Former members of the Polisario Front

Since the end of the 1980s, several members of POLISARIO have decided to discontinue their military or political activities for the Polisario Front. Most of them returned from the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria to Morocco, among them a few founder members and senior officials. Some of them are now actively promoting Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, which Morocco considers its Southern Provinces. Their individual reasons to stop working for POLISARIO, as reported in the media, vary, but include allegations of human rights violations, monopolization and abuse of power, blackmailing and sequestering the refugee population in Tindouf, and squandering foreign aid. They also claim POLISARIO is controlled by the government of Algeria and as one former member of POLISARIO put it, "[was] a group of Moroccan students who were urging the Spanish colonizer to leave and who had never claimed independence or the separation from motherland Morocco."^[1]

The following is a list of some former members of the POLISARIO. It is not exhaustive.

• Ahmedou Souelem Ahmed Brahim, former "minister", responsible of relations with the Arab World^[2]
• Omar Hadrami - responsible of the military security of POLISARIO,^[3] a relative of the late Ma al-'Aynayn
• Lebnaha Attaya - Close to Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Mahfoud Ali Beiba ^[4]
• Ghaoutah Mohamed Ahmed Baba - census official ^[5]
• Mustapha El Barazani – founder member and representative at the Organisation of African Unity ^[6]
• Mustapha Bouh - Political Commissar for Sahrawi Popular Army of Liberation.^[7]
• Bachir Dkhill - Founding member of the POLISARIO, representative of the organization in several countries and organizations.^[8]
• Guajmoula Bent Ebbi - member of the Politburo, and today Moroccan MP.^[9]
• Sidati Mohamed Abdellahi alias Sidati El Ghallaoui - representative of the POLISARIO in Italy and Malta.^[10]
• Mohamed Abdelkader Ould Mohamed Oul Habiboullah Ould Haibelti - Held several top positions before heading the Sahrawi Republic-radio ^[11][12]
• Brahim Hakim - Former foreign minister of the RASD and representative of the POLISARIO in North America.^[13][14]
• Maâlainine Mohamed Khaled - POLISARIO observer at MINURSO in Mauritania (5-7-2005) ^[15]
• Boullahi El Khalifa - Director of POLISARIO radio broadcasting ^[16]
• Mohamed Salem Khatri ^[17]
• Keltoum Khayati - Formerly in charge of the organization of women.^[18]
• Ayoub Lahbib - Founder member of the POLISARIO and member of the Executive Committee.^[19]
• Abderrahmane Leibek – POLISARIO member^[20]
• Mohamed Ahmed ben Omar Ouled M'Brirek - POLISARIO representative for the identification of Sahrawis^[21]
• Ahmed Moulay M’Hamed - Head of the Security Services^[22]
• Lfdal Malainine – director at the Education Ministry ^[23]
• Ghoulam Najem Mouichane - representative in Germany ^[22]
• Ahmed Ould Mohamed Abderrahman Cheikh Abdelaziz Rabani^[24]
• Hametti Rabani - Minister for Justice and Cults ^[25]
• Mohamed Abdellahi Ould Mohamed El Mostapha Rabani - Lawyer^[24]
• El Haj Abdellah Ould Abdelkader Ould Rabani – Journalist ^[26]
• Merrebih Rebbou^[27]
• Ahmed Ould Saleh - personal secretary of Ayoub Lahbib ^[28]
• Bouchaâb Yahdih - representative of POLISARIO in France^[29]
• Cheikh Ali El Bouhali Hnini^[30]
• Daifallah Yahdih - former census official^[31]
• Cheikh El Mahjoub Ould M'Hamed Salem Ould Erraha - former census official^[32]
• Semlali Aabadilah - former politician of Polisario^[33]

The reports of the experiences of the former members of POLISARIO have generally been published in Moroccan newspapers supporting the government position on Western Sahara. The possibility to freely report on the problem of Western Sahara is limited in Morocco (see: International Press Institute, World Press Freedom Review, 2005 Morocco).^[34]

US Congressman Donald M. Payne, from New Jersey, referred in 2005 to some former members of POLISARIO during a hearing before the subcommittee on Africa: "Also several people who were in a position of authority in the POLISARIO camps, when serious human rights abuses including torture were widespread, particularly during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, now occupy positions of authority in the Moroccan civil administration. This is based on information Amnesty International has been privy to." ^[35]

