Mohamed Abdelaziz
Encyclopedia
Mohamed Abdelaziz is the 3rd and current Secretary General of the Polisario Front and President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
since 1976. He speaks Arabic and French
.
or in Smara
, Spanish Sahara
comes from a Sahrawi family of an eastern Reguibat
subtribe, migrating between Western Sahara, Mauritania
, western Algeria
and southern Morocco
. He is the son of "Khlili Ben Mohamed Al-Bachir Rguibi"; who was a member of the Moroccan Liberation Army and the Royal Moroccan Army
.
Abdelaziz's father lives in Morocco with a part of his family and has always supported Moroccan claims on Western Sahara and is a member of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs
. When Abdelaziz was asked during an interview about his father's position he said: "Everybody has the right to have his own opinions"
As a student in the Mohammed V University
of Rabat
, he gravitated towards Sahrawi nationalism
, and became one of the founding members of the Polisario Front
, a Sahrawi
independence
movement in Western Sahara
with strong Arab socialist
ideas which launched a few attacks against Spanish colonialism in the Spanish Sahara
in 1973; but that is more notable for fighting against Mauritania
and Morocco
Since 1976 he is Secretary-General of the organization, replacing Mahfoud Ali Beiba
, who had taken the post as interim Secretary-General after El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed
was killed in action in Mauritania
. Since that time he is also the president
of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), whose first constitution he was involved in drafting. He lives in exile
in the Sahrawi refugee camps in the Tindouf Province
of western Algeria
.
His brother is Mohamed Lahbib Erguibi, lawyer
of many Sahrawi human rights
defenders as Aminatou Haidar
or Naama Asfari, and former "disappeared" in Moroccan prisons between 1976 and 1991.
According to former members of Polisario now aligned with Morocco, Abdelaziz was "chosen" by Algeria at the top of the organization although he did not belong to the very closed circle of the organization's founders and "he always considered himself to be their man.". However, these testimonies were collected by ESISC, a Brussels-based commercial firm in the domain of counselling, including among its clients the Moroccan embassy in Belgium. A Moroccan newspaper that underlined the ties between ESISC and the Moroccan regime, Le Journal Hebdomadaire
, was fined by a Moroccan court and finally had to close down. The press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders
(RSF) described the trial as "politically motivated and unfair".
' Baker Plan
in 2003. Under his leadership, Polisario also abandoned its early Arab socialist
orientation, in favor of a Western Sahara organized along liberal democratic
lines. He is, however, the 3rd longest ruling non-royal leader as he has been president of Sahrawi Republic for nearly 35 years. He has consistently sought backing from Western states
, notably the European Union
(especially Spain) and the United States of America, but so far with little success.
The Organization of African Unity seated Western Sahara for the first time in 1982, despite Morocco's vehement objections. In 1985, Abdelaziz was elected as Vice-President of the OAU at its 21st summit, effectively signalling that the Sahrawi Repbulic would be a permanent OAU member despite the controversy. In 2002, he was elected as vice-president of the African Union
, at its first summit.
There is some criticism against him from within the Polisario for preventing reforms inside the movement, and for insisting on a diplomatic
course that has so far gained few concessions from Morocco, rather than re-launching the armed struggle favored by many within the movement. The only, supposedly opposition group, is the Front Polisario Khat al-Shahid
, which states that it wants to restore the legacy of his predecessor, El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed
. Abdelaziz, specifically denied the existence of such a group; he maintains that only the Polisario exists in the camps. Others consider that, despite his militant rhetoric, Abdelaziz cannot order a resumption of fighting without the approval of the Algerian government.
Abdelaziz has condemned terrorism
, insisting the Polisario's guerrilla war
is to be a "clean struggle" (that is, not targeting private citizens' safety or property); he however acknowledged mistreatment to Moroccan prisoners of war as well as attacking civilian populations in Moroccan cities by the polisario, justifying this as necessary evils in times of war and that the Polisario had to use every mean in order to defend the Sahrawi population from the enemy.
