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Polisario Front جبهة البوليساريو Jabhat al-Bōlīsāryū Frente Polisario | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Secretary-General | Brahim Ghali |
| Founder | El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed |
| Founded | 10 May 1973 |
| Preceded by | Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab
Sahrawi National Union Party |
| Headquarters | Sahrawi refugee camps, Tindouf Province, Algeria |
| Youth wing | Sahrawi Youth Union |
| Women's wing | National Union of Sahrawi Women |
| Trade union affiliation | Sahrawi Trade Union |
| Armed wing | Sahrawi People's Liberation Army |
| Ideology | Sahrawi nationalism Arab socialism[1] Arab nationalism Social democracy Democratic socialism Secularism[2] Historical: Marxism[3] |
| Political position | Left-wing[2] |
| International affiliation | Progressive Alliance Socialist International (consultative) |
| Colors | |
| Anthem | صحراؤنا هي الوطن (lit. 'Sahara is our Homeland') |
| Sahrawi National Council | 51 / 51 |
| Pan-African Parliament | 5 / 5 (Sahrawi Republic seats) |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| frentepolisario | |
The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario (from the Spanish acronym of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro; lit. 'Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro'; Arabic: الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الساقية الحمراء ووادي الذهب, romanized: al-Jabhah ash-Shaʿbiyah Li-Taḥrīr as-Sāqiyah al-Ḥamrāʾ wa Wādī adh-Dhahab), is a Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement seeking to establish a Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic for the Sahrawi people through the means of self-determination and armed resistance in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Tracing its origin to a Sahrawi nationalist organization known as the Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab, the Polisario Front was formally constituted in 1973 with the intention of launching an armed struggle against the Spanish occupation which lasted until 1975, when the Spanish decided to allow Mauritania and Morocco to partition and occupy the territory. The Polisario Front waged a war to drive out the two armies. It forced Mauritania to relinquish its claim over Western Sahara in 1979 and continued its military campaign against Morocco until the 1991 ceasefire, pending the holding of a UN-backed referendum which has been consistently postponed ever since. In 2020 the Polisario Front declared the ceasefire over and resumed the armed conflict.
The United Nations considers the Polisario Front to be the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people and maintains that the Sahrawis have a right to self-determination.[4][5] The Polisario Front is outlawed in the parts of Western Sahara under Moroccan control, and it is illegal to raise its party flag (often called the Sahrawi flag) there.[6] It is a consultative member of the Socialist International.[7]
- ^ Ottaway, David; Ottaway, Marina (1981). Afrocommunism. Africana Publishing Company. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-8419-0664-8. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
:2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Hooper, John (11 February 1999). "The Polisario's Marxist past sinks into the desert sands". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ United Nations General Assembly Resolution 34/37: Question of Western Sahara. Adopted on 21 November 1979. Full document Archived 4 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ Stefan Gänzle; Benjamin Leruth; Jarle Trondal (15 November 2019). Differentiated Integration and Disintegration in a Post-Brexit Era. Taylor & Francis. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-429-64884-7. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ "UN calls for peace in Western Sahara – Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va. 17 November 2020. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ Member parties of the Socialist International – Observer parties Archived 1 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Socialistinternational.org.