The MSP condemns the arrests and attacks of the Polisario Front Police against the Saharawi refugees

The Movement Saharawi for Peace (MSP) has condemned in an official statement the arrests and abuses of the Polisario Front Police against Saharawi refugees during a rally of women demanding the release of the civil activist Salem Melainin Sueid, a Saharawi with Spanish nationality arrested on 28 April for denouncing Polisario corruption. 

The official statement of the MSP is reproduced below: 

The Movement Saharawi for Peace (MSP) has expressed its concern about the situation in the Saharawi refugee camps of Tindouf, following the intervention of the forces of the Polisario Front against a gathering of Saharawi women demanding the release of the civil activist Salem Melainin Sueid, Saharawi with Spanish nationality arrested on 28 April for denouncing, along with other Saharawi activists, the corruption of the Polisario leadership. Numerous people, including several women, were arrested and exposed to abusive and degrading treatment. 

Despite repeated calls by the Movement Saharawi for Peace for caution in managing the rights and freedoms of Saharawi refugees and the need to widen the space for free expression of their aspirations and hopes, Polisario officials have continued to repress voices opposing their policies and to violate human rights. 

After expressing its indignation at the reserved treatment of civilians and the arbitrary arrests of members of Salem Sueid's family, the MSP calls on the Algerian authorities and the Polisario leadership to lift the control measures on the camps, to calm the tension and to release Salem Sueid and his companions, and the rest of the prisoners of conscience in the Saharawi refugee camps and to hold accountable the officials responsible for the deterioration of the situation. 

The MSP also calls for an independent enquiry by a UN commission and recommends measures to protect the refugees from abuses by the Polisario security forces. It also reiterates the need for a negotiated solution to be found as soon as possible to end the situation of exile and to provide the Saharawis with stability and a dignified life in the land of Western Sahara.