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With the Republicans back in power in the United States, calls are growing louder for stronger support for Morocco in the Western Sahara conflict. Some voices are even pushing for the termination of the MINURSO mission and for the international community to stop recognizing the Polisario Front as the «legitimate representative» of the Sahrawi people.
Just days after the American Enterprise Institute (AEI)—a think tank with strong Republican ties—called for halting U.S. funding for the MINURSO mission, the same institute published an article by Michael Rubin, a senior lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School and former Department of Defense official specializing in Middle Eastern affairs. In the piece, Rubin urged the U.S. to stop recognizing the Polisario Front as the voice of the Sahrawis.
According to the article, the Polisario Front, which claims to represent the Sahrawis and seeks to establish a state in Western Sahara under the name «Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic» is a Cold War relic created by «Algeria and the Soviet Union and Cuba supported it, to use as a proxy against Morocco».
Why Recognize the Polisario as Sahrawi Representatives?
The think tank argued that «the Polisario Front’s existence today is an affront to human rights», claiming that Algeria supports the group for two key reasons: to secure a seat at the negotiating table and to divert humanitarian aid intended for the refugee camps it controls.
«Why the international community should consider the Polisario Front to be legitimate representatives of the Sahrawi», the article asked. «When no one has ever elected them to such a position and no one has given the Sahrawi any say?»
AEI suggested that the Sahrawis for Peace movement—though still in its infancy—offers a more legitimate alternative, noting that it has already received recognition from the Socialist International, which today represents moderate leftist values more than the radical socialism of the Cold War era.
The article also noted that Spain is engaging with the Sahrawis for Peace movement because «Madrid recognizes that, history and Algeria aside, it is simply time to move on».
«President Donald Trump has little patience for the waste of international assistance or those who use funding to preserve terrorism rather than bring peace», the article continued. «MINURSO clearly represents a multibillion-dollar failure; the 34-year-old United Nations entity has yet to achieve even the first stage of its mission to conduct a referendum».
Rubin argued that Trump, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, should press UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to recognize the Sahrawis for Peace movement and withdraw recognition from the Polisario Front.
«If the United Nations wants peace, this should be an obvious step. After all, 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».
Just days ago, following a meeting in Washington between Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the United States reaffirmed its recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, reiterating support for Morocco’s «serious, credible, and realistic» autonomy plan as the only basis for a just and lasting resolution.
Yesterday, Lisa Kenna, the State Department’s political affairs officer, conveyed this position directly to UN envoy Staffan de Mistura.
