#Western_Sahara #50th_anniversary_of_SADR #Saharawi_Republic #Frente_Polisario
Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf (Algeria), April 8 (EFE) – Sahrawi refugees commemorated this Wednesday the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), a state still longed for by those who took part today in the celebrations in the camps of the Algerian region of Tindouf.
“A state in which Sahrawis continue to place their hopes, continue to fight to achieve that dream for which they have endured these 50 years,” Ahmed Mahmud, director of the film school, told EFE during the event, which was supposed to have been held on February 27—the day the SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front—but was postponed due to the holy month of Ramadan.
Polisario leader Brahim Ghali—president of the SADR, a state not recognized by the UN but a member of the African Union (AU)—stated in a speech that “the Sahrawi people will continue their struggle by all legitimate means until independence is achieved.”
The official platform was attended by international delegations, where messages of solidarity were expressed by representatives of Algeria, a supporter of the Sahrawi cause, and Mauritania, as well as officials from South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Venezuela.
All interventions agreed in supporting the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, highlighting “the resilience and strength” of the institutions created by this state-in-exile over half a century.
The fiftieth anniversary gave rise to parades by units of the so-called Sahrawi People’s Liberation Army, with formations of foot troops and displays of vehicles and military equipment used in the armed struggle against Morocco, which de facto controls most of Western Sahara, over which the Sahrawis claim independence.
For Mahmud, the celebrations show how the Sahrawi people “continue saying no to occupation, no to (Moroccan) autonomy, yes to full independence.”
The commemoration takes place in a delicate situation on the ground, where the Polisario Front seeks to mobilize its popular base and reaffirm its political and military presence, especially after the collapse of the ceasefire with Morocco in November 2020.
The United Nations continues to consider the former Spanish colony a “non-self-governing” territory pending decolonization, prompting the Polisario to insist on holding a self-determination referendum as the only solution to the conflict.
For its part, Morocco proposes autonomy for Western Sahara within its borders, a plan taken into consideration in peace negotiations in the latest UN Security Council resolution of October 31.
In the closing speech of today’s celebrations, Ghali reiterated that “self-determination and independence is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace.” EFE
Source : Infobae
