A Saharawi-Saharawi symposium

Mohamed Chérif, responsible for International Relations of the Saharawi Movement for Peace, declared that the words of Bachir Mustafa Sayed, brother of the founder of the Polisario Front, on the urgent call to organise a conference to save the ship of this organisation, confirm what the movement has been saying since its creation and demonstrate the failure of the Polisario Front and its loss of control over the political and military situation. 

Chérif pointed out that "the Polisario, which always suppresses dissenting voices in favour of a single loyalist voice, has accumulated failures in recent years on all fronts, failing in the political management of the Sahara conflict. In addition, it has also failed militarily due to the changing nature and methods of the war, and its inability to fight Morocco, which has developed its military arsenal and now controls the military situation in the Sahara". 

He explained that "the Movement Saharawi for Peace has called for a national meeting with the presence of all parties involved, including Polisario opponents, Saharawi tribal leaders and representatives of civil society, to initiate a serious and responsible Saharawi dialogue, based on democratic principles, allowing the Saharawis to choose the direction they deem appropriate", stressing that "the solution to this conflict can only be peaceful, far from the language of arms". 

Chérif also added that many young people in the Tindouf refugee camps hope that the Sahrawi Peace Movement is the way forward. Indeed, many young people and organisations now say that the only hope for the Saharawis is the Movement Saharawi for Peace, which has proposed a pragmatic and viable solution, in which there are no winners and no losers, to resolve this 50-year conflict. 

If Bachir Mustafa Sayed is serious about what he says, he should convene an international conference for Sahrawis, opponents, tribal leaders and civil society, in a neutral country and with foreign observers.