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ecord and its close alliance with Algeria, and supportive of the Moroccan autonomy
proposal, left the camps in April 2007 and now lives in the Moroccan-controlled
Western Sahara. 229
What open criticism there is of the Polisario leadership, however harsh, seems to
take place within a “national consensus,” one that sees the Polisario as representing
the Sahrawi people in its aspirations for independence. No one could cite examples
of persons inside the camps who openly questioned the legitimacy of the Polisario
as the Sahrawi liberation movement, or who defended Morocco’s autonomy plan for
Western Sahara as the best way forward.
Human Rights Watch learned of only one possible case of political detention in the
period under study, that is, since 2006. The questionable case involves the arrests
carried out in the aftermath of a demonstration that turned violent. In that incident,
the detention by the Polisario police of Habbadi Ould Hmimed on May 30, 2006 for
an alleged traffic violation sparked street protests in the 27 February Camp by his
kinsfolk from the Ayaichi faction of the Reguibat tribe. The security forces in the
camps repressed the demonstration forcefully; Polisario courts convicted and
imprisoned 14 participants.
The Moroccan press at the time referred to the confrontation as a “massacre
happening in secret,” 230 one that targeted a group because it had dared to express
pro-Moroccan sentiments and even defiantly raised the Moroccan flag. 231
Human Rights Watch’s research concluded that this 2006 clash was an isolated
incident, that there were no fatalities or grave injuries, and that it was not
representative of a pattern of police brutality in suppressing demonstrations.
229 Human Rights Watch interview, Foum el-Oued, Western Sahara, March 7, 2008.
230 See, e.g., “Situation Explosive dans les camps de Tindouf,” Sahara Marocain.net, June 2, 2006,
www.saharamarocain.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1111 (accessed December 3, 2008).
231 “Algérie: une région coupée du monde,” nouvelobs.com, June 2, 2006,
http://archquo.nouvelobs.com/cgi/articles?ad=etranger/20060602.OBS0140.html&host=http://permanent.nouvelobs.com/;
re-posted elsewhere as “Tindouf : Black out sur un massacre orchestré par le Polisario,”
http://saharaoccidental.oldiblog.com/?page=lastarticle&id=681115 (accessed December 3, 2008).
119 Human Rights Watch December 2008