Rabouni refugee camp ( Arabic : مخيم الرابوني ) is a Sahrawi refugee camp located in Tindouf province in southwestern Algeria .
82-628: It is the administrative centre of the Sahrawi refugee camps. It is the site of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) state ministries, the main hospital and the principal field offices of international non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies that regularly operate in the refugee camps. The camp is the settlement most easily accessible by paved road from Tindouf . On 23 October 2011, suspected Al-Qaeda militants kidnapped three foreign aid workers from Rabouni. It
164-635: A Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic for the Sahrawi people through the means of self-determination and armed resistance in the disputed territory of Western Sahara . Tracing its origin to a Sahrawi nationalist organization known as the Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab , the Polisario Front was formally constituted in 1973 with the intention of launching an armed struggle against
246-461: A government-in-exile , many branches of government do not fully function, and has affected the constitutional roles of the institutions. Institutions parallel to government structures also have arisen within the Polisario Front, which is fused with the SADR's governing apparatus, and with operational competences overlapping between these party and governmental institutions and offices. A 2012 report mentioned
328-525: A Council of Ministers (a cabinet led by the Prime Minister), a judicial branch (with judges appointed by the President) and the parliamentary Sahrawi National Council (SNC; the present speaker is Hamma Salama ). Since its inception in 1976, the various constitutional revisions have transformed the republic from an ad hoc managerial structure into something approaching an actual governing apparatus. From
410-544: A ban on the death penalty to the constitution, and brought down the government in 1999 through a vote of no-confidence . The Sahrawi National Council is composed of 53 members, all from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro . The Sahrawi People's Liberation Army is the defence force of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and previously served as the armed wing of
492-567: A commitment to the principles of human rights and to the concept of a Greater Maghreb , as a regional variant of Pan-Arabism . Since August 1982, the highest office of the republic has been the President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic , a post held by the secretary-general of the Polisario Front, presently Brahim Ghali , who appoints the Prime Minister , presently Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun . The SADR's government structure consists of
574-459: A division of powers, instead concentrating most of the decision-making power in the top echelons of Polisario for maximum battlefield efficiency. This meant that most power rested in the hands of the Secretary General and a nine-man executive committee, elected at congresses and with different military and political responsibilities. A 21-man Politburo would further check decisions and connect
656-644: A few founder members and senior officials. Some of them are now actively promoting Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, which Morocco considers its Southern Provinces . Today 38 countries around the world recognize the legitimacy of the Polisario over Western Sahara. Support for the Polisario Front came mostly from newly independent African states, including Angola and Namibia. Most of the Arab world had supported Morocco; only Algeria and Libya have, at different times, given any significant support to Polisario. Iran recognized
738-666: A government administration in the Sahrawi refugee camps located in the Tindouf Province of western Algeria. It is headquartered in Camp Rabouni, south of Tindouf , although some official events have taken place in towns in the Free Zone , including the provisional capitals, first Bir Lehlou until 2008, then Tifariti. The government of the SADR claims sovereignty over all of the Western Sahara territory, but has control only within
820-415: A guerrilla war against both Morocco and Mauritania. The International Court of Justice at The Hague had issued its verdict on the former Spanish colony just weeks before, which each party interpreted as confirming its right to the disputed territory. The Polisario kept up the guerrilla war while they simultaneously had to help guard the columns of Sahrawi refugees fleeing, but after the air bombings by
902-559: A liberal economy has been difficult to implement in a society dependent on humanitarian aid organisations. The Polisario has stated that it will, when Sahrawi self-determination has been achieved, either function as a party within the context of a multi-party system , or be completely disbanded. This is to be decided by a Polisario Front congress upon the achievement of Western Sahara's independence. In interactions with non-Sahrawi audiences, Polisario leaders have made reference to notions of secularism and religious tolerance to substantiate
