UN Secretary-General’s Report Demystifies Polisario’s Propaganda on “liberated territories”

The latest report of the UN Secretary-General to the Security Council on the Sahara issue has demystified, once and for all, the propaganda nurtured for years by the “Polisario” and its mentor, Algeria, on the so-called existence of “liberated territories” East of the defense wall in the Moroccan Sahara.

The report, presented to the Security Council Thursday, confirmed Morocco’s position on the legal and historical status of this integral part of the Moroccan Sahara.

The UN Chief informed the Security Council members that the Polisario told his Personal Envoy Horst Köhler during his visit to the region last June that it withdrew permanently from the Guergarate buffer zone and that it has committed to move no structure to the east of the defense wall.

The forced flip-flopping of the separatists is the result of the Security Council’s injunctions as expressed in resolution 2414 of last April. In this resolution, the Security Council had expressed concern with the presence of the Polisario Front in the buffer strip in Guerguerat and called for its immediate withdrawal. It also urged the front to “refrain from any such destabilizing actions” in Guergarate, including the relocation of administrative functions to this area.

The Security Council’s firm resolution came following a letter that King Mohammed VI had addressed to the UN Chief on 30 March 2018 on the Polisario’s provocative actions, seeking to change the status quo on the ground. The Royal Letter had warned that if these provocations were to continue, Morocco would act on its own to preserve the status of the area. The wording of the resolution shows that the royal message has been heeded.

And the separatists’ commitment to withdraw from the buffer zone deflates their claims that they were controlling “a liberated area” to the east of the defense apparatus.