Polisario Confidential
by Khalid Ibrahim Khaled
According to informed sources in Tindouf, the Polisario leadership has been thrown into turmoil since the announcement of the meeting of several Tindouf-based heads of tribes and Sahrawi dignitaries, who had adhered to the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco to settle the Western Sahara issue.
The Polisario’s turmoil is all the greater since the sheikhs gathered at the place of one of the most respected Sahrawi leaders. Sheikh Saleh Ould Mohamed Cheikh is indeed one of the outstanding figures of the powerful Rguibat tribe in Tindouf. A symbolic choice that sounds like a declaration of war to Mohamed Abdelaziz, who springs from this same tribe where his opponents are constantly increasing.
However, what has destabilized the ailing Polisario chief most is the proposal made by the Sahrawi sheikhs to King Mohammed VI to designate Omar Hadrami as a Royal Advisor for the Sahara issue.
The suggestion reflects the considerable popularity still enjoyed by this founding member of the Polisario, 26 years after he stormed out of the separatist movement and returned to Morocco.
According to the same sources, Omar Hadrami, whose real name is Ali Admi, had left the Polisario in 1989. A quarter of a century later, he still has an army of supporters in the Tindouf camps, especially among young people. They admire the gesture of the man who defiantly refused that the Polisario be placed under the authority of the Algerian military intelligence services (DRS) to serve Algeria’s ambitions in the region.
The fact that Omar Hadrami is cited by the Sheikhs only fans the fears of Mohamed Abdelaziz and the Algerian DRS. The Polisario dissident is actually known for his vast network of relations in the Tindouf camps where he remains highly respected, commented the sources.
