Bulletin No46 mai 2024 The Communist Revolutionary Party, which supports national liberation movements in the decolonization processes, wishes to underline its solidarity with the struggle of the Sahrawi people for the recognition of their independence. To enlighten our readers, we are publishing on our Communistes-Hebdo an interview with Mohamed Ali Zerouali, representative of the Polisario in France.
1.Can you remind us what happened in 1975 when Spain left the Rio de Oro that it was colonizing and when Hassan II organized the “green march”?
In 1975, Spain was forced to end its colonization of Western Sahara, a region it had occupied since the early 19th century. The outbreak of the armed struggle against Spanish colonialism in this region took place on May 20, 1973, after several peaceful attempts at resistance, all of which were violently repressed by the Franco regime.
Instead of organizing a self-determination referendum as demanded by the UN since 1963, Spain signed, on November 14, 1975, the “Madrid Tripartite Agreements” with Morocco and Mauritania, under the auspices of the United States. United. These agreements shared the territory of Western Sahara between these two countries without consulting the Sahrawis.
Simultaneously, King Hassan II of Morocco orchestrated the "Green March", an operation presented as peaceful but which, in reality, aimed to divert international attention from the joint military invasion of Western Sahara by the Moroccan and Mauritanian armies. This action led to the occupation of the north of the territory by Morocco and the south by Mauritania.
The Polisario Front, which had just expelled Spain, hoped for help from its Moroccan and Mauritanian neighbors in its fight against the colonizer. However, faced with this new invasion, he had no choice but to resist these new invaders by all means. After the official withdrawal of the last Spanish soldier from Western Sahara, on February 27, 1976, the Polisario Front proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), today recognized by 83 countries and a founding member of the African Union.
2. How can the complicity of almost all Moroccan political organizations with the king in this affair be explained?
Abroad, the question of Western Sahara is often seen as a national cause in Morocco, transcending political divisions. However, the reality is more complex. In the 1970s, for King Hassan II, the war in Western Sahara was above all a means of keeping the Moroccan army away from the Royal Palace and diverting attention from the internal politico-economic situation. In addition to the exploitation of the region's natural resources, this war served as a diversionary maneuver. Any person or political group daring to question the official thesis risked their life, both physical and political.
The famous opponent Abraham Serfaty spent 27 years in prison for having the audacity to declare in court that he supported the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people. His comrades from the left-wing “Ila Al Amam” (Forward) party were forced to flee abroad. Thus, far from believing that King Hassan II and his son Mohamed VI were able to mobilize a national consensus around this issue, it is in reality a regime of terror which does not accept any questioning of its official thesis .
3. France is a strong supporter of Morocco, how do you analyze this?
The unconditional support of French governments for Morocco, on the military, diplomatic and economic levels, has considerably influenced the process of decolonization of Western Sahara. Without this assistance, it is likely that decolonization would have been completed long ago. Recently, the new French ambassador to Morocco publicly acknowledged that France had sent Jaguar planes to bomb the columns of Sahrawi fighters in 1976 and 1977. Furthermore, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, France has never stopped pressing to prevent the Security Council from exerting constraints on the Moroccan government so that it respects international legality. In fact, it was even the French government that was behind the so-called Moroccan autonomy proposal.
During his recent visit to Morocco, the French Minister of Foreign Trade announced the French government's intention to invest and finance projects in the occupied areas of Western Sahara. If this initiative materializes, it would constitute direct support for Morocco's occupation of Sahrawi territory, in flagrant violation of international and European law. France is perfectly aware that, according to the UN, Western Sahara is a non-autonomous territory and that the Sahrawi people have the right to self-determination and sovereignty over its resources. Consequently, any exploitation of these resources must be done with the consent of the Polisario Front, the sole and legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people. Likewise, European justice has recognized that Morocco and Western Sahara are two distinct entities and that any economic activity in the Sahrawi territory must be negotiated with the Sahrawi government.
