The Polisario Front is willing to negotiate with Morocco
Important developments continue to unfold regarding the issue of Western Sahara.
Following the step taken at the end of October by the United Nations (UN) Security Council to endorse Morocco's autonomy plan as the most solid basis for negotiations between the parties to find a definitive solution to the Sahrawi dispute, the Polisario Front has now announced that it is willing to talk to the Moroccan kingdom to seek a solution to a political problem that has lasted for five decades since the end of Spanish colonial rule.
Mohammed Yeslam Beissat, the Polisario Front's foreign affairs representative, told the Spanish news agency EFE that his organisation ‘is willing’ to negotiate with Morocco on the future of Western Sahara and that they are still waiting for a timetable.
Yeslam Beissat said that these negotiations must be based ‘on international law and current resolutions’ which, for the Polisario, include the right to self-determination, although the option of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty for the former Spanish colony may soon be considered.
Mohammed Yeslam Beissat made this statement during an international conference on colonialism in Africa held in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, which is the Polisario Front's main international ally.
The Polisario Front representative said that they are ‘waiting’ for the UN special envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, to ‘contact or visit them’ to establish a work programme.
Staffan de Mistura's work in recent months has been to promote dialogue between the opposing parties in order to reach a negotiated solution.
This solution is eagerly awaited and may come about relatively soon following the impetus given by the United Nations Security Council, which, with the favourable votes of all its members except for the abstentions of Russia and China, agreed in Resolution 2797 to recognise the Moroccan autonomy plan as the most solid and realistic basis for a positive outcome to the talks between the parties.
Morocco's autonomy plan
Morocco proposes a formula of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty for Western Sahara with the aim of giving the Sahrawis a high degree of self-government, leaving international and defence policy in the hands of the Moroccan state and respecting UN resolutions.
The Moroccan kingdom intends to develop the Sahrawi territory, which it considers part of its southern provinces, to the maximum in all aspects, including economic and social.
The North African country's proposal, presented in 2007, has received the support of more than 100 countries over the last few years, including major powers such as the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain, which have considered it the most serious, realistic and credible option for resolving the Sahrawi dispute.
This broad international support has been endorsed by the latest UN Security Council resolution on the issue, which endorses the Moroccan proposal as the most solid basis for negotiations between the parties. The latest Security Council resolution also approved the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) while efforts to resolve the existing dispute continue.
The position of the Polisario Front
The Polisario Front advocates for a referendum on independence for the Sahrawi people, which has less support on the international stage than Morocco's proposal.
Among those supporting it is Algeria, Morocco's great political rival in the Maghreb, especially after Algeria's decision to break off diplomatic relations in August 2021 after accusing the Moroccan kingdom of hostile acts and deep political differences. Despite everything, the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, has reached out to his Algerian neighbour on several occasions to resolve the situation and establish good diplomatic relations.
According to various analysts, the Polisario Front's proposal for independence also faces a number of difficulties, such as the establishment of an electoral roll due to the dispersion of the population between the Sahrawis residing in the current Western Sahara and those living in difficult conditions in the refugee camps set up in Algeria.
The Polisario Front has requested 100 million dollars in aid to meet the needs of the Tindouf camps, as the situation of the refugees is worsening and rates of malnutrition and anaemia among children and women are high.
Algeria has attributed this food crisis to the unfinished process of decolonisation in the Sahrawi territory.
At this point, it is essential to bring the parties together and reach a definitive agreement to break the deadlock in Western Sahara and, above all, to restore dignified living conditions and status to the Sahrawi population.