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#1732851200461984-443: A new pressure point on Morocco. Abdelaziz characterized them as a substitute path for the armed struggle, and indicated that if peaceful protest was squashed, in its view, without a referendum forthcoming, its armed forces would intervene. Algeria has shown an unconditional support for the Polisario Front since 1975, delivering arms, training, financial aid, and food, without interruption for more than 30 years. In 1976, Algeria called
1066-454: A referendum ballot, but refused to relinquish the concept of an independence referendum itself, as agreed in 1991 and 1997. Morocco, in its turn, insisted on only negotiating the terms of autonomy offered, but refused to consider an option of independence on the ballot. The 30-year cease-fire between Morocco and Polisario Front was broken in November 2020 as the government tried to open a road in
1148-625: A referendum on independence. It was endorsed by the UN in 2003. As Morocco has declined to participate, however, the plan appears dead. In April 2007, the government of Morocco suggested that a self-governing entity, through the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS), should govern the territory with some degree of autonomy for Western Sahara. The project was presented to the UN Security Council in mid-April 2007. A stalemate over
1230-506: A self-governing entity, through the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS), should govern the territory with some degree of autonomy for Western Sahara. The project was presented to the United Nations Security Council in mid-April 2007, and quickly gained French and US support. Polisario had handed in its own proposal the day before, which insisted on the previously agreed referendum, but allowed for negotiating
1312-468: Is a Sahrawi nationalist and Arab socialist organization, whose main goal is the independence of Western Sahara from Moroccan occupation . Initially, its driving force was anti-colonial nationalism , and it was not until August 1974 that Polisario declared itself to be in favour of the independence of the Spanish Sahara from Spanish colonization. It is a left-wing movement that is considered to be
1394-644: Is no formal membership of Polisario; instead, anyone who participates in its work or lives in the refugee camps is considered a member. Between congresses, the supreme decision-making body is the National Secretariat, headed by the Secretary General. The NS is elected by the GPC. It is subdivided into committees handling defense, diplomatic affairs, etc. The 2003 NS, elected at the 11th GPC in Tifariti , Western Sahara, has 41 members. Twelve of these are secret delegates from
1476-586: Is not a member of the Arab League , nor of the Arab Maghreb Union , both of which include Morocco as a full member. Under the Baker Plan created by James Baker , former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan 's personal envoy to Western Sahara, the SADR would have been replaced with a five-year transitional Western Sahara Authority (WSA), a non-sovereign autonomous region supervised by Morocco, to be followed by
1558-701: Is one of the two African states in which Spanish is a significant language, the other being Equatorial Guinea . The SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on 27 February 1976, in Bir Lehlou , Western Sahara. The SADR government calls the territories under its control the Liberated Territories or the Free Zone . Morocco controls and administers the rest of the disputed territory, and calls these lands its Southern Provinces . The claimed capital city of
1640-716: The African Union . With a population of about half a million, it is the most sparsely populated in Africa, and the second-most sparsely populated in the world. The name Sahrawi is the romanization of the Arabic word Ṣaḥrāwī صحراوي , meaning 'Inhabitant of the Desert ', derived from the Arabic word Ṣaḥrāʼ ( صحراء ), meaning 'desert'. Following the evacuation of the Spaniards, due to
1722-655: The Algerian military , material and humanitarian aid, food and emergency resources are provided by international organizations such as the WHO and UNHCR . Valuable contributions also come from the strong Spanish solidarity organizations. The most intense open warfare in the conflict in Western Sahara occurred during the Cold War . However, the conflict was never fully dragged into the American–Soviet dynamics like many other conflicts. This
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#17328512004611804-525: The CIA World Factbook , which makes the country one of the most religiously homogeneous nations in the world. The Catholic Church had an important presence during Spanish rule , with 20,000 Spanish Catholics present before Spain abandoned the territory (30% of the population). Today around 300 people in the Moroccan-controlled areas are Catholic (mostly of Spanish origin), being able to attend
1886-503: The Guerguerat buffer zone near the border with Mauritania. Sahrawi self-determination activist Sultana Khaya , who has been accused by Moroccan authorities of being a "supporter of violence" with the Polisario, has been under de facto house arrest since November 2020, subject to repeated home raids and sexual assault by Moroccan security forces, as reported by a number of international human rights organizations. The Polisario Front
