Polisario Front’s rhetoric falls flat in Tindouf refugee camps

The Polisario Front’s rhetoric about a “Moroccan occupier” no longer resonates in the Tindouf camps, as reported by Yabiladi on July 15th. Sahrawis are now openly voicing criticism of the Front’s political direction, though they remain cautious not to criticize Algeria.

Calls for a reorganization of the Western Sahara self-determination movement are growing, even among residents of the Tindouf camps. Several articles published on July 14th by media outlets aligned with the Front reflect mounting internal dissatisfaction.

Many of these articles criticized the lack of clarity in the Polisario’s armed campaign against Morocco, launched on November 13th, 2020. The group’s campaign was in response to the intervention by the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces to clear the Guerguerat border crossing between Morocco and Mauritania, which had been blocked for weeks by Polisario elements.

The conflict has also recently begun spreading into Mauritania, leading the country to reinforce its borders after alleged incursions.

One Polisario-affiliated outlet, Rasdesp Blogspot, criticized the absence of any mention in the group’s 7th session of the “ongoing security chaos” that has plagued the Tindouf camps for years. The latest example was an armed clash between gangs in April.

“The rise of drug trafficking networks, smuggling rings, organized crime, and the unchecked spread of weapons has thrived in the absence of deterrent measures or a clear security strategy”, the outlet noted.

The same source also condemned the movement’s strategy of blaming external factors for its failures, both domestically and on the international stage. “This approach risks further eroding the leadership’s credibility among its base and widening the gap between its rhetoric and the lived reality of the population”.

In a statement, the Polisario General Secretary reiterated his call on the United Nations to fulfil its decolonization commitments in Western Sahara, warning against “the Moroccan occupier’s” aims of “dividing the Sahrawi people”, and reaffirming “the Sahrawi people’s right to resist occupation by all means, across all occupied territories”.

Two months ago, a group of Polisario members signed a petition calling for an “extraordinary congress” to elect a new leader, highlighting dissatisfaction with current head Brahim Ghali. Since then, the initiative has faded from public view. The proponents, including lead author Bachir Mustapha Sayed, have ceased discussion of it on social media.

Now, attention has shifted to Algeria and the US House of Representatives, where a bill is under discussion that seeks to add the Polisario Front to the US list of terrorist organizations and individuals, a move that could further complicate the group’s standing on the international stage.

Yabiladi, Maghrebi.org