HIBAPRESS – Shafiq Annouri
A French press report considered that the separatist "Polisario" front is not just a major card for Algeria to keep Morocco busy with its conflict in the south and keep it away from opening the file of the eastern Sahara, but rather a tool to maintain internal political stability for the military regime.
The report, published by the "sahel-intelligence" website, stated that the Algerian military regime had turned "Polisario" into an "internal political tool," as it worked, by maintaining the Sahara conflict, to "divert the attention of the Algerian people from the economic, social and political crises sweeping the country." It added that the Sahara conflict was used by the military regime as a pretext for "mobilization," allowing the existing authority to revive the spirit of nationalism and justify the army's control over economic and political affairs in the country, adding that this strategy allowed the state to "fortify the regime's authority while maintaining regional tension that serves its interests only." The report by the French website specializing in Sahel affairs also considered that Algeria had turned "Polisario" into a dual lever to "put pressure on Morocco" on the one hand, and "a tool for internal stability for the military regime subject to criticism" on the other hand, before concluding that the separatist front is still today a "major card" for the Algerian regime. In a related context, the report clarified that Algeria's choice of Tindouf as a base for establishing camps and militias of the "Polisario" front was not "random," because the region was, based on several French archival documents from the colonial era, part of the Moroccan eastern Sahara, before it was annexed to Algeria during the occupation period. The source explained that "this past has remained a point of contention to this day, and is one of the points of tension between Algeria and Morocco," adding that by sheltering the separatist front in the region, the Algerian regime, with the support of the late Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, sought to consolidate its regional influence while creating a buffer zone between Morocco and its eastern Sahara. The same website pointed out that Tindouf provided "Polisario" with a rear base under direct military control, which enabled Algeria to confirm its role as a "supporter" while maintaining full control over the front's activities.
