The adoption of Resolution 2797 by the UN Security Council has ushered in a new dynamic in the Sahara. The prospect of genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is reinvigorating public debate and bringing long-suppressed demands back to the forefront. In this context, the meeting held in Dakhla by the «Sahrawi Initiative for Development and Human Rights» takes on particular significance. Historical figures from the Polisario who have returned to Morocco have issued an urgent appeal to the «competent authorities» calling for the release of Sahrawi detainees from the Gdim Izik group, some of whom are serving sentences of up to 30 years for their involvement in the events that followed the dismantling of the Gdim Izik camp in Laayoune in November 2010. The request appears in the final communiqué of a meeting held on December 6 in Dakhla by the «Sahrawi Initiative for Development and Human Rights», an association created in February 2025 that includes, among its founding members, Bachir Dkhil and Gajmoula Ben Abi. According to the signatories, «the release of the Sahrawi detainees could send a strong message from the State, demonstrating its commitment to strengthening confidence-building measures to resolve this long-standing conflict». The communiqué also called on authorities to «review the heavy prison sentences imposed on several young people from the Sahrawi provinces, sentences that are disproportionate to the acts they are alleged to have committed». Participants further urged the State to shed light on unresolved cases of enforced disappearance and to provide redress for affected families. In September, a French media outlet revealed that Paris has been attempting to convince Moroccan authorities to consider «a possible release of Sahrawi activists in detention», particularly those from the Gdim Izik group. The matter remains central to the Polisario's messaging. Earlier this year, marches were held for several weeks in multiple French and Spanish cities demanding the release of Sahrawi prisoners. «We have no electoral ambitions» Beyond human rights concerns, the meeting also denounced the «exhaustion and anarchic exploitation» of the Sahara's natural resources. Participants stressed the need for transparent resource management, ensuring that local communities benefit equitably from the revenues generated. They also underscored the urgency of granting «Sahrawi children» access to employment in the fishing sector. «The demands we raised at the Dakhla meeting did not please the merchants of conflict on both sides. We are the children of this land, and we are Moroccans», Bachir Dkhil, a member of the Sahrawi Initiative, told Yabiladi. «Our action is guided by two principles: respect for His Majesty the King and the conviction that the solution lies in Morocco and nowhere else. We have no electoral ambitions. We support the elected officials, but it is time to turn the page on the corrupt, to meet the expectations of the population, and to realize the principle of accountability», He clarified. Dkhil concluded: «We see our initiative as the voice of the voiceless in the Sahara. We believe in a social pact that could encourage people in the Tindouf camps to return to their lands and build a true democracy».
