Based upon public and private reports, that are usually judged accurate, although the information contained herein have not been corroborated by third party sources.
A member of Polisario’s National Secretariat describes UNSC Resolution 2099 as a “turning point in the Western Sahara conflict”. The resolution, which in the end did not provide for extending MINURSO’s mandate to cover human rights monitoring, leaves the door open for other UN institutions to take up this matter. It is therefore important for the Saharawis to prove to the entire world that respect for human rights is an essential element in their struggle for independence. They must now show the world that the right to self-determination is the most primary of human rights. The demonstrations that took place in Laayoune, Smara and elsewhere in the territories under Moroccan control show that the Saharawis are exercising their right to demand independence; the response of the Moroccan occupiers was repression, leaving over 50 wounded. There is a new element, too: for the first time, the Moroccan occupiers have begun demolishing the homes of Saharawi activists. The Polisario Front will soon launch an international campaign for the protection of the Saharawi population in the territories held by Morocco. The Saharawis will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Polisario Front [on May 10] by calling for human rights to be respected in Western Sahara. Human rights organisations from all over the world will be coming to the refugee camps and the occupied territories to demand that human rights are respected and to condemn the repression meted out by the Moroccan occupiers. The international conference on the right of peoples to self-determination held in Algeria on Saturday, April 27 provided the occasion for Polisario to launch this campaign.
A leading member of a Saharawi NGO, who is based in Algiers, says that none of Polisario’s leaders, when commenting on UNSC resolution 2099, so much as mentioned the possibility of resuming direct talks with Morocco [the subject of articles 4 & 5 of the resolution]. The dominant discourse within Polisario, following this resolution, is focussed on mobilising international pressure for the respect of human rights in the Sahara and, by extension, for the Saharawis’ right to self-determination. That the Americans came out in favour of human rights monitoring showed that the efforts of Polisario and its friends do have a positive effect, even if Washington’s subsequent U-turn has left a bitter taste in the Saharawis’ mouths. The Algerians did not appreciate this American reversal either, seeing it as a sign of weakness in their support for the Saharawis. That is why several Algerian political leaders have loudly restated their support for the Saharawi cause. One of the collateral effects of the American U-turn is that there can no longer be any speculation about the possible re-opening of the Algerian-Moroccan border. The Algerians are no longer prepared to consider re-opening the border without some perspective of a solution to the Sahara conflict.
Ambassador Edward M. Gabriel
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