After supporting Morocco's plan for autonomy, Polisario suspends contacts with the Madrid government

The Polisario Front announced in a statement, on Sunday, the suspension of all contacts with the Madrid government. This is against the background of the latter's announcement of its support for the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco.

On Sunday, members of the Polisario Front announced the "suspension" of all contact with the Spanish government of Pedro Sanchez, after Madrid's position shifted in favor of the Moroccan position on the issue of the Sahara.

The Front wrote in a statement, "The Polisario Front decides to suspend its contacts with the current Spanish government in order to distance itself from using the Sahrawi cause in the context of miserable bargains with the occupier," as she put it.

The statement added that this estrangement will continue "until it adheres to the resolutions of international legitimacy that recognize the Saharawi people's right to self-determination and to respect the borders of their country, as they are internationally recognized."

Madrid has always shown its neutrality, before declaring on March 18 its support for the Moroccan autonomy plan, which it currently considers "the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving the conflict," according to its opinion.

The new position of the Spanish government was not unanimous in Madrid, as in Algeria, the main supporter of the Polisario Front, but it stressed that it did not change its position, but only took an "extra step" in order to contribute to resolving the conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front, which has been going on since the departure of the Spaniards in 1975. .

The Polisario justified cutting its relationship with Madrid on the grounds that "the Spanish state has responsibilities towards the Sahrawi people and the United Nations at the same time as the managing force of the region, and that its responsibilities accordingly do not fall into place," as she put it.

Madrid considers that the main objective of restoring relations with Rabat is to ensure its "cooperation" in the fight against illegal immigration from Morocco, where most of the migrants leave for Spain.

The Sahara region, a vast desert region rich in phosphates and fisheries, has been disputed by Morocco and the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, since the departure of the Spaniards in 1975.

Rabat, which controls nearly 80% of this region, proposes granting it autonomy under its sovereignty, while the Polisario calls for a referendum for self-determination, which was stipulated in a cease-fire agreement concluded in 1991, but it remained a dead letter.

The November 2020 ceasefire was violated after Moroccan forces deployed in the far south of the territory to expel Polisario personnel, who were blocking the only road to Mauritania.

Since then, the Polisario says it is "at war in self-defence" and publishes a daily bulletin on its operations.