The Polisario Front is seeking to avoid being added to the United States' list of terrorist organizations—a list that includes groups such as Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and Lebanon's Hezbollah, both aligned with the Iranian regime. The separatist movement has previously been linked to these entities in Syria. Panic has reportedly taken hold within the Polisario leadership after The Washington Post published allegations of its dangerous links with Iran. The group's unease is reflected in a statement released last night, signed by Brahim Ghali, in which the Polisario denounces what it describes as «a campaign of misinformation and distortion orchestrated by Morocco (…) against the peaceful Sahrawi people». In the statement, the separatist movement accuses unnamed «lobbies» and «certain circles close to Morocco» of being behind the alleged smear campaign. It goes further, targeting the Washington Post article's co-author by claiming—without evidence—that she is acting on behalf of Morocco simply because she is of Moroccan origin. Notably, the Polisario does not deny the paper's claims regarding the presence of its armed elements—fighters who reportedly served alongside forces loyal to Bashar Al-Assad—in prisons now under the control of the new Syrian authorities. Instead, Ghali's statement condemns what it calls «vile attempts and blatant fabrications» aimed at linking the Sahrawi people's «legitimate struggle for self-determination and independence» to terrorism. Polisario seeks to silence accusations of terrorism The statement reaffirms the Polisario's commitment to the «African Union Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism», adopted during the AU's 35th summit in Algiers in July 1999, and ratified by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi state on July 16, 2005. It concludes with a warning: the Polisario intends to use «all international legal mechanisms» to pursue «any party or person who, intentionally or unintentionally, spreads lies, accusations, or information aimed at tarnishing the Sahrawi people's just cause by linking them, directly or indirectly, to terrorism». The timing of this statement is significant, coming as the UN Security Council was holding a closed-door session to hear oral briefings from Staffan de Mistura and Alexander Ivanko, head of MINURSO, on the latest developments in the Sahara. The controversy also follows U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson's recent announcement of a forthcoming bill to designate the Polisario as a terrorist organization under U.S. law. Historical context further adds weight to the debate. In December 1988, the Polisario shot down two American planes engaged in an anti-locust mission over Morocco. In Spain, the group is linked to terrorist attacks that claimed more than 300 lives between 1973 and 1986. The number of Mauritanian detainees who died in Polisario-run prisons, however, remains unknown.
