Last week, Mauritania declined a request from the Polisario Front to establish an «embassy» or «consulate» on its territory, a well-informed source told Yabiladi. The decision comes as little surprise, given Nouakchott's longstanding policy of avoiding the Front's diplomatic overtures, which are often framed around the Algiers Accords signed between the two parties in August 1979. Following the July 10, 1979 coup d'état that overthrew President Moktar Ould Daddah, Mauritania's new military rulers signed a peace agreement with the Polisario, withdrawing from the Madrid Accords of November 14, 1975, and pledging to establish diplomatic ties with the self-proclaimed «SADR». Although that recognition was formalized in 1984, it never led to an exchange of ambassadors. Nonetheless, successive Mauritanian presidents have occasionally received Polisario emissaries delivering «messages from the president of the SADR», according to state media in Nouakchott. By renewing its request today, the movement led by Brahim Ghali is reportedly seeking a symbolic diplomatic victory that could help ease rising frustration in the Tindouf camps, particularly following the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2797 on the Western Sahara issue.
