MOHAMMED ABDELAZIZ THE ALGERIAN’S MAN IN THE WESTERN SAHARA CONFLICT
BY : TAOUFIQ GAZOULIT
Mohammed Abdelaziz, is the secretary general of the Polsario front (a Spanish acronym for the popular front for the liberation of Sagui el hamra and Rio de Oro), and the president of the Sahraoui Arab democratic republic (RASD) since 1976. He comes from a sahraoui Bedouin family, from the tribal point of view, he belongs to the minority R’guibat Fokra, an eastern Reguibat sub tribe, his father who lives in Morocco with his family was an active fighter of the Moroccan Liberation Army, and then he joined the Moroccan Royal Army, now he is a member of the royal advisory council for Saharan affairs “CORCAS”.
Abdelaziz was imposed by Algiers, and then nominated polisario’s secretary –general after El-ouali Mustapha Sayed was killed in action in Mauritania. In an interview with the European strategic intelligence and security (ESISC) commander Lahbib Ayoub a founding member of the Polisario, who returned to Morocco, explained that Algeria had chosen Mohammed Abdelaziz as leader of the polisario, although he was not one of the main organization’s founders “we could refuse them (the Algerians) nothing, they were giving us everything, or almost everything, he always considered himself to be their man”
Opposition against Abdelaziz policies within the Polisario has taken various forms. KHAT AL –SHAID (line of the martyr) a faction within the polisario, is based in the sahraoui refugee camps in Tindouf and has supporters and members in Mauritania, Spain and a number of European countries. This organization announced its existence in 2004. It accuses Mohammed Abdelaziz of the following:-Propagating corruption, clientism, tribalism and bargaining with the sufferings of the Sahraoui people.-Having no strategy to face the international developments- Refusing to hold the national congress demanded by Khat al-shahid,where the Polisario leadership should be accountable for its policy, and failure in terms of reaching a settlement of the western Sahara issue after a long three decades of sufferings of sahraoui refugees in the Tindouf camps-The undemocratic way of running the polisario front
Mahjoub Salek, the spokesman for the movement in an interview with TEL QUEL magazine explains that it represents itself as an alternative to the current Polisario front leadership. (See TELQUEL magazine/Morocco n 243-2006).Recently, in the Spanish capital Madrid a new opposition organization to the Polisario was established, introducing itself as a third party in the conflict, Hamdi Ali beeba the spokesman of the newly sahraoui organization , in his press conference in Madrid with the Spanish media on the23may 2007said “it is a must to defend all sahraouis whether those who defend the Moroccan position ,or those who sympathise with the Polisario” he described his organization as a civil one, totally against any military solution. Although he refuses to disclose the number of members of this sahraoui organization,, but he made it clear that members in question are living either in Morocco, Mauritania , or in the canary islands in Spain, in addition to some active members of the polisario.In this respect the Spanish agency press “Europa press” which covered this press conference added that Mr Hamdi beeba is an active member of the Polisario, and he is a relative to the president of so called “The parliament of RASD” Mahfoud Ali Beeba.
The secretary general of the polisario front Mohammed abdelaziz remained the “elected” president of the sparsely recognized Sahraoui democratic republic since 1976. He and a small number of his entourage of other leaders of the Polisario control the Tindouf refugee camps.The Polisario has been feeling internal pressure since the 1991ceasefire. Thousands of sahraouis living in the refugees camps are kept against their will, and do not enjoy the basics of freedom of expression. youngsters who have never been allowed to visit nor to join their families in the Sahara rail in frustration, according to Mrs Khadija Hamdi the wife of the leader of the Polisario “young sahraouis started to get tired of living in the refugee camps” she added in an interview with a Spanish newspaper “youngsters do not share the same goals, nor the same preoccupations as their parents (see Spanish newspaper:”Levante”08/1/2007) .
