Polisario front too weak to choose between peace and war, Sahrawi defector says

A Polisario military officer, who defected the separatists' ranks and returned to Morocco lately, said the front is too weak to make a choice between peace and war.

Ali Mahmoud Ahmed Zine told MAP news agency that the Polisario is totally unable to resume hostilities because of internal feuds and disputes over power.

He said there exists within the Polisario a growing trend that does not strengthen the separatists.

Ahmed Zine underlined that his return to Morocco was delayed by the stringent siege imposed by the Polisario.

A large number of sequestered people wish to return to the homeland (Morocco), but immense obstacles stand against fulfilling their dream, he said. "We should not forget that the sequestered Moroccan Sahrawis are subject to a double siege by the Polisario within the camps and by Algerian troops who control all roads leading to the camps."

Zine added that the Polisario seeks to systematically exclude from the referendum process, genuine Sahrawis belonging to tribes known for their attachment to their Moroccan identity. The separatists also try to substitute these tribes by others having no link whatsoever with the Sahara.

The referendum, proposed by Morocco in the 1980's, is destined to determine whether the Sahara sets up on its own as claimed by the Algerian-backed Polisario, or be incorporated into Morocco.

Successive waves of Sahara-born nationals have fled the camps of Tindouf to join Morocco in response to a call made by King Hassan II, urging those who have been led astray to return to their "clement and forgiving homeland (Morocco)."

Even founding members of the Polisario, including the former foreign minister of the self-proclaimed Arab Sahrawi Democratic Republic "SADR," Brahim Hakim, defected and joined Morocco a few years ago, dealing a serious blow to the separatist group.