Above photo: Protest by the Polisario Front in the refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria.
Only the Sahrawi people can decide between independence or autonomy within Morocco.
On Wednesday, the Polisario Front’s foreign affairs representative, Mohamed Yeslam Beissat, warned that they will not accept any “imposed” solutions to the Western Sahara conflict, insisting that it will be up to the Sahrawi people to choose between independence or autonomy within Morocco’s borders.
Yeslam Beissat said that holding a referendum is nonnegotiable and that the proposal presented Monday by Polisario leader Brahim Ghali to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opens other alternatives that Morocco and the Sahrawis must negotiate directly.
“If Morocco insists on its proposal, it must present it as one of several options for the Sahrawi people to choose from freely. Trying to impose it as the only option on the Sahrawi people is categorically unacceptable,” the Polisario Front representative said from Algiers.
Without mentioning the United States—which recognizes Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara and has pressed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to support Rabat’s proposal—Yeslam Beissat reiterated his rejection of imposed solutions and called for a “responsible dialogue” to achieve “coexistence” between Sahrawis and their Moroccan neighbors.
“The Sahrawi proposal stems from a firm conviction that true peace does not come from intrigues, maneuvers, or hiding behind foreign powers,” the Polisario Front declared.
ISRAEL BACKS MOROCCO IN WEST SAHARA
Israel has recognised Morocco’s rule over Western Sahara, a disputed territory, as part of a US-brokered deal. This deal aims to secure peace agreements between Israel and Arab countries.
The Polisario Front, a movement that seeks… pic.twitter.com/MmB9aqAZxQ
— African Stream (@african_stream) July 18, 2023
Regarding the upcoming UNSC meeting, where the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) will be discussed, Yeslam Beissat said the Polisario Front will respond if the council adopts a position different from that of the U.N. General Assembly, which has recognized MINURSO as a mission of “special importance.”
According to Yeslam Beissat, the proposal sent to the United Nations and to Russia, as the current president of the Security Council, calls for “direct and serious” negotiations with Morocco based on legality to address Rabat’s concerns and interests, as well as “the legitimate aspirations of the Sahrawi people.”
During a phone conversation held Tuesday, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the Sahrawi issue. Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is considered a non-self-governing territory undergoing decolonization. Morocco currently controls about 80 percent of the region, though the United Nations has not recognized its sovereignty.
Morocco proposes autonomy for the territory within its borders, while the Polisario Front—which declared the 1991 ceasefire with Rabat void in 2020—continues to insist on the right to self-determination through a referendum.
