U.S. Think-Tank: Polisario Front, an Algerian proxy, vestige of Cold War, does not represent Sahrawis

The Polisario Front is one of the last Cold War relics. Algeria founded the separatist group, and the Soviet Union and Cuba supported it, to use as a proxy against Morocco, said the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in a report.

The Polisario Front’s existence today is an affront to human rights. Algeria embraces the group both to give itself a seat at the table and to embezzle humanitarian aid sent to refugee camps under Polisario control, said Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Think-tank.

Some countries, like South Africa, use the Polisario as a diplomatic lever against Morocco, he added, urging the international community to stop viewing the Polisario Front as the legitimate representatives of the Sahrawis when no one has ever elected them to such a position and no one has given the Sahrawis any say.

A new grassroots group, Sahrawi Movement for Peace, is coalescing. The members of this Movement recently met in the Canary Islands to discuss their future and their representation, for the second time since 2022.

The concluding “Canary Islands Manifesto II” urged “the UN Secretary-General to persuade his Personal Envoy to invite and include the Sahrawis for Peace Movement as a fully recognized interlocutor in the political process, along with representatives of the Sahrawi traditional authority, represented by its notables”

The Sahrawi movement noted, with oblique reference to the Polisario, “another entity that seeks to permanently monopolize the representation of the Sahrawi people” increasingly challenges tribal authority.

The Sahrawi Movement for Peace may be relatively new, but it already has more legitimacy than the Polisario, said the American analyst. The Socialist International recognizes this organization. The current Spanish government also has begun to reach out to the Sahrawi Movement for Peace.

According to the American expert, President Donald Trump has little patience for the waste of international assistance or those who use funding to preserve terrorism rather than bring peace, making reference to Polisario deadly rocket attacks launched against the Moroccan Saharan city of Smara.

President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio should demand that U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres pay heed to the Sahrawis for Peace Movement and immediately cut off any recognition of the Polisario Front as the Sahrawis’ representative, said the AEI analyst.

Furthermore, while the Polisario Front doubles down on the demand for armed conflict, the Sahrawi Movement for Peace not only rejects violence but also seeks consensus across broad segments of the Sahrawi population, commented Michael Rubin.

If the United Nations wants peace and wants to advance the UN-led political process, the Sahrawi Movement stands as a legitimate interlocutor capable of making a peace deal.

Few days ago, U.S. Secretary of State and President Trump have urged all parties to the Sahara conflict to engage in discussions without delay, using Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal as the only framework, to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution.

Following talks held this week in Washington between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita, the Trump administration has reiterated its full recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its entire Saharan territory and reaffirmed that the autonomy plan is the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute.