Latest news with #Sahrawi
Ya Biladi
a day ago
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
Morocco and Algeria allies clash in PARLACEN over Western Sahara issue
The Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) recently became the scene of a diplomatic standoff between allies of Morocco and Algeria. During a plenary session held on May 28 in Panama City, José Antonio Zepeda, vice president of PARLACEN's leftist group and representative of Nicaragua, a country with longstanding ties to the so-called «Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)» read out a declaration of support for the «SADR». The text described the entity as the «sole and legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people», claiming it is backed by the African Union and over 80 countries worldwide. The declaration also praised «the diplomatic and political efforts of the Polisario Front, its legitimate political organization», aimed at implementing the 1991 Peace Agreement that calls for a self-determination referendum. It urged the international community to enforce the agreement and allow the Sahrawi people to freely determine their future. The statement, aligned with Algeria's position on the Sahara, drew sharp criticism from Guatemalan lawmakers. On June 12, thirteen PARLACEN members from Guatemala issued a counter-declaration in support of Morocco's territorial integrity. In their response, the MPs expressed «gratitude to the Kingdom of Morocco as a friendly state and strategic partner of PARLACEN, committed to peace, development, and cooperation among nations». They also called on PARLACEN's presidency to ensure that institutional statements reflect the legitimate consensus of all members and are not used to promote individual ideological agendas, in order to preserve the forum's credibility and neutrality. The political tug-of-war between Morocco and Algeria-aligned camps within PARLACEN appears to be escalating. This week, a delegation of Nicaraguan MPs who sit in PARLACEN arrived in Algiers for a visit. On Tuesday, they met with Mohamed Khouane, president of the Foreign Affairs, Community Affairs, and Cooperation Committee of Algeria's National People's Assembly (APN). According to the Nicaraguan delegation, the visit aimed to «initiate political and diplomatic dialogue with the Algerian National People's Assembly». The lawmakers were also received at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Secretary of State in charge of the Algerian community abroad. Talks reportedly focused on «strengthening friendship and cooperation between Algeria and PARLACEN, with the goal of creating a new dynamic in parliamentary relations and joint initiatives with member states of this regional legislative body», according to a statement by Algerian diplomacy. For context, Algeria's lower house signed a memorandum of understanding with PARLACEN on December 4, 2024, in Panama City. PARLACEN includes six member states: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. Algeria also holds observer status in the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (Parlatino) since September 2024. Despite Algeria's push, Morocco enjoys significant support within PARLACEN. On May 2, during a visit to Laâyoune, the body's president, Carlos René Hernández, publicly reaffirmed the Moroccan identity of the Sahara.
Ya Biladi
a day ago
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
Spain approves the reception of 3,000 children from the Tindouf camps
The Spanish government has approved the reception of «around 3,000 children» from the Tindouf camps this summer. «At the proposal of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, the Council of Ministers has taken the necessary steps to authorize the temporary stay of Sahrawi minors and issue visas for their chaperones, as part of the 'Holidays in Peace 2025' program», the government said in a statement. Launched in the mid-1990s, the program aims to temporarily host Sahrawi children from the Tindouf camps. Between 2014 and 2024, approximately 34,500 Sahrawi minors benefited from the initiative, according to the same source. The program is coordinated by several associations supporting the Sahrawi people, the National Sahrawi Delegation, and the Sahrawi delegations of various autonomous communities. The Ministries of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration; Foreign Affairs, the European Union, and Cooperation; Interior; Territorial Policy; and Democratic Memory, along with the autonomous communities hosting the children, all participate in this effort. Over the past decade, regions such as Andalusia, Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha, the Basque Country, and Galicia have been the main hosts for Sahrawi minors under the program. Initially launched in 1979 by Spanish communists, «Holidays in Peace» has since been used by the Polisario to promote its position in Spain. Last year, the Forum of Support for Tindouf Autonomists (FORSATIN) criticized the program, warning about the «uprooting of peace ambassadors». Ten days ago, sources from Spanish intelligence services reported that «dozens of Sahrawis born in the Tindouf camps (Algeria), who had participated in the 'Holidays in Peace' program», were found to be involved with terrorist groups operating in the Sahel, according to the daily La Vanguardia.
