Tindouf, Algeria (EFE).- Thousands of Sahrawi refugees gathered on Sunday in Algeria’s Tindouf camps to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their National Unity Day.
This milestone brought together Sahrawis from all backgrounds under one flag in their ongoing fight for the independence of Western Sahara, most of which remains under Moroccan control.
“Once again, on this 50th anniversary, our people reaffirm their determination and will to continue fighting until the total liberation of their land and homeland,” Sahrawi Health Minister Salek Baba Hasana told EFE during the celebrations.
Speakers at the event reflected on “immense sacrifices, suffering, and pain,” but also “great victories and achievements” that continue to inspire their struggle amid the difficult regional and international climate.
Proclaimed on Oct. 12, 1975, Sahrawi National Unity marked a turning point in the history of the people, ending tribal divisions and uniting “all the sons and daughters of Western Sahara” under the banner of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro, known as the Polisario Front.
Symbol of identity and resistance
Participants described the founding of National Unity not merely as a political accord but as a historic, popular event that laid the foundation for a shared national identity and fueled the “Sahrawi resistance,” both militarily and diplomatically.
Sunday’s events were presided over by Polisario leader Brahim Gali and featured parades of civilians, musical bands, and speeches celebrating the endurance of Sahrawi identity and the passing of the struggle to younger generations.
On Saturday, a military parade marked the anniversary with calls to uphold “armed resistance” as a legitimate means of struggle since the 2020 collapse of the 1991 ceasefire with Morocco.
A struggle amid global shifts
This year’s commemoration comes at a particularly sensitive moment for the Sahrawi cause, as the political process remains stalled and several major powers shift toward supporting Morocco’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara.
The anniversary also precedes the November commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Morocco’s “Green March,” which began the occupation of what was then Spanish Sahara.
That event triggered the Sahrawi exodus and left the decolonization process unfinished, leading the United Nations to continue classifying Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory. EFE
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