1968-815: The Royal Moroccan Air Force on improvised Sahrawi refugee camps in Umm Dreiga , Tifariti , Guelta Zemmur and Amgala , the Front had to relocate the refugees to Tindouf (western region of Algeria). For the next two years the movement grew tremendously as Sahrawi refugees continued flocking to the camps and Algeria and Libya supplied arms and funding. Within months, its army had expanded to several thousand armed fighters, camels were replaced by modern jeeps (most of them were Spanish Land Rover Santana jeeps, captured from Moroccan soldiers), and 19th-century muskets were replaced by assault rifles . The reorganized army
2050-538: The Royal Moroccan Army 's previous invasion of eastern Saguia el-Hamra of 31 October, Spain entered negotiations that led to the signing of the Madrid Accords whereby Spain ceded Spanish Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania; in 1976 Morocco took over Saguia El Hamra and Mauritania took control of Río de Oro . The Polisario Front proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) on 27 February 1976, and waged
2132-495: The Sahrawi Republic and Western Sahara , is a partially recognized state , located in the western Maghreb , which claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara , but controls only the easternmost one-fifth of that territory . It is recognized by 44 UN member states and South Ossetia . Between 1884 and 1975, Western Sahara was known as Spanish Sahara , a Spanish colony (later an overseas province). The SADR
2214-531: The Sahrawi flag ) there. It is a consultative member of the Socialist International . In 1971 a group of young Sahrawi students in the universities of Morocco began organizing what came to be known as The Embryonic Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro. After attempting in vain to gain backing from several Arab governments, including both Algeria and Morocco, but only drawing faint notices of support from Libya and Mauritania,
2296-529: The Spanish colonisation in the late 19th century, and remains as the preferred second language of the Sahrawi, also enjoying a de facto working language status. In 2018, President Brahim Gali stated that the SADR is the only Arab country in the world where Spanish is an official language. Instituto Cervantes estimates that around 20,000 Sahrawis have limited competencies in Spanish The SADR acted as
2378-519: The Spanish occupation which lasted until 1975, when the Spanish decided to allow Mauritania and Morocco to partition and occupy the territory. The Polisario Front waged a war to drive out the two armies. It forced Mauritania to relinquish its claim over Western Sahara in 1979 and continued its military campaign against Morocco until the 1991 ceasefire , pending the holding of a UN-backed referendum which has been consistently postponed ever since. In 2020
2460-669: The St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral in El Aaiún and the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Dakhla . Modern Standard Arabic is the sole constitutionally recognized official and national language of the Sahrawi Republic. Hassaniya , a variety of Arabic also spoken in neighbouring countries such as Mauritania , is the common vernacular language of the Sahrawi people . Spanish was introduced during
2542-468: The economically useful parts of Western Sahara ( Bou Craa , El-Aaiun , Smara , etc.) This stalemated the war, with no side able to achieve decisive gains, but artillery strikes and sniping attacks by the Polisario continued, and Morocco was economically and politically strained by the war. Today Polisario controls the part of the Western Sahara on the east of the Moroccan Wall. A ceasefire between
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2624-448: The "ideal" nature of the Sahrawi refugee camps. The Polisario Front has denounced terrorism and attacks against civilians, and sent condolences to Morocco after the 2003 Casablanca bombings . It describes its struggle as a "clean war of national liberation". Since 1989, when the ceasefire was first concluded, the movement has stated it will pursue its goal of Western Sahara's independence by peaceful means as long as Morocco complies with
2706-472: The 1991 ceasefire (see Settlement Plan ). On 27 February 2008, the provisional capital was formally moved to Tifariti . Day-to-day business, however, is conducted in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf Province , Algeria , which house most of the Sahrawi exile community. A new 1999 Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic took a form similar to the parliamentary constitutions of many European states, but with some paragraphs suspended until
2788-419: The 1991 congress, when both the Polisario and SADR organizations were overhauled, integrated into the camp structure and further separated from each other. This followed protests calling for expanding the internal democracy of the movement, and also led to important shifts of personnel in the top tiers of both Polisario and SADR. The organizational order described below applies today, and was roughly finalized in
2870-513: The 1991 internal reforms of the movement, although minor changes have been made since then. The Polisario Front is led by a Secretary General. The first Secretary General was Brahim Gali , replaced in 1974 by El-Ouali at the II Congress of the Polisario Front, followed by Mahfoud Ali Beiba as Interim Secretary General upon his death. In 1976, Mohamed Abdelaziz was elected at the III Congress of
