Polisario seeks to keep Sahara dispute in spotlight
By withdrawing from a Western Sahara neutral area, Morocco is courting the new UN secretary-general while getting rid of the attention the tense situation has brought to the Western Sahara plight.
After a monthslong standoff, Morocco has agreed to pull out of a neutral zone in Western Sahara, but fighters representing the latter decry the action as mere showmanship designed to minimize negative publicity and curry favor with the United Nations.
The Polisario Front, the independence movement of the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara, wants to keep the dispute front and center in the public’s eye and hasn’t withdrawn from the Guerguerat village buffer zone. Guerguerat lies in the far southwest of Western Sahara near the border with Mauritania.
Morocco annexed Western Sahara in 1975 after Spain withdrew from the region. The Polisario embarked on a guerrilla war and has been seeking a self-determination referendum since 1991. However, Morocco has refused any resolution that includes independence.
Each side has sought support from the UN Security Council. Many negotiating sessions were held at UN headquarters without resolving the stalemate. But the standoff at Guerguerat brought the Western Sahara question to the international scene, as it became a threat to regional security.
