a caring person in a world of injustice, I believe the time is well past for a final resolution to the legal right for these people to go free.

 

I would like to quote two of the United States’ greatest men. Former president Abraham Lincoln once stated that, “You can’t escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” And John D. Rockefeller said, “I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.” I conclude that if the nations of the world have the power to enforce a free and fair referendum, then they have the authority to act and make it happen. The nations will also be responsible for the consequences and the legacy that will be recorded in history. Avoiding the decision and enforcement of a free vote in Western Sahara will not release the responsibility of the future outcomes.

 

I realize that there are many great problems in the world today, but the situation in Western Sahara is a blight in the face of justice. Winston Churchill once stated, “Politics is more dangerous than war, for in war you are only killed once.” The people of the Western Sahara have been “killed” over and over by the international community whose weapons are broken promises and failed legislation. Decades of dashed hopes have taken their toll on the generations who have waited so long for their dream to be fulfilled.

 

 

I am petitioning, employing, begging the United Nations to end this tragedy and enforce the decolonization of Western Sahara. I do so because I believe all authority comes from above and the stewardship of this effort is a most holy cause. Much time, effort, money, prayer, and lives have been spent in moving to free Western Sahara. It is time to bring the final chapter on the colonizing of Africa to a close. May the history books reflect that the will of the nations, in our day, was to defend injustice and fight for the rights of any and all peoples.

 

Thank you for your time and attention.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Dan Stanley, Ph.D.

Senior Pastor

RockFish Church

 
www.USWSF.org
Some time ago there was a people that wanted nothing more than to have the right to the freedom of thought, religion, and self-government.  These people wanted to be free from a country that colonized them; in order to have a home-land where they could worship God, work, and have the right of self-determination.  There was a war and the colonial European country decided to allow the people of the land the right to decide their own future.  No, I am not talking about America, I am referring to the country of Western Sahara.

 

 The difference between the story of the United States and Western Sahara is that the Saharawi were tricked into thinking they had won.  Shortly after Spain agreed to de-colonize Western Sahara, they (Spain) allowed Morocco to invade (as the rest of the world was silent) and to begin a conflict that has lasted over 30 years.  To this date the United Nations (along with James Baker) have not been able to enforce the agreement that guarantees the people of Western Sahara the right of freedom. 

 

 For over 30 years families have been separated, refugees have died, and promises have been broken as Morocco has raped, pillaged, and committed gross acts of human rights violations.  In the Kuwaiti situation the United States moved in very quickly to resolve the problem because of  oil.  I believe that justice, freedom, and human lives are more valuable than oil.

 

 I realize I see things in a very simplistic fashion and some have a better political vantage point than I, but could you look into this situation again and maybe my prayers would be answered.  I pray that one day soon I will see a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.  Maybe the new Western Sahara could turn out to be one of our best allies in North Africa.  Maybe instead of having an aborted democracy, we could see the birth of a new republic!

 

 Sincerely,

 

 Dan Stanley, Ph.D.     

(Letter written to G.W. Bush)