Ignoring these principles amounts to directly supporting Morocco's illegal occupation of Western Sahara, which constitutes a clear violation of international and European law. The Sahrawi people hope that France, as a permanent member of the Security Council and defender of human rights and the values of liberty, equality and fraternity, will act in favor of peace and stability in the region. It is imperative that the French government protects its economic and other interests in the region while respecting the fundamental rights of the Sahrawi people and international law. Peace and stability, which benefit everyone, cannot be obtained at the expense of the basic human rights of the Sahrawi people and the principles of international law.
4. Today, how do the Sahrawis who are under Moroccan domination live?
Sahrawis living under Moroccan occupation face many difficulties. They suffer economic and social discrimination, and their fundamental rights are frequently violated. Peaceful demonstrations in favor of self-determination are often repressed with violence, and Sahrawi activists are regularly arrested, imprisoned or harassed. Access to employment, education and health care is also limited for Sahrawis, who often live in precarious conditions.
Sahrawi political prisoners suffer the worst abuses and torture at the hands of the Moroccan police. Eliminations and attempts to eliminate Sahrawi activists are commonplace. Several mass graves, containing hundreds of remains of victims who died under torture and buried anonymously without further ado, were discovered. Today, this type of elimination continues to occur with total impunity, as evidenced by the numerous assassination attempts suffered by Mrs. Sultana Khaya during her year of house arrest in her family home in the occupied town of Boujdour.
Morocco has transformed the occupied territories of Western Sahara into an open-air prison, where observers, journalists and independent lawyers are barred from access. The Moroccan occupying forces morally and physically torture political detainees, working towards their insidious elimination due to lack of care and sufficient food. Formularbeginn
5. Are there Polisario Front fighters present in Western Sahara? What is their activity?
Since the entry into force of the ceasefire on September 6, 1991, the result of direct negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front under the aegis of the UN, a wall of sand, erected by Morocco, of more than 2700 km, equipped with sophisticated surveillance systems, heavy weapons, minefields and monitored by several hundred Moroccan soldiers, divides Western Sahara between the territories occupied by Morocco and the liberated areas. The latter are under the control of Sahrawi fighters from the Polisario Front. Until November 13, 2020, their activity was mainly defensive, aimed at protecting these territories and resisting the Moroccan occupation. However, since then, fighting has resumed between the two parties.
Contrary to popular belief, it was not the Polisario Front which broke the ceasefire in force since 1991, but rather the Moroccan army which attacked Sahrawi civilians on November 13, 2020. The latter were peacefully demonstrating against the illegal opening of a breach in the buffer zone of El-Guerguerat, in the southwest of Western Sahara. The Polisario Front simply reacted to this violation of the ceasefire, as well as to the deafening silence of the Security Council. The peaceful Sahrawi people were forced into war, thus placing themselves in self-defense. Those primarily responsible for the resumption of hostilities are undoubtedly the Moroccan regime, closely followed by the international community, in particular the Security Council, which has done nothing to force the Moroccan authorities to respect their commitments and the framework of legality. international. In summary, the resumption of the armed struggle has once again been imposed on the Sahrawi people.
6. Sahrawis live in refugee camps in Algeria: What is their life like and what are their hopes?
The Sahrawis living in the liberated territories and in the Sahrawi refugee camps, mainly in the surroundings of the Algerian town Tindouf, endure very difficult living conditions. They are largely dependent on international humanitarian aid for their survival. Despite these precarious conditions, Sahrawi refugees remain resilient and organized, with social, educational and political structures in place. Their main hope is to one day return to a free and independent Western Sahara. They aspire to a future where they can live in peace, with the recognition of their rights and their identity.
7. Where are we today? What prospects exist for the liberation of Western Sahara? What role does the UN play?
Today, the situation in Western Sahara remains blocked, despite diplomatic efforts. The peace process, carried out under the auspices of the UN, is at a standstill, with Morocco refusing any solution including a referendum on independence. The UN maintains a peacekeeping mission, MINURSO, which has however failed to significantly advance the negotiations.
Prospects for the liberation of Western Sahara depend on increased international pressure on Morocco to accept a just and lasting solution, respecting the Sahrawi right to self-determination. The Polisario Front, representing the Sahrawi people, remains determined to continue its liberation struggle by all legal means recognized by international legality.