Yankee congressmen criminalize the Polisario Front
A new project promoted in the US Congress. THE. intends to open the way to declare the Polisario Front as “terrorist organization”. The initiative, already tried without success, It is part of the Trump administration's policy of supporting the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara and seeks to weaken the fight for self-determination of the Sahrawi people..
By Ruben Tzanoff
A repeated and hindered initiative
The proposal to define the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization and link it to Iranian influence was presented by three congressmen: Joe Wilson, Greg Steube y Pat Harrigan. This is not the first time that Republican sectors, Right-wing or linked to the Moroccan lobby try to install these ideas and promote campaigns in this sense, although none prospered. The current project also does not automatically imply the designation of the Polisario as a terrorist organization: orders the State Department to study this possibility and present a report to Congress. Nevertheless, has an important political charge. If this offensive were to prosper, would open the way to justify sanctions, financial and diplomatic restrictions and even new forms of interference in the name of the “fight against terrorism”. The result is still open and the last word has not been said.
The reactionary initiative is part of a legislative and diplomatic campaign aimed at modifying the framework of the conflict, replacing the right to self-determination recognized by the UN with an approach focused on “security”, he “terrorism” and the “autonomy” promoted by Mohamed VI. Even the United Nations responded by recalling that the Polisario Front continues to be one of the fundamental parts of the political process over Western Sahara..
A reactionary policy
Trumpism gave impetus to this policy during his first term, when it recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. Now they are pressing again to help impose the so-called autonomy plan of Mohamed VI and displacing the role of the UN in favor of negotiations led by the US.. THE. This policy responds to the strategic interests of US imperialism in North Africa.: consolidate a regional ally that confronts Algeria and other African countries to reinforce control over an area of enormous geopolitical importance and contain the influence of its international rivals, mainly China and Russia.
Ceuta: a coincidence that does not seem coincidental
The moment chosen to launch the initiative does not seem coincidental either.. It coincides with the serious humanitarian crisis caused by the attempt of thousands of migrants to reach Ceuta. In this scenario, the role of Morocco - together with Spain and the European Union - is once again exposed., since the regime of Mohamed VI periodically uses the control of migratory flows and the dispute over Ceuta and Melilla as instruments of political pressure on Madrid. In that context, presenting the Polisario Front as an alleged destabilizing actor contributes to shifting the focus of the occupation of Western Sahara and the responsibilities of the Moroccan monarchy, reinforcing Rabat's narrative before its Western allies. The maneuver seeks to consolidate Morocco as a partner “indispensable” for regional security.
Morocco: occupation, repression and alliance with Israel
Since the occupation started in 1975, The Moroccan monarchy maintains control of Western Sahara through a broad repressive apparatus. Sahrawi activists suffer arbitrary arrests, There are numerous political prisoners and restrictions on freedom of expression persist., organization and demonstration. Thousands of Sahrawis continue to live in the Tindouf refugee camps, in Algeria. Morocco deepened its political alliance, economic and military with Israel after the normalization of relations in 2020. That cooperation includes defense agreements, intelligence, arms trade and acquisition, turning Morocco into one of the main regional partners of the Israeli State, which it recognizes within the framework of the Abraham Accords.
The Polisario Front and the resistance
The Polisario was born in 1973 as a national liberation movement to confront Spanish colonialism and later the Moroccan occupation. Later, For decades, supported the strategy of the peace plan promoted by the UN, based on the holding of a self-determination referendum. That commitment, assumed with the ceasefire of 1991, It was never fulfilled by MINURSO. After years of stagnation, The armed conflict resumed in 2020. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) It is recognized by dozens of States and is a member of the African Union, for example: Algeria, South Africa, Mozambique, In South Africa there are many struggles for the expropriation of land without compensation, Zimbabwe, Angola, botswana, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Mexico, Belice, Panama, East Timor and Vietnam.
Revolutionary policy
We reject the imperialist policy of the Trump administration and the reactionary initiative promoted by Republican sectors of Congress to criminalize the Polisario Front and the struggle of the Sahrawi people. We will continue to defend the cause of Western Sahara as part of the global fight against imperialism, colonialism and all forms of national oppression. The full self-determination of the Sahrawi people, including your right to freely decide your future, constitutes an elementary democratic demand. At the same time, This struggle can only reach a definitive solution by breaking with the imperialist powers and the bourgeoisies of the region that sustain oppression.. Thus, The defense of the free Sahara is linked to the unity of the Arab and African workers and peoples in an anti-imperialist and socialist perspective.