2952-556: The 500,000 inhabitants. Under international law , Morocco's transfer of its own civilians into Non-Self-Governing territory is in direct violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention . The predominant religion practiced by Sahrawis is the Maliki school of Sunni Islam , which is constitutionally recognized as the official religion of the SADR and a source of law. Virtually all Sahrawis identify as Muslim according to
3034-634: The Congolese organizing committee. The country has a national football team , but its governing body, the Sahrawi Football Federation , is not a member of FIFA or the Confederation of African Football . Additionally, Muslim celebrations are kept according to the lunar Islamic calendar . Official SADR pages SADR pages Polisario Front The Polisario Front , Frente Polisario , Frelisario or simply Polisario (from
3116-572: The Free Zone. Several foreign aid agencies, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and non-governmental organizations , are continually active in the camps. As of September 2022, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has been recognized by 85 states, at one time or another. Of these, 39 have "frozen" or "withdrawn" recognition for a number of reasons. A total of 29 UN states maintain an embassy from
3198-849: The Latin American and the Caribbean ( COPPPAL ) in 2006; the SADR ambassador to Nicaragua participated in the opening conference of the Central American Parliament in 2010, and a SADR delegation participated in the meeting of COPPPAL and International Conference of Asian Political Parties in Mexico City in 2012. On 27 February 2011, the 35th anniversary of the proclamation of SADR was held in Tifariti, Western Sahara. Delegations, including parliamentarians, ambassadors, NGOs and activists from many countries participated in this event. The SADR
3280-535: The Moroccan Green March , Spain , Morocco , and Mauritania signed the Madrid Accords on 14 November 1975, six days before Francisco Franco died. Morocco and Mauritania responded by annexing the territory of Western Sahara . On 26 February 1976, Spain informed the United Nations (UN) that as of that date it had terminated its presence in Western Sahara and relinquished its responsibilities, which left
3362-605: The Moroccan proposal led the UN, in an April 2007 "Report of the UN Secretary-General", to ask the parties to enter into direct and unconditional negotiations to reach a mutually accepted political solution. The SADR was invited to participate in the 2015 African Games in Brazzaville , which would have been the country's debut at a major international sporting event. However, its thirteen athletes were not allowed to compete by
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3444-414: The Moroccan takeover of Western Sahara a "slow, murderous" invasion against spirited fighting by Sahara guerrillas. Until 1991, the Polisario Front's structure was much different from the present one. It was, despite a few changes, inherited from the before 1975, when the Polisario Front functioned as a small, tightly-knit guerrilla movement, with a few hundred members. Consequently, it made few attempts at
3526-481: The Moroccan-controlled areas of Western Sahara. This is a shift in policy, as the Polisario traditionally confined political appointments to diaspora Sahrawis, for fear of infiltration and difficulties in communicating with Sahrawis in the Moroccan-controlled territories. It is probably intended to strengthen the movement's underground network in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, and link up with
3608-422: The Polisario Front and Morocco, monitored by MINURSO (UN), has been in effect since 6 September 1991, on the promise of a referendum on independence the following year. However, the referendum stalled over disagreements on voter rights. Numerous attempts to restart the process (most significantly the launching of the 2003 Baker Plan ) seem to have failed. In April 2007, the government of Morocco suggested that
3690-461: The Polisario Front declared the ceasefire over and resumed the armed conflict . The United Nations considers the Polisario Front to be the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people and maintains that the Sahrawis have a right to self-determination . The Polisario Front is outlawed in the parts of Western Sahara under Moroccan control, and it is illegal to raise its party flag (often called
3772-707: The Polisario Front prior to the foundation of the Republic . The official currency of the SADR is the Sahrawi peseta ; though, in practice, the Algerian dinar and Mauritanian ouguiya are the main currencies used within the controlled territories. The Moroccan dirham is also accepted, though it is mainly only used in the Moroccan-occupied territories. All data about demographic information regarding Western Sahara are extremely error-prone, regardless of source. Most countries take censuses every ten years, and some every five in order to stay abreast of change and miscounts;