Ya Biladi
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
Polisario protests La Vanguardia's report linking Sahrawis to Sahel terrorism
An article published by La Vanguardia linking Sahrawis from the Tindouf camps to the leadership of terrorist groups in the Sahel has sparked outrage from the Polisario Front. In a letter of protest to the Spanish newspaper, the group's representative in Spain condemned the analysis as «damaging to the image and reputation of the Sahrawi cause, as well as to the broad solidarity movement that supports it across Spain». Abdellah Arabi urged the paper to «correct its mistake», after it reported that Sahrawi youths born in the Tindouf camps, some of whom had taken part in the « Holidays in Peace » program, had gone on to join armed groups operating in the Sahel. According to a Moroccan source who spoke to Yabiladi, the article was a key item on the agenda during an emergency meeting of the Polisario's permanent General Secretariat, held on Sunday, June 9, at the Rabouni camp and chaired by Brahim Ghali. No official statement was issued following the meeting. This latest controversy comes just weeks after the Polisario sought to contain the fallout from statements by one of its so-called «ministers», who had called for attacks on tourists and investors in Western Sahara. At the time, the group's representative in Spain dismissed the remarks as «alleged statements attributed to a minister of the SADR», claiming they were part of a disinformation campaign in Moroccan media aimed at discrediting the Polisario, which it described as «the sole legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people».
El Chorouk
09-06-2025
- Politics
- El Chorouk
The Perfidious Moroccan Regime Implicated In A New 'Pegasus' Scandal
The well-known Moroccan opposition figure, Hicham Grindo, revealed a new espionage operation in which the Moroccan regime was involved, but this time the target was Mauritania, which has repeatedly shown its unwillingness to align with Moroccan narratives aimed at targeting Algeria and attempting to isolate the Polisario Front in the Maghreb region, and conversely, breaking the siege imposed on the Royal Palace by neighboring countries. The political activist, residing in Canada and facing numerous fabricated cases orchestrated by the Moroccan regime, stated that the latter planted highly sophisticated espionage tools costing approximately 32 million dollars in sensitive locations in Nouakchott, with the United Arab Emirates providing them. These sensitive devices consist of high-definition microphones and cameras, and they were planted in one of the most sensitive locations through a liaison office in the occupied Sahrawi city of Laayoune, another office in the occupied Sahrawi city of Dakhla, and an annex in the occupied Sahrawi city of Boujdour, meaning the operation was engineered from within Morocco, according to the source in a 'video' he broadcast on his social media account. Hicham Grindo is considered one of the biggest leakers of exclusive information from within the Moroccan regime's machinery and its influential figures, as well as exposing widespread corruption scandals within the palace and its surroundings. This has brought him and his family significant legal troubles. In addition to being sentenced about a month ago to 15 years in prison, as well as some of his relatives, the same source stated that a group of businessmen and a group of Mauritanian opposition figures and politicians were targeted, with the aim of weaving spiderweb relations from within Morocco in Mauritania, says the well-known Moroccan 'Youtuber'. Hicham Grindo called on the competent authorities in Mauritania to seek the help of experts to confirm this penetration, as he said, and put his head on the line in this challenge, confirming the credibility of what he says based on reliable sources. This 'Youtuber' has recently disturbed the palace and influential figures of the Moroccan regime due to his many leaks, which later proved to be highly reliable. It is worth noting that Mauritania did not engage in the most important project launched by the Moroccan regime and heavily relied upon, which it calls the 'Atlantic Gateway'. Through this, it attempted to entice Sahel countries into a cunning alliance aimed at isolating Algeria from its surroundings in the Sahel region, as well as Mauritania, which is considered the closest to the countries of the region. It sought to isolate its ports by establishing a port in the occupied city of Dakhla in Western Sahara, to serve as a connecting point with those countries. Th perfidious Moroccan regime is accustomed to using such illegal practices, and the 'Pegasus' case is just a living example of this. Western investigations indicate that the Alawite Kingdom, using the Zionist 'Pegasus' software, was able to hack the phones of senior officials in Spain and France, including the presidents of both countries, and steal documents from them, before using them to pressure them to change Madrid's and Paris's positions on the Sahrawi issue. It is likely that it did the same with Mauritania, hoping to achieve the same goal, knowing that Nouakchott is one of the countries that recognize the Sahrawi Arab Republic, a recognition it has not retracted despite the pressures and blackmail carried out by Rabat and its Arab allies who normalized relations with the entity to achieve this.