He sent formal condolences to the afflicted governments after the terrorist attacks in New York City
, Madrid
, London
, Kampala
Also, as head of the SADR, he has signed the OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism at the 36th summit in Algiers, July 14, 1999, the Dakar Declaration against Terrorism in October 2001 & the additional Protocol to the previous OAU's Convention on Terrorism at the 3rd session of the Assembly of the African Union
in Addis Ababa, July 8, 2004.
In December 2005, as leader of the Polisario Front, he received the Human Rights International Prize, given by the Spanish Pro-Human Rights Association.
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a partially recognised state that claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27, 1976, in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. The SADR government controls about...
since 1976. He speaks Arabic and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Biography
Abdelaziz was born in Marrakesh, MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
or in Smara
Smara
Smara, also Semara , is a city in the Moroccan-Administered Western Sahara, with a population estimated at 42,056.-History:The largest city in its province, Smara was founded in the Saguia el-Hamra as an oasis for travellers in 1869. It is the only major city in Western Sahara that was not founded...
, Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was ruled as a territory by Spain between 1884 and 1975...
comes from a Sahrawi family of an eastern Reguibat
Reguibat
The Reguibat is a Sahrawi tribe of mainly Hassani Arab origins, although a number of Arab tribes have merged with the Reguibat during the last two centuries. They speak Hassaniya Arabic, and are Arabicised in culture...
subtribe, migrating between Western Sahara, Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
, western Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and southern Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. He is the son of "Khlili Ben Mohamed Al-Bachir Rguibi"; who was a member of the Moroccan Liberation Army and the Royal Moroccan Army
Royal Moroccan Army
The Royal Armed Forces is the terrestrial arm of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is a part of one of the oldest monarchies in history. The Alaouite Dynasty is the name of the current Moroccan royal family. The name Alaouite comes from the ‘Alī of...
.
Abdelaziz's father lives in Morocco with a part of his family and has always supported Moroccan claims on Western Sahara and is a member of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs
Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs
The Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs or Corcas, from the French abbreviation of Conseil royal consultatif pour les affaires sahariennes, is an advisory committee to the Moroccan government on the Western Sahara. It was originally devised by King Hassan II in the 1970s , but allowed to...
. When Abdelaziz was asked during an interview about his father's position he said: "Everybody has the right to have his own opinions"
As a student in the Mohammed V University
Mohammed V University
Mohammed V University was founded in 1957 under a royal decree . It is the first modern university in Morocco.The university is named after Mohammed V d. 1961, the former King of Morocco. In 1993, it was divided into two independent universities:* Mohammed V University at Agdal* Mohammed V...
of Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
, he gravitated towards Sahrawi nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, and became one of the founding members of the Polisario Front
Polisario Front
The POLISARIO, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro is a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco...
, a Sahrawi
Sahrawi
Most frequently in English language usage, the term Sahrawi is usually used in reference to populations from the disputed Western Sahara territory, sometimes with a nationalist connotation....
independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
movement in Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
with strong Arab socialist
Arab socialism
Arab socialism is a political ideology based on an amalgamation of Pan-Arabism and socialism. Arab socialism is distinct from the much broader tradition of socialist thought in the Arab world, which predates Arab socialism by as much as fifty years...
ideas which launched a few attacks against Spanish colonialism in the Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was ruled as a territory by Spain between 1884 and 1975...
in 1973; but that is more notable for fighting against Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
Since 1976 he is Secretary-General of the organization, replacing Mahfoud Ali Beiba
Mahfoud Ali Beiba
Mahfoud Laroussi Ali Beiba was a Sahrawi nationalist politician and co-founder of the Polisario Front, an organisation that seeks independence for Western Sahara...
