Polisario Front Reportedly Arrests its Top Police Chief for Supporting Moroccan Autonomy to End Decades-long Sahara Conflict

International human rights community urged to investigate circumstances of arrest and verify the safety and well-being of the outspoken leader

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mustapha Salma Ould Sidi Mouloud, the Polisario Chief Police Inspector, was reportedly arrested last night by the Polisario Front on his return to the refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria following a UN-sponsored Family Visit to southern Morocco to see his father for the first time in 31 years. While in Morocco, Sidi Mouloud had spoken out in favor of a Moroccan compromise autonomy plan to end the three decades-long Western Sahara conflict. He was attempting to rejoin his wife and children in Algeria and had vowed to share his views in the camps that autonomy was the best solution to reunite Sahrawis. When he announced that position last month in Morocco, the Polisario denounced it as treason and threatened him with arrest and even death.

Al Arabiya and other international media report that on Tuesday evening, Polisario militiamen arrested Sidi Mouloud at the border post near Mauritania leading to the Tindouf camps, and took him to an undisclosed location.

The international human rights community is being urged to investigate the reported arrest and verify Sidi Mouloud's safety.  Appeals have gone to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to ensure his well-being in Tindouf.  Human rights groups in the US and internationally said they are monitoring the situation closely, including the US-based Leadership Council for Human Rights, which today called the reported arrest by the Polisario "illegal" and urged the International Committee of the Red Cross to seek Sidi Mouloud's release.

"I am aware that my life is in danger but I decided to return to Tindouf because I want to tell everyone that the policy pursued by the Polisario leadership is wrong," said Sidi Mouloud, according to Italian news agency Adnkronos International days before his reported arrest. He said he was resolved to return "despite death threats" and that Polisario leaders should act in the Saharawi people's interests, not their own.

In Smara, Morocco last month Sidi Mouloud said, "After 31 years of separation I was able to meet my father and my relatives. I took the opportunity to tour Morocco. I was impressed by Morocco's major progress in different sectors and the major development boom in the Sahrawi territories, which made me change my position." He called Morocco's autonomy plan Sahrawis best option to "achieve our main objective" —preserving their culture and identity. The son of Sheikh Salma Mouloud, leader of the Rguibat tribe (the largest in W. Sahara), he urged Sahrawis to set aside differences and open dialogue to end the conflict.

"Sidi Mouloud's arrest makes very clear the disregard the Polisario holds for the rights and freedoms of the people they claims to lead" said Robert Holley, Executive Director, Moroccan American Center for Policy.  "Sidi Mouloud has put his life on the line to speak out for what he believes is best for Sahrawis. I call on Polisario leaders to release Sidi Mouloud and let him share his story.  And I urge the international community and human rights groups to investigate this arrest and work to verify and ensure his well-being."

This latest news comes amid growing concern for the safety and rights of Sahrawi refugees and recent international condemnation of Polisario officials who, last Friday, forced a UN-sponsored Family Visit flight to turn back on a runway in Tindouf and return to Morocco.

Today, more than 17,000 refugees are wait-listed for UN Family Visits and most wait years to see relatives. Monday, UNHCR said Algeria, Morocco, and Sahrawi leaders agreed to expand Confidence Building Measures and open a road home from Tindouf to Morocco so more refugees can visit. Up to 1,800 have escaped the camps on their own this year, many making a dangerous trek across open desert to reach Moroccan Sahara.

The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.  For more, please visit www.moroccanamericanpolicy.org

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SOURCE Moroccan American Center for Policy