Polisario, an armed separatist group in North Africa, and its master, Algeria, “have suffered a series of setbacks on many fronts in 2020,” says electronic news outlet Eurasiareview.
“Prior to 2020, Polisario was already bleeding heavily as it had lost its popularity, sympathy and support internationally as well as among the Sahrawis,” Jakarta-based journalist Veeramalla Anjaiah underlines in an Op-Ed.
“Polisario’s main supporter as well as financer – Algeria – was in a bad shape as it suffered multiple crises, including the Hirak social protest movement in 2019, its worst economic crisis triggered by low oil prices and a severe health crisis from the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
Currently, Algeria is no longer in a position to provide millions of dollars and weapons to Polisario, as it had done in the past, the journalist notes.
“In another blow to Polisario and Algerian diplomacy, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has used, for the first time, an integral map of Morocco that includes Western Sahara just after the US announcement on Dec.10,” Anjaiah stresses, adding that Polisario “received the biggest blow to its 48 years of existence from United States President Donald Trump on Dec. 10, 2020 when he announced his country’s decision to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the Moroccan Sahara.”
In a proclamation signed by Trump, Washington said that Morocco’s Autonomy Plan was the best solution for the decades-long conflict in Western Sahara, the journalist says.
“Several Indonesians also wanted Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim country, to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara,” he underlines.
“Indonesia is also facing a similar separatist movement in Papua. In fact, Polisario and Papuan separatist leader Benny Wenda are working closely,” he notes.
“Morocco respects fully Indonesia’s unity and sovereignty. Indonesia should consider to do the same,” the author of the article points out.
“The key to resolving the Sahara conundrum is in the hands of Algeria, not Polisario. If Algeria makes peace with Morocco and Polisario accepts Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, the suffering of the Sahrawis will come to an end,” he underlines.
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