In light of the recent remarks by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on the Sahara conflict, the Polisario Front is making its stance clear. Its leader, Brahim Ghali, announced this past Sunday, October 12, during a speech, that his organization is prepared to collaborate with the United Nations to «decolonize Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa, ensuring the inalienable, non-negotiable, and imprescriptible right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence». Ghali also urged for direct talks with Morocco, labeling his group as «the sole legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people». Moreover, Ghali emphasized that the Polisario will not accept any resolution that disregards the 1991 settlement plan devised by the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU). «The only path to resolving the Western Sahara conflict is one that guarantees the Sahrawi people their right to self-determination and independence», he asserted. These declarations from the Polisario leader come in response to President Tebboune's speech, delivered on Thursday, October 9, in Algiers, before the Algerian military leadership. «This people aspires to independence. We support the solution that the Sahrawis accept. The solutions they reject, I will not impose on them. And as long as I am their neighbor, I will not allow anyone to impose solutions on the Sahrawis that they do not accept», he stated. Following a meeting on September 5, the Polisario leadership had softened its core demands, temporarily setting aside «the organization of a self-determination referendum», «the independence of Western Sahara», and the «right to pursue and intensify its legitimate armed struggle», along with the implementation of the 1991 settlement plan. In the coming days, the United States is expected to introduce a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council concerning the Sahara issue.