Morocco World
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Sahrawi Movement for Peace Condemns Polisario's Failed Strategy
Doha – In an unsparing appeal to Sahrawi leadership, the Sahrawi Movement for Peace (MSP) has issued an open letter denouncing the Polisario Front's disastrous policies and urging immediate dialogue amidst catastrophic conditions in Tindouf refugee camps and suffocating international isolation. The letter, published on June 4, from Madrid, directly confronts the Sahrawi elite, demanding honest debate about the movement's future. 'We are at a turning point where we must decide if we persist in a dead-end path or seek realistic, viable and just solutions,' the MSP declared. The organization blasts the Polisario Front's unilateral resumption of war in November 2020 as an irredeemable error and a catastrophic misstep with 'predictable but devastating consequences.' According to the letter, Moroccan drones have established overwhelming military supremacy, decimating Polisario positions and shattering the 'status quo' established in 1991. The MSP exposes the Polisario's growing diplomatic irrelevance, stating that 'many countries have frozen their relations with the 'Sahrawi Republic'' while an increasing number of countries support Morocco's autonomy proposal as 'the most serious and credible' solution. Morocco is no longer merely navigating the Western Sahara file — it is dictating its terms. With the United Kingdom becoming the latest heavyweight to endorse Rabat's Autonomy Plan, alongside the United States, France, Spain, and nearly 120 countries, the tide has unmistakably turned. What began as a misguided separatist project, driven by obsolete ideology and regional agendas, has now collapsed under the weight of reality — giving way to a geopolitical landslide in Morocco's favor. 'The living conditions are deteriorating rapidly: shortages, insecurity, frustration. Despair has taken hold in the collective mind,' the MSP writes about the dire situation in the Tindouf camps. The movement's blistering critique comes after they condemned the Algerian regime in April following what they described as 'the cold-blooded murder of two young Sahrawis by Algerian soldiers' in the Dajla refugee camp. 'These atrocities are not isolated incidents. The Sahrawis living in the camps are victims of frequent shootings, intimidations and violent repressions by Algerian forces,' the MSP thundered in an urgent communiqué to the United Nations and MINURSO. This incident occurred shortly after Algerian troops reportedly gunned down Sid Ahmed Belali and wounded nine others near the Gara Djebilet mine, with three victims clinging to life in critical condition. A seat at the table Positioning itself as a credible alternative to the flailing and increasingly obsolete Polisario Front, the MSP is demanding a seat at the table in the UN-led political process on Western Sahara. The movement describes itself as 'the true voice for an important part of the Sahrawi population that aspires to a negotiated political solution.' American Enterprise Institute scholar Michael Rubin has reinforced this stance, urging the United Nations to strip recognition from the Polisario Front as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people. In an April 7 analysis, Rubin condemned the Polisario as 'a vestige of the Cold War' that 'holds wives and children as hostages to prevent refugee resettlement.' 'The Sahrawi Movement for Peace not only rejects violence but also seeks consensus across broad segments of the Sahrawi population,' Rubin wrote, noting the movement has secured recognition from Socialist International and growing support from the Spanish government. The MSP, first embraced Morocco's autonomy proposal in its 2022 Canary Islands Manifesto, reconvened recently at the same location to produce a second manifesto calling on 'the UN Secretary-General to persuade his Personal Envoy to invite and include the Sahrawis for Peace Movement as a fully recognized interlocutor in the political process.' In their scorching letter, the MSP warns that failed movements like 'the PKK in Turkey or the FARC in Colombia ended up surrendering unconditionally without achieving their objectives,' while others like 'the Biafran secessionists or the People's Mujahedeen of Iran saw their causes disappear into oblivion, pain, and chaos.' The MSP implores abandoning the failed armed struggle for 'political options based on political dialogue, in flexible frameworks of coexistence' modeled after 'moderate nationalisms like those of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Basque Country, Catalonia, or Northern Ireland in England.' 'It is time to leave behind divisions, acronyms, labels of 'traitors' or 'loyalists', 'heroes' or 'villains',' the MSP advocates, issuing a grave admonition that 'history will not be lenient with those who, at a crucial moment like this, choose silence or inaction.' Tags: Polisario FrontSahrawi Movement for PeaceWestern sahara
