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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/01/17/direct-from-western-sahara-learn-about-the-struggle-of-the-last-colony-in-africa/">peoplesdispatch.org</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Direct from Western Sahara: learn about the struggle of the last colony in Africa</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Michele de Mello - January 17, 2023<br></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><img src="cid:ii_ld2didut0" alt="image.png" width="392" height="220"><br><p>16th Saharawi Congress in the Dajla refugee camp in the city of Tindouf, Algeria. Photo: Michele de Mello / Brasil de Fato
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<p>In the middle of the Sahara desert, half a million people resist and
fight for their liberation. Under the slogan “intensify the armed
struggle to expel the invader and build sovereignty,” the Polisario
Front, the political organization that leads the Sahrawi Arab Democratic
Republic (SADR), is holding its 16th Congress in Dajla – one of five
Sahrawi refugee camps in the town of Tindouf, Algeria. After 30 years of
ceasefire, this is the first Congress to be held again in the context
of armed confrontation with Morocco.</p>
<p>“All the human, financial, and material resources are sent to support
the combat on the armed front. Before they were directed to other areas
that will continue, but we must focus on the battlefield,” SADR’s Prime
Minister Bucharaya Beyun declared.</p>
<p>The Sahrawi Republic was founded in 1975, after gaining its
independence from Spain. After expelling the Spanish, the Sahrawi people
began to fight against the invasion of Morocco, which sought to annex
their territory of about 266,000 km² in North Africa, rich in phosphate
and with a vast coastline facing the Atlantic.</p>
<p>Defeated in the war, in 1991, Morocco signed a ceasefire agreement
with the Sahrawis, foreseeing the holding of a popular referendum,
mediated by the United Nations (UN), which would seal Western Sahara’s
independence. At the time, 2,500 Moroccan soldiers who had been captured
by the Sahrawi People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) were handed over. In
return, the kingdom of Rabat was supposed to release about 600 Sahrawi
prisoners, but only handed over 200 people.</p>
<p>Since then, the Polisario Front leaders have opted for diplomatic
means to regain control of their territory. In addition to putting the
brakes on a decades-long promised referendum on the territory’s
independence, in November 2020, Morocco violated the ceasefire and
bombed the Sahrawi people in the region known as the “Guerguerat rift,” a
gateway between the Sahara desert and the Atlantic.</p>
<h3><b>Congress</b></h3>
<p>Between January 13 and 17, 2,000 delegates from all the refugee camps
and occupied Sahrawi territory met to elect the next president, the
secretary general of the Polisario Front, and to define the political
tactics for the next three years of armed struggle.</p>
<img src="https://peoplesdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Polisario-Front-Congress-delegates.jpeg" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="392" height="261">2,000
delegates are responsible for electing a new government for the Sahrawi
Arab Democratic Republic and the next leaders of the Polisario Front.
Photo: Michele de Mello / Brasil de Fato
<p>Tata Salek is one of the elected delegates of the Polisario Front to
participate in the Congress. Born in one of the refugee camps, at the
age of 20, this is the first time she has participated in the main
political event of the Sahrawi people. “We young people feel very proud
to participate, to support our people and to have the opportunity to be
more prepared for the debate. I want to continue participating and I
hope that we can hold the next congress in our land,” says Tata.</p>
<p>In addition to the delegates, the Congress received more than 300
international visitors, representing allied countries and solidarity
associations. The first two days are open to greetings from
international guests, while the last days are closed to delegates. The
entire event, however, is broadcast live to all refugee camps by Arasdtb
TV, the Sahrawi state channel.</p>
<p>“We are in times of war, so the Congress is more focused on the armed
struggle. It’s been over 40 years of debating political exits that have
led nowhere. So women, men and young people alike have the same idea of
taking up arms again to liberate our territory,” argues Tata Salek.</p>
<img src="https://peoplesdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tata-Salek-Western-Sahara.jpeg" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="392" height="261">Tata
Salek, a young Saharawi of 20 years old, was elected a delegate and is
participating for the first time in the Congress of the Polisario Front.
Photo: Michele de Mello / Brasil de Fato
<p>For her, the central role of women and youth will be the communicational battle.</p>
<p>“Diplomacy, led by men before the war, will now be a central task of
women. On social media and in international travel. Even though women
can also fight, our cause does not prevent women from participating in
the fight, but now we are focused on the communicational fight, in
making our cause visible in other countries,” says the young Sahrawi
woman.</p>
<h3><b>History</b></h3>
<p>With one of the longest conflicts for independence in history,
Western Sahara covers a desert territory of 266,000 km² in North Africa,
bordering the Atlantic Ocean, Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania. The
Sahrawi people represent a population of about 600,000, of which 260,000
are in the refugee camps in Algeria, about 200,000 in the liberated
territory, and another 100,000 in exile. Western Sahara has the largest
phosphate deposits in the world, in addition to copper, uranium, and
iron reserves.</p>
<p>Spain took possession of the territory in 1885, and in 1950 the
Sahara lost its colonial character and became Spain’s 53rd province.