According to the report by The European strategic Intelligence and security (ESISC), lack of democracy and an oppressive climate under the leadership of the polisario, has led to several members leaving the refugee camps in Tindouf most of them joined Morocco, and the rest opted to go abroad .Polisario leaders who have left the camps for Morocco, are now actively campaigning for Moroccan sovereignty over western Sahara. Lahbib Ayoub the prominent former polisario commander, who was in conflict with Mohammed Abdelaziz long before he decided to join Morocco, disclosed the main reason behind his decision to return to Morocco, he said that abdelaziz paid him a visit and all of the sudden told him that Algiers came up with a project aiming at partitioning the Sahara, and that polisario front could do nothing about it. That statement made Lahbib ayoub think seriously of returning to where he belongs. This statement made by the former polsario commander Ayoub to ESISC ,was made public by the former United Nations secretary general Kofi Anan , In his report of 19 February 2002, he informed the security council on the visit of the Algerian president to Houston on 2 November 2001during which he told the UN secretary general personal envoy James Baker that Algeria and the polisario are ready to discuss and negotiate the splitting of the territory as a political solution to the dispute over western Sahara. This initiative proves Algiers direct involvement in the conflict
More than 30 years as the leader of the separatist movement strategically backed by the Algerian political leadership, and totally controlled by the Algerian military intelligent services. Abdelaziz can not claim that his movement is the sole and legitimate representative of sahraouis, particularly that in practical terms over two third of sahraouis do live under Moroccan sovereignty, and they fully support the substantial autonomy project proposed by the King of Morocco. Even those living as refugees in Tindouf camps, south-west of Algeria back the autonomy seeing it as a solution that guaranties their political, economic and social rights. Abdelaziz led the Polsario over the last three decades or so to a number of miscalculations, failures, strategic differences within the Polisario, and most of all to the sufferings of sahraoui refugees:
-The polisario remains a totalitarian military and political movement, with single party system, sole institutions, with everything wrapped up in one-track thinking. From inside the Polisario reports are talking about more than 6000 sahraoui children, and adolescents are currently living in Cuba, in most of the cases against the will of their parents, and under the pretext of schooling, some of them are subject to obligatory military training.- Sahraoui Arab democratic republic, such a republic that does not exist on any territory, but in Algeria. It has not attribute of sovereignty, exists only on internet and in fictitious institutions on the territory of Algeria.- postponing the polsario congress, confirms the existence of vital divergences within the polisario notably following the latest developments in the Western Sahara issue.-the war in the Sahara lasted 16 years from 1976 to 1991, the Polisario lost the war.-Since war brought about no solution; the UN tried to organize a referendum based upon identification. Nevertheless the UN became aware of the fact that the referendum is impossible to carry out since sahraouis do not live only in Morocco, but also in Algeria, Mauritania, and Mali. This means that they should be a change of these borders (this not acceptable by countries concerned) in order to organize a just and fair referendum. The UN general secretary confirmed that the organization of a referendum is impossible politically and technically.
According to these facts, and to the deteriorating of the social, economic status of sahraoui refugees under the close supervision of the Polisario, and the control of the guerrilla intelligent service of Abdelaziz, in addition to the open criticism, and opposition from within the polisario. Abdelaziz should agree to operate democratically, and call for a national congress to elect a new leader who is ready to enter direct negotiations with Morocco.Abdelaziz should accept the opening of the camps of Tindouf, so that any person or family willing, and hoping to return to the Sahara is free to act accordingly.Abdelaziz should accept that any solution to the Western Sahara issue can only be political, and negotiated as the UN Security Council stipulated in its resolution.
Facts on the ground show that the Polsario is considerably weakened by the defections since 1991.Over 10 000 sahraouis (political, military leaders and refugees) have joined Morocco. Mohammed Abdelaziz does not seem to be in a position to renounce its non-stop claim of independence because he already put his personal destiny in the hands of the Algerian regime, when he opted to consider himself as their man; and subsequently put into practice the Algerian politics concerning western Sahara, unfortunately at the expense of the wellbeing, and future of sahraoui refugees, who are willing to return to the Western Sahara provided they live in dignity. Abdelaziz knows as much as Algiers does that Morocco is ready to discuss a status of broad autonomy for the Sahara, but will only accept a solution within the Moroccan context.