3854-542: The Polisario Front raided the city of Zouerate, Mauritania , kidnapping six French iron mining technicians and killing two civilians. The Polisario abducted two more civilians in October. They were freed in December. Its first Secretary General was Brahim Gali . On 20 May, the new organization attacked El-Khanga, where there was a Spanish post manned by a team of Tropas Nomadas ( Sahrawi -staffed auxiliary forces), which
3936-504: The Polisario almost wholly dependent mainly on Algeria and Libya and some African and Latin American third world countries for political support, plus some NGOs from European countries (Sweden, Norway, Spain, etc.) which generally only approached the issue from a humanitarian angle. The ceasefire coincided with the end of the Cold War. World interest in the conflict seemed to expire in the 1990s as
4018-630: The Polisario, and held the post until his death in 2016. The Secretary General is elected by the General Popular Congress (GPC), regularly convened every four years. The GPC is composed of delegates from the Popular Congresses of the refugee camps in Tindouf, which are held biannually in each camp, and of delegates from the women's organization ( UNMS ), youth organization ( UJSARIO ), workers' organization ( UGTSARIO ) and military delegates from
4100-522: The SADR in 1980, Mauritania had recognized the SADR in 1984, and Syria and South Yemen had supported the Polisario position on the conflict when they were all members of the Front of Refusal. Additionally, many third world non-aligned countries have supported the Polisario Front. Ties with Fretilin of East Timor (occupied by Indonesia in 1975) were exceptionally strong and remain so after that country's independence; both Polisario and Fretilin have argued that there are numerous historical parallels between
4182-503: The SADR is El Aaiún (the capital of the territory of Western Sahara). Since the SADR does not control El Aaiún, it has established a temporary capital in Tifariti , although most of the day-to-day administration happens in Rabuni , one of the Sahrawi refugee camps located in Tindouf , Algeria . The SADR maintains diplomatic relations with 46 United Nations states, and is a full member of
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#17328512004614264-420: The SADR, with Vietnam being the only nation not hosting an embassy but only sending their own mission Sahrawi embassies exist in 18 states . Six UN states have other diplomatic relations, while a further nine UN nations and South Ossetia also recognize the state either by previous regimes or through international agreements in the past, but do not have any active relations at the moment (see foreign relations of
4346-501: The SPLA (see below). All residents of the camps have a vote in the Popular Congresses, and participate in the administrative work in the camp through base-level 11-person cells, which form the smallest unit of the refugee camp political structure. These typically care for distribution of food, water and schooling in their area, joining in higher-level organs (encompassing several camp quarters) to cooperate and establish distribution chains. There
4428-502: The Sahara question gradually sank from public consciousness due to decreasing media attention. A key diplomatic dispute between Morocco and Polisario is over the international diplomatic recognition of the SADR as a sovereign state and Western Sahara's legitimate government. In 2004, South Africa announced formal recognition of the SADR, delayed for ten years despite unequivocal promises by Nelson Mandela as apartheid fell. This came since
4510-516: The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic for more details). Paraguay, Australia, Brazil, and Sweden have all internally voted to recognize the SADR, but none have yet ratified it. Although it is not recognized by the UN, the SADR has held full membership of the African Union (AU, formerly the Organisation of African Unity , OAU) since 1982. Morocco withdrew from the OAU in protest during 1984, and from
4592-438: The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, causing a massive rupture in relations with Morocco. The area of Western Sahara evacuated by Mauritania ( Tiris al-Gharbiya , roughly corresponding to the southern half of Río de Oro), was annexed by Morocco in August 1979. From the mid-1980s Morocco largely managed to keep Polisario troops off by building a huge berm or sand wall (the Moroccan Wall ), staffed by an army, enclosing within it
4674-426: The Spanish acronym of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro ; lit. ' Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro ' ; Arabic : الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الساقية الحمراء ووادي الذهب , romanized : al-Jabhah ash-Shaʿbiyah Li-Taḥrīr as-Sāqiyah al-Ḥamrāʾ wa Wādī adh-Dhahab ), is a Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement seeking to establish
4756-438: The achievement of "full independence". Among key points, the head of state is constitutionally the Secretary General of the Polisario Front during what is referred to as the "pre-independence phase", with provision in the constitution that on independence, Polisario is supposed to be dismantled or separated completely from the government structure. Provisions are detailed for a transitory phase beginning with independence, in which
