Buscamos una solución para poner fin al sufrimiento saharaui

The Sahrawi Movement for Peace (MSP) reflects the deep unease of thousands of Sahrawis in the southern provinces and in the Tindouf camps with the Polisario Front. This movement brings together many former Polisario military and international relations cadres, former ministers, former Polisario army officers and regroups Saharawis from all over the region and from the camps. 

Mohamed Cherif went through moments of great suffering in the tiny Polisario prisons in Tindouf and is now also part of the Human Rights Commission in Dakhla.
 

What is the Sahrawi Movement for Peace (MSP)?
It is a movement that seeks a solution where there are neither winners nor losers, but a peaceful outcome for the good of the Saharawis. This is a new idea for the Saharawis in the field of democracy. 

Is it accepted?
Bipartisanship is a new political trend, because today there is only the Polisario and many people have left it because there is no democracy and they have only one political line. Our movement aims to bring it closer to all Saharawis and we try to find a solution to put an end to the Saharawi suffering. No solution has been found for almost 50 years. 

What is your strategy for growth?
Little by little this movement will continue to gain ground, today we are already more than four thousand members and we have held congresses in France, in Layun and Dakhla and now in the Sahara and Mauritania. Our political line is the search for the most appropriate solution for the Saharawis and to make it possible.
 
Is the solution we are talking about autonomy?
I do not see it as the final solution, but it is a good start to start negotiations. To offer autonomy would require a lot of guarantees from the international community and to implement them in a comprehensive way.

Do you think that the US decision will give impetus to a solution to the conflict?
I really think so, that a country like the United States, which has so much influence on the Security Council and also in the world, recognises Moroccan autonomy over the Sahara is important. An acceptable and practicable solution must be found on the ground. For us, it provides a basis for negotiation and an end to this conflict.

 What would be the final destination?
The final station is to develop an autonomy or a confederation, a solution that is acceptable to the countries involved in the conflict and that can be put into practice. 

What would you ask of Spain at this time?
I would ask Spain to intervene as a mediator in order to help the political actors and put an end to this conflict. 

Is it necessary for Spanish businessmen to come and invest and collaborate in the development of Dakhla? 
Of course their collaboration is very important for the development of Dakhla and in this way to bring Spanish culture closer to the city. We must remember that Dakhla was a Spanish area but the new generations have forgotten that because they have not experienced it.