The Frente Polisario asks the Spanish government to rectify the Sahara

Madrid, 19 Mar The delegate of the Frente Polisario in Spain, Abdulah Arabi, this Saturday called on the Spanish Government “to rectify and, above all, to continue to assume that responsibility it has towards the Saharawi people and to act accordingly”. Speaking to EFE, Arabi said that “Spain is not a party to the conflict, it is a country that has a political and legal responsibility and, as such, has to work towards a solution, but not since the imposition of one of the options proposed by one of the parties, in this case Morocco”. Spain yesterday announced its support for the Moroccan initiative of autonomy for Western Sahara, which represents a total change of position regarding the future of that territory, a former Spanish colony, since until now it defended the UN agreements to hold a referendum in the Sahara to determine its political future. Abdulah Arabi pointed out that the Frente Polisario “is very carefully analyzing this decision of the Government of Spain” and stressed that “obviously one of the first consequences” is that Spain, by betting “on an option that defends the occupying power”, “definitively excludes itself from any possibility of mediation between the parties or including in support of the efforts of the special envoy of the Secretary - General of the United Nations”. “The Frente Polisario is meditating that Spain, as the administering power, is now more than ever called upon to assume a role in trying to help find a solution to the dispute in Western Sahara, but of course with statements like this one it has placed itself alongside the claim, by Morocco and some of its allies, to try to impose autonomy as the only solution,” Arabi stressed. For all these reasons, the Frente Polisario conveyed to the Government “its concern and its misunderstanding over this decision, which threatens the stability of the North African area and, above all, complicates the resolution of the conflict in Western Sahara”. In his opinion, “the only thing that can provide a solution to this conflict is the pronouncement of the Saharawi people through a self-determination referendum that will allow a lasting, just and viable solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, as required by United Nations resolutions”. In this regard, the delegate of the Frente Polisario in Spain calls on the Government “to continue to support the efforts of the international community, the resolutions of the United Nations and to try to use its relations with Morocco to demand compliance with and respect for the UN resolutions”. “Of course, the Saharawi people and the Frente Polisario have a total determination to continue our struggle until we impose our ultimate goals, freedom and independence,” warned the Frente Polisario delegate in Spain. The dispute over Western Sahara began in 1975 when Morocco annexed the territory of this former Spanish colony in the midst of decolonization, while the Polisario Front unilaterally proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in the Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria and declared war on Rabat. CHIEF en/ram/ma/pi (video)