The pro-Polisario movement in Spain between solidarity and current controversies
- The Spanish withdrawal and the Green March
- Funding and professionalisation of solidarity
- Symbiotic relationship with the Polisario
- Inconsistencies in the Sahrawi solidarity movement
- The case of Carmelo Ramírez and reactions
- Internal debates and plurality
- Political involvement and historical responsibility
- The urgency of rethinking solidarity
- Lessons learned and the future of the pro-Sahrawi movement
The Spanish withdrawal and the Green March
The hasty departure of the Spanish state, the Green March and the division of the territory between Morocco and Mauritania left behind a people trapped between exile, the Tindouf camps and war. In response to this abandonment, a solidarity movement was born in Spain that has kept the Sahrawi cause alive for decades.
This movement arose with a noble impulse: to denounce an injustice and accompany an abandoned people. Militants from the PCE, CC.OO., other activists and a handful of former recruits from the last ‘quinta’ in the Sahara laid the first foundations of a support network. However, alongside legitimate aid, dynamics of dependency, paternalism and interference in the internal affairs of the Sahrawis were generated.
Funding and professionalisation of solidarity
With Spain's entry into the European Union and the arrival of cooperation funds, the solidarity movement became firmly established in institutions. This expansion generated a perverse paradox: the survival of many associations became dependent on funding and, therefore, on the continuation of the conflict. In many cases, the professionalisation of solidarity turned support into an end in itself.
Symbiotic relationship with the Polisario
The link with the Polisario, which proclaimed itself the ‘sole representative of the Sahrawi people’ by armed rather than electoral means, took on a symbiotic character. Access to the camps, host families and projects depended on its endorsement, which undermined the autonomy and moral authority of Spanish NGOs. Dynamics of favouritism and inequality seeped into generous initiatives such as the caravans or the 'Holidays in Peace' programme, conditioning aid and channelling benefits towards Polisario representatives.
Even more serious has been the complicit silence in the face of human rights abuses in the camps. The secret prison in Rashid, in the middle of those same camps, extrajudicial executions and arbitrary detentions documented and corroborated by hundreds of survivors are rarely echoed by Spanish associations.
Inconsistencies in the Sahrawi solidarity movement
This attitude reveals an unjustifiable inconsistency. While plurality is defended in Spain, and positions as antagonistic as radical independence and its rejection in Catalonia or the Basque Country are tolerated and coexist, Sahrawi solidarity groups passively bowed to the Polisario's official discourse, denying legitimacy and value to any dissenting voice.
Solidarity, when confused with submission, conditions personal relationships, gives way to favouritism, perverts projects and skews the perception of reality.
The emergence of the Movement Saharawi for Peace (MSP) in April 2020 highlighted this inconsistency. Instead of welcoming it as a legitimate expression of plurality, the reaction was almost unanimous: immediate disqualification, open hostility and complicit silence. Critics were stigmatised as 'traitors', without the slightest effort to engage in dialogue.
The case of Carmelo Ramírez and reactions
The most revealing case was that of Carmelo Ramírez, a veteran and historic figure of solidarity in Spain, who accused MSP members of being 'pro-Moroccan agents' without any evidence. Everything points to his reaction going beyond altruism: his radical defence of the Polisario seeks to underpin his conversion to Canarian independence and his commitment to the legacy of Antonio Cubillo. This is a short-sighted approach that ignores the true strategic value of the Canary Islands for the Sahrawis.
Internal debates and plurality
It is worth remembering that the MSP is not an artificial phenomenon. It is the manifestation of a blocked and repressed, but unstoppable, internal debate. Ignoring or condemning it on behalf of others impoverishes the Sahrawi cause and exposes the contradiction of a movement that proclaims plurality in Spain while reproducing the same authoritarian tendencies in the Sahara.
Political involvement and historical responsibility
It is incomprehensible that some of its spokespersons cross the line from honest commitment to complicity with their political leaders. By unconditionally supporting a leadership that is being questioned, they not only hinder the necessary political alternatives, but also whitewash authoritarian practices. Instead of empowering the Sahrawi people, they condition their internal debate and prolong a status quo that only leads to the slow death of the cause they claim to defend.
The urgency of rethinking solidarity
None of this implies a rejection of solidarity, but rather the urgency of rethinking it. The Sahrawi cause deserves transparent and critical support, not hijacked by unconditional loyalties. True solidarity requires accompanying democratisation processes, listening to all voices and demanding consistency and tolerance.
Lessons learned and the future of the pro-Sahrawi movement
Spain, its institutions and civil society have an undeniable historical responsibility. Assuming this responsibility means denouncing Morocco's violations without ignoring the democratic shortcomings in the camps and the excesses of the Polisario elite.
Involvement in the defence of democracy and against abuses of power must be a central pillar of any code of solidarity. Learning from the mistakes of those who staunchly defended Sandism or Castroism is an indispensable lesson. Only in this way will the pro-Sahrawi movement regain its legitimacy and contribute to a lasting and just peace. That is, to accompany with criticism, impartiality, and transparency, or to remain, consciously or unconsciously, on the wrong side of history.