See also: » 05.03.2011 - Peaceful Western Sahara anti-government protests » 12.02.2011 - Saharawis at unease over Algeria, Morocco unrest » 11.10.2010 - Sahrawis awake to government opposition » 11.02.2010 - Morocco-Polisario revive talks » 03.02.2010 - New talks on Western Sahara in US » 18.12.2009 - Sahara activist allowed back home » 11.12.2009 - UN chief intevening in Saharawi activist cause » 17.11.2009 - Unblock foreign visits to Sahrawi activists, HRW Houlihan's coupons

Finn autentiske matoppskrifter fra hele verden på Verdensmat.no: Gazpacho Børek Kartoffelsalat Taboulé Gulasj Albóndigas Cevapi Rougaille Japrak sarma Zwiebelbrot Klopse Giouvetsi Paella Pljeskavica Pica pau Pulpo a la gallega Flammkuchen Langosj Tapenade Chatsjapuri Pasulj Lassi Kartoffelpuffer Tortilla Raznjici Knödel Lentejas Bœuf bourguignon Korianderchutney Brenneslesuppe Proia Sæbsi kavurma Sardinske calamares

Autentiske matoppskrifter fra hele verden finner du på Verdensmat.no: Réunion Portugal Aserbajdsjan Serbia Tyskland Seychellene Bosnia Spania Libanon Belgia India Kroatia Hellas Italia Ungarn Komorene Georgia Mauritius Østerrike Romania Frankrike

Sahrawi protesters

© SPS/afrol News

afrol News, 28 February - The North African pro-democracy protest movement has reached the refugee camps of the Sahrawi people. The "Revolutionary Youth" on Saturday will demand reform from its 35-year-old government.

The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic has just celebrated its 35th anniversary in a group of refugee camps in the Algerian desert, close to the border of Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara. Its exiled one-party government, a full-fledged member of the African Union (AU), rules over an estimated population of 150,000 in the refugee camps.

For the first time in the history of these camps, on Saturday 5 March, there will held a protest march calling for political reform by the POLISARIO regime. The lack of previous protests has not so much been outright repression by the one-party regime, but a widely felt need for total unity among the refugee population.

While there has been a ceasefire since 1991, the Sahrawis are still at war with Morocco. Protesting the POLISARIO rule could send wrong signals to the enemy.

The "Sahrawi Revolutionary Youth", before calling for peaceful pro-democracy protests, carefully notes its nationalist sentiments, hailing the martyrs that have fallen for the Sahrawi Republic.

Their demands for the Sunday protest march are modest, compared to those in other countries. There are no calls for Sahrawi President Mohamed Abdelaziz or his government to resign.

Rather, there are calls for the Sahrawi army to improve its standing and salaries; giving larger attention to the needs of the victims of the war and the families of the martyrs; and to give greater support to the many Sahrawis still struggling for freedom in the occupied territories.

But the "Revolutionary Youth" also wants reforms in the refugee camps, governed by the POLISARIO government. Especially, they demand, "the judiciary and the state administration" urgently needed to be reformed.

The protesters especially react against the alleged widespread nepotism, tribalism and corruption in government institutions. Many government officials were busier filling their own pockets than during their duty serving citizens in the impoverished refugee camps, they hold.

A major demand was for corrupt officials to be brought to trial and the funds stolen from the Sahrawi people to be restored.

It was also time that a new generation of Sahrawis were allowed to "to participate in political life," the

President Mohamed Abdelaziz of the Sahrawi Republic

© SPS/afrol News

youths demanded.

The most daring demand was for changes to the electoral code in Western Sahara that would give voters a larger possibility to influence the election of parliamentary members and the President.

The revolutionaries urged all Sahrawis to gather in front of the presidential office in the Chahid Alhafed refugee camp on Saturday morning, bringing Sahrawi flags so as not to play into the hands of Moroccan media." A statement also warned Moroccan media not to abuse the upcoming protests in its propaganda campaigns against the Sahrawis.

afrol News asked Sahrawi journalist Malainin Lakhal about the potential of the upcoming protests. Mr Malainin's first reaction was that the youth grouping had not stated any of their names, so "nobody knows who they are."

"The real criticism that can be addressed to the initiators of this action is that they are anonymous, and this is not helping me for example to take it seriously, especially that it would have been better received by many Sahrawis if the initiators had put their names on the petition," he added.

Mr Malainin, himself based in the refugee camps, nevertheless agreed that "some of the demands they defend are acceptable and can only be supported by any Sahrawi, while there are some strong statements and discussable points in the text."

The prominent Sahrawi journalist further agrees there are some democracy deficits in the Sahrawi Republic. "However, I also think that it is very easy to criticise when you are looking to the action from outside. This is why I believe that my generation and the younger generation need to get more involved in the political life," he adds.

Mr Malainin also agrees the Sahrawi government needs to "listen more to the youth, to the people in the occupied zones and to listen to the international changes."

"Saharawis have everything to gain from strengthening their democratic institutions and building a better democratic state, and one of the ways to do that is to always inject fresh blood in the system, to empower the youth and to create more opportunities for the young generation to learn from previous experiences and be part of the decision making mechanism," the journalist adds.

By staff writers

© afrol News

Tweet

Printable version

On the Afrol News front page now

Rwanda

Rwanda succeeds including citizens in formal financial sector afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda. Read more

Famine warning: "South Sudan is imploding" afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries. Read more

Guinea

Panic in West Africa after Ebola outbreak in Guinea afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease. Read more

Ethiopia

Ethiopia tightens its already strict anti-gay laws afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared. Read more

Ethiopia

Ethiopia plans Africa's biggest dam afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries. Read more