4838-411: The ceasefire conditions, which include arranging a referendum on independence, while reserving the right to resume armed struggle if terms are objectively breached, for example, if the referendum is not conducted. Mohamed Abdelaziz has repeatedly stated that the Moroccan withdrawal from the 1991 Settlement Plan and refusal to sign the 2003 Baker Plan would logically lead to war from its perspective if
4920-428: The conflict, as the group had split in two factions, and Polisario has refused dialogs with it, stating that political decisions must be taken within the established political system. Since the end of the 1980s, several members of the Polisario have decided to discontinue their military or political activities for the Polisario Front. Most of them returned from the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria to Morocco, among them
5002-472: The country's preoccupation with its own civil war . The Polisario is practically dependent on its bases and refugee camps, located on Algerian soil. While Sahrawis' right to wage an armed struggle against Morocco, and has helped to equip the SPLA, the government also seems to have barred Polisario from returning to armed struggle after 1991, attempting to curry favor from the US and France and to avoid inflaming its already poor relations with Morocco. Apart from
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#17328512004615084-604: The existence of the Sahrawi Bar Association. In 2016, the bar association (going by the name Union of Sahrawi Lawyers) issued a report calling for the implementation of political and civil rights. Unfortunately, there is no clear indication as to how certain demographic groups, such as women, have fared in the legal field. The SNC is weak in its legislative role, having been instituted as a mainly consultative and consensus -building institution, but it has strengthened its theoretical legislative and controlling powers during later constitutional revisions. Among other things, it has added
5166-450: The international community does not step in. In contrast, Polisario-Mauritanian relations following a peace treaty in 1979 and the recognition of the SADR by Mauritania in 1984, with the latter's retreat from Western Sahara, have been quiet and generally neutral without reports of armed clashes from either side. The series of protests and riots in 2005 by Sahrawis in "the occupied territories" received strong vocal support from Polisario as
5248-413: The issue, but militarily backed Morocco against Polisario during the Cold War, especially during the Reagan administration . Despite this, Polisario never received counter-support from the Soviet Union (or the People's Republic of China, the third and junior player in the Cold War). Instead, the entire Eastern Bloc decided in favor of ties and trade with Morocco and refused to recognize the SADR. This made
5330-419: The last count was conducted in 1970, and even that data by colonial Spain is considered unreliable due to large nomadic populations. Following the 1975 Green March , the Moroccan state has sponsored settlement schemes enticing thousands of Moroccans to move into the Moroccan-occupied part of Western Sahara (80% of the territory). By 2015, it was estimated that Moroccan settlers made up at least two thirds of
5412-401: The late 1980s the parliament began to take steps to institute a division of powers and to disentangle the republic's structures from those of the Polisario Front, although without clear effect to date. Its various ministries are responsible for a variety of services and functions. The judiciary , complete with trial courts, appeals courts and a supreme court , operates in the same areas. As
5494-509: The legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people . It has stated that ideological disputes should be left for a future democratic Western Sahara to deal with. It views itself as a "front" encompassing all political trends in Sahrawi society, and not as a political party. As a consequence, there is no party program. However, the Sahrawi republic's constitution gives a hint of the movement's ideological context. In 1991, Polisario voted for free market economics and multi-party politics, however
5576-401: The movement eventually relocated to Spanish-controlled Spanish Sahara to start an armed rebellion. The Polisario Front was formally constituted on 10 May 1973 at Ain Bentili by several Sahrawi university students, survivors of the 1968 massacres in Zouérat and Sahrawi veterans of the Spanish Army . They called themselves the Constituent Congress of the Polisario Front. On 1 May 1977,
5658-522: The movement with its affiliated "mass organizations", UGTSARIO , UJSARIO and UNMS (see below). But after the movement took on the role as a state-in-waiting in 1975, based in the refugee camps in Tindouf , Algeria, this structure proved incapable of dealing with its vastly expanded responsibilities. As a consequence, the old military structure was wedded to the new grass-roots refugee camp administration which had asserted itself in Tindouf, with its system of committees and elected camp assemblies. In 1976,
5740-461: The present SADR is supposed to act as Western Sahara's government, ending with a constitutional reform and eventual establishment of a state along the lines specified in the constitution. The broad guidelines laid down in the constitution for an eventual Western Saharan state include eventual multi-party democracy with a market economy . The constitution also defines Sahrawis as a Muslim , African and Arab people. The Constitution also declares
