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Morocco World
2 days ago
- Politics
- Morocco World
Sahrawi Movement for Peace Condemns Polisario's Failed Strategy
Doha – In an unsparing appeal to Sahrawi leadership, the Sahrawi Movement for Peace (MSP) has issued an open letter denouncing the Polisario Front's disastrous policies and urging immediate dialogue amidst catastrophic conditions in Tindouf refugee camps and suffocating international isolation. The letter, published on June 4, from Madrid, directly confronts the Sahrawi elite, demanding honest debate about the movement's future. 'We are at a turning point where we must decide if we persist in a dead-end path or seek realistic, viable and just solutions,' the MSP declared. The organization blasts the Polisario Front's unilateral resumption of war in November 2020 as an irredeemable error and a catastrophic misstep with 'predictable but devastating consequences.' According to the letter, Moroccan drones have established overwhelming military supremacy, decimating Polisario positions and shattering the 'status quo' established in 1991. The MSP exposes the Polisario's growing diplomatic irrelevance, stating that 'many countries have frozen their relations with the 'Sahrawi Republic'' while an increasing number of countries support Morocco's autonomy proposal as 'the most serious and credible' solution. Morocco is no longer merely navigating the Western Sahara file — it is dictating its terms. With the United Kingdom becoming the latest heavyweight to endorse Rabat's Autonomy Plan, alongside the United States, France, Spain, and nearly 120 countries, the tide has unmistakably turned. What began as a misguided separatist project, driven by obsolete ideology and regional agendas, has now collapsed under the weight of reality — giving way to a geopolitical landslide in Morocco's favor. 'The living conditions are deteriorating rapidly: shortages, insecurity, frustration. Despair has taken hold in the collective mind,' the MSP writes about the dire situation in the Tindouf camps. The movement's blistering critique comes after they condemned the Algerian regime in April following what they described as 'the cold-blooded murder of two young Sahrawis by Algerian soldiers' in the Dajla refugee camp. 'These atrocities are not isolated incidents. The Sahrawis living in the camps are victims of frequent shootings, intimidations and violent repressions by Algerian forces,' the MSP thundered in an urgent communiqué to the United Nations and MINURSO. This incident occurred shortly after Algerian troops reportedly gunned down Sid Ahmed Belali and wounded nine others near the Gara Djebilet mine, with three victims clinging to life in critical condition. A seat at the table Positioning itself as a credible alternative to the flailing and increasingly obsolete Polisario Front, the MSP is demanding a seat at the table in the UN-led political process on Western Sahara. The movement describes itself as 'the true voice for an important part of the Sahrawi population that aspires to a negotiated political solution.' American Enterprise Institute scholar Michael Rubin has reinforced this stance, urging the United Nations to strip recognition from the Polisario Front as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people. In an April 7 analysis, Rubin condemned the Polisario as 'a vestige of the Cold War' that 'holds wives and children as hostages to prevent refugee resettlement.' 'The Sahrawi Movement for Peace not only rejects violence but also seeks consensus across broad segments of the Sahrawi population,' Rubin wrote, noting the movement has secured recognition from Socialist International and growing support from the Spanish government. The MSP, first embraced Morocco's autonomy proposal in its 2022 Canary Islands Manifesto, reconvened recently at the same location to produce a second manifesto calling on 'the UN Secretary-General to persuade his Personal Envoy to invite and include the Sahrawis for Peace Movement as a fully recognized interlocutor in the political process.' In their scorching letter, the MSP warns that failed movements like 'the PKK in Turkey or the FARC in Colombia ended up surrendering unconditionally without achieving their objectives,' while others like 'the Biafran secessionists or the People's Mujahedeen of Iran saw their causes disappear into oblivion, pain, and chaos.' The MSP implores abandoning the failed armed struggle for 'political options based on political dialogue, in flexible frameworks of coexistence' modeled after 'moderate nationalisms like those of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Basque Country, Catalonia, or Northern Ireland in England.' 'It is time to leave behind divisions, acronyms, labels of 'traitors' or 'loyalists', 'heroes' or 'villains',' the MSP advocates, issuing a grave admonition that 'history will not be lenient with those who, at a crucial moment like this, choose silence or inaction.' Tags: Polisario FrontSahrawi Movement for PeaceWestern sahara
