The third anniversary of the resumption of the armed struggle against Morocco: The Sahrawi people are determined to intensify the fight for freedom

Algeria – Tomorrow, Monday, will be the third anniversary of the resumption of the armed struggle by the Sahrawi people against the Moroccan occupier, with all their steadfastness and determination to intensify and accelerate the pace of the fighting under the banner of its sole and legitimate representative, the Polisario Front, until self-determination and independence from the yoke of occupation that is perched on the lands of the last African colony.

For three years, the Sahrawi people did not choose to resume the armed struggle in compliance with the ceasefire agreement that was signed by both parties in 1991. However, the matter was imposed on them, following Morocco’s violation of the agreement, after attacking Sahrawi civilians who were demonstrating peacefully in The illegitimate established buffer zone in Guerguerat, southwest of Western Sahara, on November 13, 2020.

Since returning to square one, Morocco is moving forward with imposing a media blackout in an attempt to hide the reality of the situation in the occupied Western Sahara, where its forces are suffering heavy human and material losses at the hands of the Sahrawi Liberation Army, along the sand wall that separates one people into two parts.

During a meeting chaired by the Sahrawi President, Ibrahim Ghali, last Sunday, the General Command of the Sahrawi Army reviewed the latest developments in the Sahrawi issue and the efforts made to “accelerate the pace of escalation of fighting” against the occupation forces, where the participants particularly welcomed the “qualitative and increasing” operations carried out by the Army of The Sahrawi People’s Liberation against the Moroccan occupation forces, and “the effectiveness of the war of attrition” as well as “the response of the Sahrawi people in the occupied territories, despite the siege and systematic restrictions imposed by the Moroccan occupation forces.”

Commenting on the latest developments in Western Sahara, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, expressed his “deep concern” about the “deteriorating” situation that has become “entrenched,” calling for the need to correct it urgently to avoid any additional escalation in the region.

In his latest report on the situation in Western Sahara, which he presented last October 16 to members of the United Nations Security Council, Guterres noted that “the continuation of hostilities and the absence of a ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front represent a clear decline in the search for a political solution” to this conflict. Which lasted a long time.

A legal battle before European courts to stop the plundering of Sahrawi natural resources

In his response to this report, Sahrawi President Ibrahim Ghali, in a letter addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, denounced “the latter’s unjustified silence and his reluctance to tell the truth and hold the Moroccan occupying state responsible for the consequences of its violation of the 1991 ceasefire resolution.”

Ghali had denounced, among other things, the shortcomings of the report on human rights violations by Morocco, stressing that it “does not reflect the extent of the systematic violations committed by the occupation authorities against Sahrawi civilians and human rights defenders so far, and remains far from international monitoring.” Due to the continued military siege and media blackout imposed on the occupied Western Sahara.”

In addition to the armed struggle, the Polisario Front is waging a legal battle before the European courts to put an end to the illegal exploitation of Sahrawi resources by the Moroccan occupation.

In September 2021, the General Court of the European Union ruled in favor of the Polisario Front, which confirmed that the fishing agreement between the European Union and Morocco was concluded without the consent of the people of Western Sahara.

The European Council and the Commission filed an appeal in December of the same year, knowing that the agreement, which was valid for 4 years, expired last July, but it is currently subject to legal procedures before the Court of Justice of the European Union with the aim of preventing its renewal.

Polisaro Front lawyer, Gil Devers, confirmed after two days of public hearings related to the appeal submitted by the European Commission and the Council (on October 23 and 24 last), that he was confident of the outcome of the trial, pointing out that “many elements are in the possession of the Polisaro Front.” Polisario, and the ruling issued by the European Court of Justice in 2016, which confirmed that Morocco and Western Sahara are distinct and separate territories, constitutes a basis from which we can see how far we can go further, including obtaining the cancellation of these agreements.

As a reminder, the representative of the Polisario Front in Switzerland and to the United Nations and international organizations in Geneva, Abiy Bishray al-Bashir, had indicated that the European Court of Justice would announce the results related to the association agreements between the European Union and Morocco, which illegally included the occupied Western Sahara, on March 21, 2024.

APS