Rabat – The leader of the Polisario Front, Ibrahim Ghali, has made an unprecedented call asking for “cooperation and reconciliation” with Morocco.
At the 10th annual “summer universities” of the Polisario Front and the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), Ghali said that he is “extending” Polisario’s hands to the Kingdom of Morocco for “peace, reconciliation, cooperation, and good neighborliness.”
He added that Morocco’s treating the self-proclaimed SADR as a brotherly country will “bring the two countries and two peoples, and the peoples and countries of the region, many more achievements and will be better than the consequences of following an unjust policy that violates legitimacy and history.”
Read Also: Washington Won’t Support Creation of State in Southern Morocco: WSJ
Ghali added that “it is time for [Morocco] to deal will all responsibility courage and wisdom with this natural and legitimate reality in order to move together to build the region and achieve the aspirations of its people for peace stability and development.”
Ghali’s peace discourse came a week after he called forwar with Morocco.
In a video published by pro-Polisario news outlet Futuro Sahara, Ghali announced his plan to implement compulsory military service in the Tindouf camps in Algeria where Polisario is headquartered to “prepare for the inevitable war against a relentless enemy.”
The statement stands in contrast with his recent message for peace and reconciliation.
Morocco, which sees its territorial integrity and sovereignty over Western Sahara as uncrossable red lines, is unlikely to accept Polisario’s fragmentary offer.
King Mohammed VI recently reiterated Morocco’s principles and position on the conflict, emphasizing that the Autonomy Plan is the only solution to end the conflict.
On the eve of the Throne Day on July 29, the King said that the celebration was “a most fitting occasion to reiterate our unwavering commitment to the Moroccanness of the Sahara, to our national unity and territorial integrity, and to full sovereignty over every inch of the Kingdom’s territory.”
Morocco also believes that the Polisario Front, which has been violating human rights in the Tindouf camps, does not have the legitimacy to represent Sahrawis. Rabat has, therefore, has called repeatedly on Algeria to take responsibility to resolve the conflict, because it shelters and arms the Polisario.