Morocco World
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Bloodbath in Tindouf: MSP Denounces Algerian Army's Civilian Killings
Doha – The Sahrawi Movement for Peace (MSP) thundered against the Algerian regime following the cold-blooded murder of two young Sahrawis by Algerian soldiers in the Dajla refugee camp, 160 kilometers east of Tindouf. In an urgent communiqué addressed to the United Nations and MINURSO, the MSP excoriated the 'flagrant violations of the most fundamental human rights' that 'can no longer be ignored,' demanding immediate intervention to protect civilian refugees held hostage on Algeria's territory. 'A new tragedy has struck our people: two young Sahrawis were coldly murdered by Algerian soldiers in the refugee camp of Dajla,' the MSP declared. 'Lamentably, these atrocities are not isolated incidents. The Sahrawis living in the camps are victims of frequent shootings, intimidations and violent repressions by Algerian forces.' The movement warned that 'this situation has generated a climate of insecurity and constant fear, endangering the daily lives of innocent civilians.' This savage killing adds to a bloody series of assaults where the Algerian military systematically targets defenseless Sahrawis. Mere days before, Algerian troops gunned down Sid Ahmed Belali and wounded nine others near the Gara Djebilet mine, leaving three clinging to life in critical condition. Raw video footage captured enraged protesters confronting their oppressors, with desperate refugees threatening to escape to Morocco, screaming at Algerian soldiers: 'Do you want us to go to Morocco? You're killing our children here in cold blood.' The MSP's desperate plea crashes against a backdrop of intensifying global condemnation of the Polisario Front, which rules the camps as Algeria's puppet regime. American Enterprise Institute scholar Michael Rubin demanded the UN strip recognition from the Polisario as Sahrawi representatives, denouncing the separatist group as 'a vestige of the Cold War' that 'no one has ever elected' and that brutally 'holds wives and children as hostages to prevent refugee resettlement.' Tindouf's open-air prison The catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Tindouf exploded into international view last month at the 58th UN Human Rights Council session, where multiple NGOs unmasked the horrific reality of systematic kidnappings, torture chambers, child exploitation, and cold-blooded extrajudicial executions rampant throughout the camps. Eyewitnesses testified that 'the geographical isolation of the camps, far from any international monitoring, contributes to aggravating these violations,' with defenseless women and children bearing the brunt of 'physical and psychological violence, as well as inhumane living conditions.' Former detainee El Fadel Braika condemned the 'inhumane conditions' in the camps, including forced disappearances and exploitation of child soldiers, while other organizations accused the Polisario of using programs like 'Vacations in Peace' as 'a cover for child trafficking.' The MSP vehemently demands inclusion in the UN-led political process on Western Sahara, declaring itself the true voice for 'an important part of the Sahrawi population that aspires to a negotiated political solution, away from the violent methods of the Polisario Front.' 'This peaceful and moderate movement represents a significant portion of the Sahrawi population,' stresses the MSP communiqué. 'The exclusion of this realistic and constructive voice would only perpetuate the status quo and the suffering of our people,' the movement thunders, hammering that 'lasting peace in the Sahara will not be possible without justice, truth, and a sincere commitment to human rights.' 