Rabat – The Polisario Front responded to peaceful protests in front of the “presidency” headquarters in Rabouni, near Tindouf in Algeria by mobilizing armored vehicles and tanks to disperse the demonstrators.
Pro-Polisario news outlets, including Futuro Sahara, strongly criticized the breakaway group for deploying the high level military on the Sahrawi protesters.
The unwarranted military deployment came last week when Sahrawis gathered to protest the “indulgence” of Polisario security units after the breakaway group’s security services allowed the escape of a suspect charged with murder.
The Pro-Polisario outlet expressed surprise over the ongoing oppression of protesters in the region.
Commenting on the recent mobilization, Futuro Sahara disparaged the Polisario leadership, saying: “It seems that the Ibrahim Ghali regime does not learn from its disastrous mistakes.”
Sahrawi activist and former Polisario police officer Mustafa Salma Ould Sidi Mouloud also strongly criticized the breakaway group. Mustafa Salma recalled that this is not the first time the Polisario Front has resorted to military deployment to disperse peaceful protests.
Military units deployed armored vehicles and tanks to disrupt a protest in the camps in April 2019.
“The Polisario justified its move back then by claims that the armored vehicles were used to tow trucks of protesters which were blocking the road,” Mustafa Salma said.
The breakaway group used the same weapons to “suppress” protests in Rabouni, Mustafa Salma explained, arguing that the use of military might to disperse peaceful demonstrations is representative of the Polisario’s repression of dissenting voices among the Sahrawi population.
The Tindouf camps witnessed several Sahrawi protests condemning Polisario’s restrictions and human rights violations in recent years.
Despite the alleged unbearable situation in the camps, the international community remains silent on the situation of Sahrawis.
