The separatists of the Polisario Front, who took up arms again in mid-November, this Saturday accused the United Nations of being responsible for the political impasse and of playing Morocco's game in Western Sahara, a territory disputed for 30 years.
Read also: Western Sahara: in Morocco, the sacred union against the "provocations" of the Polisario
"
Morocco could not have done what it did without the support of the international community, the support of the UN, the Security Council as well as the UN secretary general
," said a senior official of the Polisario, Khatri Addouh, in the Sahrawi refugee camps of Tindouf in Algeria, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
After almost 30 years of ceasefire, tensions resurfaced in November when Morocco deployed its troops in the buffer zone of Guerguerat, in the extreme south of the territory, after a group of Sahrawi militants blocked the only road to neighboring Mauritania.
Since then, frustrated by the deadlock in the UN process, the Polisario has resumed hostilities and claims to be "
in a state of self-defense
".
But it remains very difficult to know from an independent source what is happening on the ground, difficult to access.
"
Just peace
"
"
The Polisario Front has tried for 29 years to avoid war by making concessions, but it has faced a total lack of cooperation from both the Moroccan side and the UN
", denounced Khatri Addouh , quoted by the official Sahrawi agency SPS.
The quadripartite peace negotiations (Morocco, Polisario, Algeria and Mauritania) conducted under the auspices of the UN have stalled since March 2019.
"
We ask the United Nations to urgently fulfill its promise: that of ridding Western Sahara of colonization, in accordance with its Charter and its resolutions
", pleaded the leader of the Polisario, Brahim Ghali, in an anniversary speech at the camp of refugees from Aousserd.
The secretary general of the Polisario criticized certain members of the Security Council, including France, a great ally of Morocco, who "
encouraged the Moroccan occupier to move towards the current escalation
".
Read also: Algiers furious at the barter between Morocco and Trump in the Sahara
Brahim Ghali, who is also president of the SADR proclaimed on February 27, 1976, nevertheless called Rabat “
to reason
” and “
extended his hand
” for “
a just peace
”.
"
We call on our brothers of the Kingdom of Morocco to take the path of wisdom and to put an end to the policies of aggression, expansion and colonialism (...) so that our peoples live in peace
", he said. he says.
As on every anniversary, the Polisario presented its armed forces during a parade in the presence of the Saharawi leaders.
Columns of soldiers, men and women, wearing sanitary masks, presented arms, while a woman fully wrapped in the Sahrawi flag paraded in front of them.
But unlike some previous years, no heavy weaponry was exhibited this Saturday.
After the military parade, a folkloric parade, to the rhythm of Sahrawi music, brought together women in traditional dress and children, bringing together the generations.
"
We want to find our nation, return to our liberated lands, like other nations,
" Hadher, a 40-year-old Saharawi told AFP.
Call to Biden
The question of the status of Western Sahara, considered as a “
non-autonomous territory
” by the UN in the absence of a final settlement, has been opposing the Polisario to Morocco for decades.
The Polisario, supported by Algeria, calls for a referendum of self-determination planned by the UN, while Morocco proposes a plan of autonomy under its sovereignty.
Rabat controls around 80% of this vast desert territory, where major Moroccan development projects have been launched in recent years.
Shortly before his departure from the White House, Donald Trump recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the whole of Western Sahara in return for the normalization of Rabat's relations with Israel.
The Saharawis are now placing their hopes in the new Biden administration so that it can reverse this decision which "
violates all decisions and resolutions of all international bodies
".
"
We hope that the American administration corrects the gross error of the Trump administration
," senior Saharawi security official Sid Ould Ouka told AFP.
Read also: Morocco integrates the waters of Western Sahara into its maritime space
Since then, the UN, which has a mission with limited prerogatives on site, the Minurso (United Nations Mission for the Organization of a Referendum in Western Sahara), has indicated that its position was "
unchanged
", like several countries involved. in the file.