'We also call on the international community, human rights organizations, and the media to break the silence, denounce these acts of violence, and support the Sahrawi people in their legitimate aspiration for peace and dignity,' the MSP implores in its desperate appeal. World powers rally behind Morocco The MSP's urgent appeal comes as influential US Congressman Joe Wilson spearheads a Republican initiative in the Senate to designate the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization, and as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has explicitly hailed Morocco's Autonomy Plan as 'the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute.' Under Secretary Lisa Kenna reaffirmed Washington's position that 'genuine autonomy under Morocco's sovereignty is the only feasible solution' to the Western Sahara issue. Just this week, a cascade of European countries reaffirmed support for Morocco's Autonomy Plan, with France, Spain, Estonia, Moldova, and Croatia all backing Rabat's proposal during Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita's diplomatic tour across Europe. This diplomatic tsunami against Polisario gained further momentum when UN Personal Envoy Staffan de Mistura abruptly abandoned his earlier partition proposal, now acknowledging Morocco's Autonomy Plan as 'the only viable path to a lasting and politically feasible resolution' of the decades-long conflict. With international sentiment increasingly favoring Morocco's Autonomy Plan and MSP emerging as a legitimate alternative to the Polisario, pressure is mounting on the Algerian regime to answer for its brutal treatment of Sahrawi refugees under its control. Read also: Captain Ali Najab, A Hero Who Exposed the Darkness of Polisario's Crimes Tags: Algerian Armyhuman rights in the Tindouf campsPolisario Front
Morocco World
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Tindouf Refugees Consider Fleeing to Morocco After Deadly Attack by Algerian Army
Rabat – In yet another case of Algeria's inhumane treatment of civilians in the Tindouf refugee camps, a violent clash broke out yesterday between residents of the camps and Algerian soldiers after a deadly incident in which the soldiers killed several civilians. The altercation took place near the Gara Djebilet mine, southeast of Tindouf. According to reports, one man, identified as Sid Ahmed Belali, was killed, and nine others were injured, three of them critically. A video circulating online shows protesters angrily protesting the deadly attack and threatening to move to Morocco, blaming the Algerian military for the brutal treatment of their families. 'Do you want us to go to Morocco? … You're killing our children here in cold blood,' a civilian is heard crying out to Algerian soldiers. An Algerian soldier is then heard telling him, 'Go!' #عاجل #خطير مشادات بين سكان مخيم الداخلة وعناصر من الجيش الجزائري بعد جريمة القتل المرتكبة من طرفهم في حق مدنيين عزل من سكان تلك المخيمات الواقعة قرب منجم غارا جبيلات جنوب شرق مدينة تندوف كما تسمعون جيدا هدد سكان تلك المخيمات بالذهاب إلى المغرب وصبوا جام غضبهم على عناصر الجيش… — وليد كبير Oualid KEBIR 🇩🇿 (@oualido) April 9, 2025 Local authorities and media have been criticized for their lack of response, with calls for a formal investigation into the incident. Many urged the United Nations to take notice of the situation. Algerian political analyst Oualid Kebir wrote to American Congressman and attorney Joe Wilson on X to express his deep concern about the incident. 'This tragic event is yet another reminder of the dire reality endured by thousands of families who have been held for decades in these camps under harsh conditions, deprived of their most basic rights, and denied the freedom to express their will or return voluntarily to their homeland,' Kebir said. He described the situation in the Tindouf camps as a 'flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the fundamental values of freedom and human dignity that we all uphold.' Read also: Kidnapped Man Pleading for Help Sparks Concerns About Deteriorating Situation in Tindouf Kebir, currently residing in Morocco, called on Wilson to use his influence to advocate for international access to the camps, protect the inhabitants, and hold those responsible for violations accountable. The Tindouf refugee camps, under the control of the Polisario Front and supported by Algeria, have long been plagued by serious human rights violations. These include restrictions on freedom of expression and political participation, with dissenting voices facing arbitrary arrests, detentions, and harsh treatment. In addition, movement within and outside the camps is tightly controlled. Several NGOs exposed human rights violations in the Tindouf camps at the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council last month. They raised concerns about kidnappings, torture, child exploitation, and extrajudicial executions, as they called on the international community to act against these violations. The human rights NGOs also criticized the impunity enjoyed by the Polisario Front and the role of Algerian authorities in perpetuating the situation. Activists Fatima Ezzahrae Zouhairi, Lemaadla Mohamed Salem Zrug, and El Fadel Braika provided testimonies regarding the severe conditions in the camps, particularly for women and children, and the forced recruitment of minors for military training. Tags: AlgeriaHuman rights ViolationsTindoufWestern sahara
