2023-09-04 18:56:20
MADRID, 4 (EUROPA PRESS)
Staffan de Mistura, special envoy for Western Sahara of the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, has arrived this Monday on a surprise visit to El Aaiún, capital of the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara.
The UN has reported that De Mistura hopes to be able to visit other countries in the region and meet with those responsible “before presenting his report in October (…) to the Security Council.”
“The personal envoy hopes to deepen consultations with all affected parties with a view to constructively advancing the political process in Western Sahara within the framework of these regional contacts,” the UN said in an official statement.
“He plans to report his visits and contacts to the Secretary General and the Security Council in October,” the official UN statement continues.
Various sources had speculated on an imminent visit by De Mistura to the region, mainly to Morocco and Algeria, but the tour was in question due to Rabat’s reluctance for the diplomat to visit El Ayoun.
After the arrival of De Mistura, the Polisario Front has denounced a “hardening of the military siege imposed on the occupied Saharawi cities” with the deployment of police forces in a “frantic campaign of repression, persecution and harassment of human rights activists and their families “.
It also holds Morocco responsible for “the repression and escalation that it may undertake during the visit of the UN envoy and calls on the Security Council and the Secretary General of the United Nations to assume their responsibilities in the protection of defenseless Saharawi citizens”.
The Equipe Media outlet has denounced a “military and paramilitary deployment in El Ayoun” with vehicles and water cannons “to avoid demonstrations in front of the UN special envoy.” There are also “numerous Saharawi activists under close surveillance.”
The Polisario Front has also accused Morocco of acting “with impunity” with the “approval” of France to “impose the policy of fait accompli by force in occupied Western Sahara.” Thus, “it continues to disperse peaceful protests in the Saharawi occupied cities and restricts the activities of Saharawi human rights organizations.”
For all these reasons, the Polisario has once again called for the creation of “an independent and permanent United Nations mechanism to protect human rights”, since the UN mission for the Sahara is the only one that does not have these powers.
The former Spanish colony of Western Sahara was occupied by Morocco in 1975 despite resistance from the Polisario Front, with whom it remained at war until 1991, when both parties signed a ceasefire with a view to holding a self-determination referendum.
But the differences on the elaboration of the census and the inclusion or not of the Moroccan settlers have prevented its call so far. In addition, after a Moroccan military action against Saharawi activists in Guerguerat, on November 14, 2020, the Polisario considered the ceasefire broken.
The Saharawi independentistas suffered a setback when the Spanish government supported the Moroccan autonomy plan, a change of position on the matter and which was described as treason by the Polisario Front and which also sparked criticism from Algeria.
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