Group of key Sahrawi personalities renew allegiance to king of Morocco
King Mohammed VI of Morocco received this Wednesday morning in Ifrane (200 km northeast of Rabat) four key Sahrawi personalities who came to renew to the sovereign the oath of allegiance.
The four people who defected the ranks of the separatist "Polisario" movement held top positions within the Polisario. Those are Mohamed Abdelkader Haibelti, 78, judge and head of the "Higher Magistrature Council," Issalmou Mohamed Abdelkader Ould Haibelti, 44, head of court, Lafdal Malainine Ould Mrabih Rabbou Ould Cheikh El Ouali, 44, who served as Polisario representative at the UN identification commission in the Sahara and mrs Malainine Lalla Oum El-Kheir Bent Cheikh Sidati, 41, influential member of the Polisario women union in charge of education.
Since he took over the throne following the demise last July of his father, King Mohammed VI has been taking measures heralding a new orientation geared toward the construction of a society that consecrates justice and democracy values.
In a speech on Nov. 6 on the occasion of the Green March--the peaceful march that liberated the Sahara provinces from Spanish colonialism-- the king pledged to handle the Sahara issue within a new vision of justice, objectivity and realism. He had also decided to enlarge the management of local affairs (in southern provinces) to the inhabitants and to promote co-responsibility as part of regionalization.
In the speech, he renewed his late father's call to all stray Moroccans that the motherland will remain open to them. In addition to the creation of a commission where persons from the region, the population representatives and civil and military figures will be sitting, other measures were taken to revive the royal advisory council for the Sahara affairs whose members will be chosen in fair and honest elections.
The defection of this new group of top Polisario officials is only further evidence to the hemorrhage weakening the Polisario ranks where serious dissension are no longer a secret.
The strife in the Polisario became apparent last August during the 10th congress of the separatist movement. Two clans are now waging a fierce struggle for power.
This situation is reminiscent of the popular uprising of October 88 in the Tindouf camps which was ruthlessly crashed by Mohamed Abdelaziz and Mohamed lamine Bouhali. The mutineers called for the resignation and trial of Mohamed Abdelaziz.Thousands of persons fled the camps individually or in groups to settle in Morocco or in Spain in search of a job while large groups are still erring in the borders between Algeria, Mauritania and Mali.