References

1. (Mustapha Barazani) The polisario was born in Rabat, not in the Sahara (d.d. 25 October 2003)
   • Entretien avec Mustapha Barazani, ex-dirigeant du POLISARIO (French)
   • (Bachir Mustapha Sayed) Top POLISARIO figure defects separatists, joins Mauritania
   • Report: Clan wars and unavoidable scission in Tindouf
   • Communiqué de Presse CPSD/108 (French)
   • Canadian Lawyers Association for International Human Rights Western Sahara Initiative, p.33 ff.
2. Le renégat Ahmedou Souelem trahit sa patrie et son peuple
3. Polisario : Camouflets en série (5-7-2005) (French) Archived February 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
4. Outpouring of grief in Tindouf compels Polisario to circulate release hailing late Hassan II's qualities (7-30-1999)
5. Détournement des aides humanitaires par le Polisario 2000 Archived September 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
6. Gajmoula Ebbi raconte son aventure avec le POLISARIO, ses rêves, son calvaire et ses attentes (13 november 2006) (French) Archived January 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
7. Mustapha Bouh, ex-membre du Bureau politique : «L¹histoire du «Polisario» est jalonnée de purges impitoyables» 13 november 2006 (French) Archived January 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
8. Quatrieme Commission: Le Maroc Reste Attache au Plan de Reglement et a la Tenue d'un Referendum Transparent au Sahara Occidental 10 October 1996 (French)
9. Gajmoula Ebbi raconte son aventure avec le Polisario, ses rêves, son calvaire et ses attentes (10-16-2006) (French) Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
10. Chronologie des Principaux Faits (5 november 2005) (French) Archived October 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
11. Report: Clan wars and unavoidable scission in Tindouf, defectors (11-5-99)
12. Un des plus grands magistrats du Polisario regagne le Maroc, affirme un hebdomadaire mauritanien (24 November 1999) Archived August 14, 2004, at the Wayback Machine.
13. Outpouring of grief in Tindouf compels Polisario to circulate release hailing late Hassan II's qualities (7-30-1999) Archived May 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
14. Polisario : Camouflets en série Archived February 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
15. Maâlainine Mohamed Khaled, observateur du polisario en Mauritanie: j'ai manipulé la Minurso- Abdelaziz nous a fait jurer sur le Coran pour bloquer le processus d'identification (27-11-1998) Archived August 14, 2004, at the Wayback Machine.
16. Octobre 1988 : l’implosion du Polisario (1-11-2005) Archived February 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
17. Détournement des aides humanitaires par le Polisario (MAP, 2000) Archived September 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
18. Deportation of Sahrawi children to Cuba by 'Polisario' denounced (3-30-2005)
19. Gajmoula Ebbi raconte son aventure avec le Polisario, ses rêves, son calvaire et ses attentes (10-19-2006) Archived January 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
20. Le coup de maître (22-10-2004) Archived September 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
21. Mohamed Ahmed Ben Omar Ouled M’Brirek : « Les gens en ont assez d’attendre jusqu’à l’éternité » Archived March 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
22. Détournement des aides humanitaires par le Polisario Archived September 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
23. Guerre de clans et scission inévitable à Tindouf, selon trois ex-responsables du Polisario ayant regagné le Maroc Archived August 14, 2004, at the Wayback Machine.
24. Trois cadres du Polisario regagnent le Maroc
25. Un représentant du Polisario à l'opération d'identification regagne le Maroc Archived February 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
26. Trois cadres du Polisario regagnent le Maroc
27. Interview avec Merrebih Rebbou
28. Report: Clan wars and unavoidable scission in Tindouf, defectors Archived October 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
29. Les geôliers de Tindouf mis à nu Archived March 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
30. S.M. le Roi Mohammed VI Mohjamed VI reçoit Cheikh Ali El Bouhali Hnini ayant regagné récemment la mère-patrie Archived September 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
31. Polisario leadership lives in wealth to detriment of camps' populations, Polisario member Archived July 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
32. Onze Marocains parmi les séquestrés des camps de Tindouf regagnent la Mère-patrie Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
33. «Il est de mon devoir de montrer au monde entier le vrai visage du Polisario»
34. http://www.freemedia.at :International Press Institute, World Press Freedom Review, 2005 Morocco
35. Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations of the Committee on International Relations House of Representatives One Hundred Ninth Congress, First Session, November 17, 2005, p. 15 ( http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa24601.000/hfa24601_0f.htm )