5822-440: The rapidly growing Sahrawi civil rights activism. In 2004, an anti-ceasefire and anti-Abdelaziz opposition fraction, the Front Polisario Khat al-Shahid announced its existence, in the first break with the principle of "national unity" (i.e., working in one single organization to prevent internal conflict). It calls for reforms in the movement, as well as resumption of hostilities with Morocco. But it remains of little importance to
5904-434: The region devoid of any Administering Power. Neither Morocco nor Mauritania gained international recognition, and war ensued with the independence-seeking Polisario Front . The UN considers the Polisario Front to be the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people , and maintains that the people of Western Sahara have a right to " self-determination and independence". The creation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
5986-407: The situation was further complicated by the Sahrawi Republic assuming functions of government in the camps and Polisario-held territories of Western Sahara. The SADR and Polisario institutions often overlapped, and their division of power was often hard to ascertain. A more comprehensive merger of these different organizational patterns (military organization/refugee camps/SADR) was not achieved until
6068-472: The status of Moroccans now living in the territory should the outcome of a referendum be in favor of independence. This led to the negotiations process known as the Manhasset negotiations . Four rounds were held in 2007 and 2008; no progress was made, however, as both parties refused to compromise about what they considered core sovereignty issues. Polisario agreed to add autonomy as per the Moroccan proposal to
6150-690: The time of South Africa 's admittance to the OAU in 1994 was the only African UN member not also a member of the AU, until it was readmitted on 30 January 2017. The SADR participates as a guest in meetings of the Non-Aligned Movement and the New Asian–African Strategic Partnership , over Moroccan objections to SADR participation. The SADR also participated in a conference of the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of
6232-522: The two conflicts. The movement's main political and military backers were originally Algeria and Libya, with Cuba coming a very distant third. Mauritania also attempts to avoid involvement and to balance between Morocco and Polisario's backers in Algeria, although it formally recognizes the SADR as Western Sahara's government since 1984 and has a substantial Sahrawi refugee population (around 30,000) on its territory. Support from Algeria remains strong, despite
6314-455: Was able to inflict severe damage through guerrilla -style hit-and-run attacks against opposing forces in Western Sahara and in Morocco and Mauritania proper. A comprehensive peace treaty was signed on 5 August 1979, in which the new Mauritanian government recognized Sahrawi rights to Western Sahara and relinquished its own claims. Mauritania withdrew all its forces, and later formally recognized
6396-507: Was conducted in June 1975 concluded that Sahrawi support for independence (as opposed to Spanish rule or integration with a neighbouring country) amounted to an "overwhelming consensus" and that the Polisario Front was the most powerful political force in the country. With Algeria's help, Polisario set up headquarters in Tindouf . After Moroccan pressures through the Green March of 6 November and
6478-567: Was mainly because both sides tried to avoid overt involvement, which would necessitate a crash in relations with either Morocco or Algeria – the major North African players – and because neither viewed it as an important front. Morocco was firmly entrenched in the US camp, whereas Algeria aligned generally with the Soviet Union during the 1970s, and took a more independent "third-worldist" position after that. The United States claimed political neutrality on
6560-430: Was not until July 2012 that they were released by Islamist militants who had been holding them in northern Mali . Consequently, SADR authorities constructed one meter high earth berms around Rabouni and other individual camps. This Algeria location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic , also known as
6642-513: Was overrun and rifles seized. Polisario then gradually gained control over large swaths of desert countryside, and its power grew from early 1975 when the Tropas Nomadas began deserting to the Polisario, bringing weapons and training with them. At this point, Polisario's manpower included perhaps 800 men and women, but they were suspected of being backed by a much larger network of supporters. A UN visiting mission , headed by Simeon Aké , that
6724-556: Was proclaimed on 27 February 1976, as the Polisario declared the need for a new entity to fill what they considered a political void left by the departing Spanish colonial administration. While the claimed capital is the former Western Sahara capital El-Aaiún (which is in Moroccan-controlled territory), the proclamation was made in the government-in-exile 's provisional capital, Bir Lehlou , which remained in Polisario-held territory under
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