Since 1963, Western Sahara has become one of the 17 non-self-governing
territories recognized by the UN — and the most populous of them. The
list includes places such as the Falkland Islands, Bermuda, Gibraltar,
and the Cayman Islands.</p>
<p>Only in 1975 did Spain sign the agreement granting independence to
Western Sahara, making it considered the last colony on the African
continent. The initial agreement was to respect the borders inherited
from the colonial period, but interest in the phosphate reserves and the
seafood-rich coast with access to the Canary and Celtic Islands caused
the Spanish government to violate the pact.</p>
<img src="https://peoplesdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Polisario-Front-soldiers-Dajla.jpeg" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="392" height="261">At the entrance of Dajla’s camp, SPLA soldiers do security control. Photo: Michele de Mello / Brasil de Fato
<p>At that time, the Spanish government signed the Madrid Agreement,
handing over the northern part of the Western Sahara territory to
Morocco and the southern part to Mauritania.</p>
<p>In October 1975, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that
there was no legal basis for the annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco
and Mauritania, who had initially brought <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/case-related/61/9472.pdf">the case</a> before the Court in the Hague.</p>
<p>Faced with defeat in the courts, King Hassan II of Morocco began the
Green March on Western Sahara, sending 350,000 civilians and military
personnel to invade and colonize Saharan territory.</p>
<p>In 1979, Mauritania withdrew from the conflict after being defeated by the Liberation Army of the Polisario Front.</p>
<p>About 10,000 people died in the 16 years of war until the signing of
the ceasefire agreement on September 6, 1991. One of the agreed terms
was to hold a referendum on the independence of the territory, which was
never actually held.</p>
<p>In 1991, the UN created the Peace Mission for the Sahara (MINUSRO),
which would be responsible for calling for the plebiscite on the
self-determination of the Sahrawi people. When the census was completed
for the vote, Morocco demanded that the entire population living in
Western Sahara, including Moroccan settlers, be allowed to vote, while
the Polisario Front only maintained that only those inhabitants counted
in the 1974 census, before the Green March, be allowed to vote.</p>
<p>Since the ceasefire agreement, two-thirds of the territory, including
most of the Atlantic coast, has been controlled by the Moroccan
kingdom, with tacit support from France, the United States, and Israel.</p>
<p>In November 2020, with the unilateral breaking of the ceasefire by
the Moroccan side, the SPLA declared a state of war and began to strike
back with bombardments on the walls erected by Morocco.</p>
<img src="https://peoplesdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Polisario-Front-Congress-TV.jpeg" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="392" height="261">The Congress of the Polisario Front is broadcast on local television. Photo: Michele de Mello / Brasil de Fato
<h3><b>Polisario Front</b></h3>
<p>The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguía el Hamra and Rio del Oro (Polisario – <i>Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro</i>)
was created in 1973, inspired by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The
goal was to unify Saharawi political movements and parties into a single
political instrument around the struggle for independence from Spain.</p>
<p>The structure encompassed the National Union of Saharawi Women
(UNMS), the League for the Protection of Sahrawi Political Prisoners in
Moroccan Prisons (LPPS), a youth front, and the Sahrawi Popular
Liberation Army. Proclaiming the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic on
February 27, 1976, the Front installed a government-in-exile in the city
of Tindouf, Algeria.</p>
<p>Already in the first ten years after the end of the colony, SADR
gained the formal recognition of 46 states and its membership in the
African Union was approved.</p>
<p>“The Polisario Front tried to create a state in an abnormal situation
and succeeded. Our government has diplomatic relations, several
ministries, contact with other countries, and this is our path. The
difference is that now we need to put more efforts on the military
front,” defends Prime Minister Beyun.</p>
<h3><b>Relationship with Brazil</b></h3>
<p>Today 82 countries recognize the independence of Western Sahara. In
Latin America, the first country to establish diplomatic relations with
the Sahrawi Arab Republic was Panama, back in 1978. Only Brazil,
Argentina and Chile maintain a neutral position. The other states
recognize the right of the Sahrawi people over their territory.</p>
<img src="https://peoplesdispatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Wilayas-Sahara.jpeg" alt="" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="392" height="261">In
the middle of the Sahara desert, the Sahrawi people constitute their
Wilayas (states) with their houses and shops. Photo: Michele de Mello /
Brasil de Fato
<p>In 2022, with the rise of progressive governments, Peru and Colombia
resumed diplomatic relations, while Bolivia has promised to open a
Sahrawi embassy in La Paz this year.</p>
<p>“Our strategy is to continue the [military] combat and, in parallel,
to advance in the diplomatic strategy, seeking more recognition. With
regards to domestic politics, we want to strengthen education, work with
women and youth. We want to win on all fronts, not only in combat. We
want to guarantee a dignified life for our people,” concluded the
Sahrawi premier.</p>
<p>Brazil maintains a position of neutrality regarding the diplomatic
status of the Sahrawi Republic. “We hope that Lula, who knows the
Sahrawi cause, will be on our side, that Brazil will recognize the
Sahrawi Arab Republic and we hope to open an embassy in Brasilia,” said
the Polisario Front representative for Brazil, Ahmed Mulay Ali Hamadi.</p>
<p><em>This piece was first published by </em><a href="https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2023/01/16/direto-do-saara-ocidental-conheca-a-luta-da-ultima-colonia-da-africa">Brasil de Fato</a><em> in Portuguese.</em></p>
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