Why Sahrawis see more hope in war than in peace
Sahrawi leaders are growing ever-more impatient — and becoming more vocal about it — as little has been accomplished in the 25 years they have waited peacefully for change.
TINDOUF, Algeria — After evaluating 25 years of peace, Sahrawi officials and some civil society players agree that armed struggle is the only option they can depend on to reach their goal of independence.
Sept. 6 marked the 25th anniversary of the United Nations-sponsored cease-fire agreement in Western Sahara between Morocco and the Polisario Front, the Sahrawi independence movement. The peace accord was supposed to be followed by a referendum in which the Sahrawis would choose their system of governance from three options: integration with Morocco, autonomy or independence. But the planned vote was canceled after Morocco refused to allow any process that would include independence as a choice. The dispute is still ongoing, with continued tension.
Bachir Mustafa Sayed, the former Polisario Front foreign minister and the current political adviser for Brahim Ghali, the secretary-general of the Sahrawi liberation movement, was a member of the Sahrawi delegation that signed the cease-fire agreement.
At a Sept. 7 discussion panel held in the Rabuni camp in Tindouf, participants reviewed the Sahrawis' status after 25 years of peace. Sayed shared what his thinking had been at the time of the signing of the treaty. He described the situation back then as if the Polisario Front, during the armed struggle, was aboard a dinghy with no knowledge of when the weather might change or where the tide would take it. Meanwhile, the UN represented a large ship in the sea offering them aid.
