Western Sahara, a former colony of Spain in northwest Africa, has been occupied since 1975 by Morocco, with the backing of Madrid, Paris, and Washington. The Polisario Front is the organization leading the Saharawi struggle for independence.

Fadel told the meeting that the 2,000 participants included nearly 300 international guests, with delegations from Algeria, Cuba, Venezuela, and South Africa. The greatest number of delegates came from the camps in southwest Algeria where thousands of Saharawi people have been living since the government of Morocco invaded Western Sahara in 1975.

Despite the hardships in the camps, the Saharawis have achieved far-reaching social gains. Fadel reported that at the congress there was discussion about how to advance organization in the camps and improve conditions. In particular, he said, they face problems as a result of recent floods. After a long dry spell, the floods affected food stocks and damaged tents and mud-brick houses.

The Saharawi people continue to fight to improve health, education, and for youth to have access to jobs or to train in the liberation army. Strengthening the capabilities of the military forces in the liberated zone is an important task, Fadel said. Under the leadership of the Polisario Front, Saharawis fought a 16-year war with Morocco for their independence.

In 1991 a ceasefire agreement was reached that guaranteed a referendum under United Nations auspices on independence in Western Sahara. The Moroccan government, however, has continued to place obstacles in the way of implementing the agreement.

The latest proposal put forward by former U.S. secretary of state James Baker, the UN special envoy on Western Sahara, establishes a five-year transition period at the end of which the United Nations would hold a referendum on self-determination for the Saharawi people.

Discussion at the congress focused on whether or not to go ahead with the Baker Plan. Fadel said that many viewed the plan as “an opportunity—if we let it pass, the issue may be ignored for many years to come.”

He explained that during the recent visit of U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell to Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria, Western Sahara was one of the main issues discussed. “The American administration wants to see a solution; they are interested in the potential of the region,” Fadel said. “It seems that there is an increased interest by the big powers in the whole North African region, which is strategically important. It is close to Europe and has oil and gas resources.” He pointed out that French president Jacques Chirac had visited Tunisia immediately after Powell.

The Baker plan is a compromise, Fadel explained. It concedes a lot to Morocco. It recognizes Morocco as the occupying power and grants Moroccan citizens living in Western Sahara the right to vote in the referendum. Fadel said that after the ceasefire the Moroccan government encouraged many people to move to the occupied territories of Western Sahara in an attempt to outnumber the Saharawi population. People were attracted by jobs and low taxes. “The irony is that Morocco persists in its rejection of such a solution,” he said

The congress reaffirmed Polisario’s commitment to fight for the liberation of the entire Western Sahara. A new leadership of Polisario was elected and a new government that included a layer of younger leaders, Fadel reported.

During the congress, Ali Salem Tamek, one of the Saharawi political prisoners currently held in Morocco, spoke by satellite telephone from his prison cell.

Fadel said that in the occupied territories “the courage of the people and the risks they are taking is tremendous.” They take part in demonstrations and in continuous clashes with the authorities. Fadel said the carrot-and-stick policies of the Moroccan government had failed. “They were not able to crush the resistance and not able to win the hearts and minds of the Saharawi people,” he stated.

The regime in Morocco is fragile, he said. “The economic and social situation there is deteriorating, the promises of democratic reforms are not being implemented.” This is why the Moroccan monarchy is so afraid of the referendum process, Fadel said.

“We have to do our best to help those in the occupied territories—they are the ones waging war now. It’s a very important area of the struggle.”  
 
 
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