Occupied territories
From Free net encyclopedia
- Disambiguation: this article is about occupied territory in general: for the territories captured by Israel in the Six-Day War, see Israeli-occupied territories.
An occupied territory is a region that has been taken over by a sovereign power after a military conquest (see military occupation). In most cases the period of occupation is temporary, pending the signing of a peace treaty, the resolution of specific conditions outlined in a peace treaty, or the formation of a new government. Examples of occupied territories include Germany and Japan after World War II; the Sinai Peninsula (until 1979), Gaza Strip (until 2005), Golan Heights, and West Bank by Israel after 1967; Cambodia by Vietnam from 1979 until 1989; and Iraq after the fall of the government of Saddam Hussein.
Contents |
History and definitions
Most nations in the world are in some way an occupier of a previous inhabitant's land. Generally, any disputed territory can be seen as occupied by the party that lacks control over it at that moment. Thus, the Germanic tribes displaced the Celtic population of Europe; Egypt was conquered and absorbed in the 7th century by Arabs who were not its original population. This is particularly true of the region between Egypt and Turkey where repeated population movements and military conquests have occurred during the past several thousand years. See Occupation of Palestine.
Additionally, occupation has two distinct meanings:
- The state of being lived in (as in: "Isle of Man is occupied by the Manx", or this house is occupied by the Smith family);
- The state of military control following conquest by war.
Although (1) and (2) are obviously distinct, they are sometimes intermingled. Under (1), the territory in question is under normal civilian law; under (2) the territory is usually under military law within the terms of the Laws of war, such as the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Examples
For a more complete list, see the list of military occupations and the list of territorial disputes.
Occupied Territories under International Law since 1948
- 1948 - 1967: Occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt. Under the United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 it had been allotted to the proposed Arab state in Palestine.
- 1948 - 1967: Occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan. The territory had been annexed by Jordan, a step recognized only by Britain and perhaps Pakistan. Under the United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 it had been allotted to the proposed Arab state in Palestine.
- 1967 - present: The West Bank was captured and occupied by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Six Day War.
- 1967 - 1979: The Sinai Peninsula was captured by Israel from Egypt during the 1967 Six Day War and returned under the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.
- 1967 - 2005: The Gaza Strip was captured and occupied by Israel from Egypt during the 1967 Six Day War; Israel unilaterally removed its forces in 2005, although Israel still controls the borders and airspace.
- 1967 - present: The Golan Heights were captured and occupied by Israel from Syria in 1967. Israel effectively annexed the area in 1981 but the Security Council in Resolution 497 ruled the annexation illegal and declared the region still occupied.
- 1974 - present: Northern Cyprus is occupied by Turkey. Turkey officially disputes this, saying that the legal government of this area is the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and that the Turkish army is supporting this government. However no other country recognizes the TRNC.
- 1975 - 1999: East Timor was occupied by Indonesia
- 1976 - present: Most Western Sahara is occupied by Morocco, the rest is administered by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
United States of America and Canada
Historically, all of the territory of the United States of America was originally the territory of a multitude of Native American indigenous peoples tribes, and nations. However, the source of this situation goes back several centuries, and includes land taken from Native Americans by the Spanish, French, Russians, Dutch, Danish and British. Likewise, many of those tribes had, themselves, displaced earlier tribes from their lands.
It is incorrect to hold that the federal government of the United States of America, which only came into existence in 1776, is responsible for the initial issues. However, there is reportedly Native American territory that is currently considered by some to be illegally occupied by the United States. This is said to be true because this land legally belongs to various Native American groups due to legally binding treaties signed between the USA and particular tribes, which the tribes believe that the United States of America later violated. This includes the state of Hawaii, which many Native Hawaiians believe is an occupied territory of the U.S.
The United States does occupy several territories outside of its original "eminent domain", like Puerto Rico, an Arawakan island, claimed by the Spanish in 1493, then occupied by the United States after the Spanish-American War in 1898. Guam is also an occupied territory of the US dating from the same time. The United States also occupies Guantanamo Bay in Cuba via a perpetual lease stipulated in the Cuban-American Treaty.
In the case of Canada, most of the native treaties were signed on behalf of the British Crown, which is still recognized as the head of the contemporary Canadian government. This means, unlike the United States, the government of Canada is expected to honor the terms of many more treaties, some of which are hundreds of years old. Some lands occupied by the Canadian government were never settled as a result of treaties, and are thus considered by some native leaders to be illegally occupied. This has historically made native issues and land claims a much more complicated issue in Canada.