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In an unprecedented move, the Peruvian Council of Solidarity with the Sahrawi People (COPESA) has changed its mind about the Western Sahara dispute. After siding with the Polisario Front for years, the Council has decided to voice its new position on the conflict.
In a newspaper column published by online outlet Peru Informa, Tuesday, the founder and president of the Peruvian Council of Solidarity with the Sahrawi People Ricardo Sanchez Serra stated that Morocco's national autonomy plan, proposed by Rabat in 2007, is a «serious, credible and realistic» solution to the problem.
In his article, Serra admitted that he has been «committed to the Front’s cause for more than ten years», before realizing that he «should be honest with [his] friends in the Polisario».
Criticizing the Polisario's rigid position
«I believe that it is time to make a crucial decision … and have the courage to think of the future of the Sahrawi people», he explained, recalling the efforts made by the United Nations to find a «just, long-lasting and mutually accepted political solution» to the territorial conflict.
Speaking about the reasons behind his new approach, the Peruvian activist stressed that Morocco has «changed its rigid position on the conflict and made developments that the Polisario couldn’t achieve».
«The Polisario Front has been sticking to its guns», Serra argued, urging the movement to «take advantage of the opportunity given by the UN political process and accept the Moroccan proposal».
The founder and president of COPESA concluded his article by urging Saharwis in the Tindouf camps to «accept the autonomy plan and reunite with their families».
A former friend for the Polisario
Serra’s long article was published, Monday, on his blog. The latter was dedicated in the past to his former opinions about the territorial dispute. Indeed, Serra’s platform featured a series of articles, in the past few years, that hailed the position of the Polisario Front.
In fact, the Peruvian Council of Solidarity with the Sahrawi People had even called, in December 2015, the Peruvian government to «restore diplomatic relations with the Sahrawi Democratic Republic», reports All Africa.
The Council urged the Latin American country to normalize relations with the Polisario, which were frozen in 1996. COPESA’s «initiative» was relayed by the pro-Polisario outlets and the Algerian press agency.
In 2017, COPESA’s president was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Polisario Front, which hailed its commitment of the «Saharawi struggle».