, who had taken the post as interim Secretary-General after El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed
El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed
El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed was a Sahrawi nationalist leader, co-founder and second Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, & also the first President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic....
was killed in action in Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
. Since that time he is also the president
President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is the head of state of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic , an exile government based in the refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria. From the declaration of independence on February 27, 1976 to October 16, 1982 SADR's Head of State...
of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), whose first constitution he was involved in drafting. He lives in exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
in the Sahrawi refugee camps in the Tindouf Province
Tindouf Province
Tindouf, also written Tinduf, is the westernmost province of Algeria, having a population of 58,193 as of the 2008 census. Despite the barren landscape, Tindouf is a resource-rich province, with important quantities of iron ore located in the Gara Djebilet area close to the border with Mali...
of western Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
.
His brother is Mohamed Lahbib Erguibi, lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
of many Sahrawi human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
defenders as Aminatou Haidar
Aminatou Haidar
Aminatou Ali Ahmed Haidar , sometimes known as Aminetou,Aminatu or Aminetu, is a Sahrawi human rights defender and political activist. She is a leading activist for the independence of Western Sahara. She is sometimes called the "Sahrawi Gandhi" for her nonviolent protests, including hunger...
or Naama Asfari, and former "disappeared" in Moroccan prisons between 1976 and 1991.
According to former members of Polisario now aligned with Morocco, Abdelaziz was "chosen" by Algeria at the top of the organization although he did not belong to the very closed circle of the organization's founders and "he always considered himself to be their man.". However, these testimonies were collected by ESISC, a Brussels-based commercial firm in the domain of counselling, including among its clients the Moroccan embassy in Belgium. A Moroccan newspaper that underlined the ties between ESISC and the Moroccan regime, Le Journal Hebdomadaire
Le Journal Hebdomadaire
Le Journal Hebdomadaire , was a French language, Moroccan weekly magazine, published between 1997 and 2010 . It had an Arabic language counterpart called Assahifa Al Ousbouia.-Background:It is privately owned, and has an independent and critical editorial line against the Moroccan government...
, was fined by a Moroccan court and finally had to close down. The press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
(RSF) described the trial as "politically motivated and unfair".
Political profile
He is considered a secular nationalist and has steered the Polisario and the Sahrawi republic towards political compromise, notably in backing the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' Baker Plan
Baker Plan
The Baker Plan is a United Nations initiative to grant self-determination to Western Sahara...
in 2003. Under his leadership, Polisario also abandoned its early Arab socialist
Arab socialism
Arab socialism is a political ideology based on an amalgamation of Pan-Arabism and socialism. Arab socialism is distinct from the much broader tradition of socialist thought in the Arab world, which predates Arab socialism by as much as fifty years...
orientation, in favor of a Western Sahara organized along liberal democratic
Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...
lines. He is, however, the 3rd longest ruling non-royal leader as he has been president of Sahrawi Republic for nearly 35 years. He has consistently sought backing from Western states
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
, notably the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(especially Spain) and the United States of America, but so far with little success.
The Organization of African Unity seated Western Sahara for the first time in 1982, despite Morocco's vehement objections. In 1985, Abdelaziz was elected as Vice-President of the OAU at its 21st summit, effectively signalling that the Sahrawi Repbulic would be a permanent OAU member despite the controversy. In 2002, he was elected as vice-president of the African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
, at its first summit.
There is some criticism against him from within the Polisario for preventing reforms inside the movement, and for insisting on a diplomatic
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
course that has so far gained few concessions from Morocco, rather than re-launching the armed struggle favored by many within the movement. The only, supposedly opposition group, is the Front Polisario Khat al-Shahid
Front Polisario Khat al-Shahid
Front Polisario Khat al-Shahid is a minor faction within the Front Polisario...
, which states that it wants to restore the legacy of his predecessor, El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed
El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed
El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed was a Sahrawi nationalist leader, co-founder and second Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, & also the first President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic....
. Abdelaziz, specifically denied the existence of such a group; he maintains that only the Polisario exists in the camps. Others consider that, despite his militant rhetoric, Abdelaziz cannot order a resumption of fighting without the approval of the Algerian government.
Abdelaziz has condemned terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, insisting the Polisario's guerrilla war
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
is to be a "clean struggle" (that is, not targeting private citizens' safety or property); he however acknowledged mistreatment to Moroccan prisoners of war as well as attacking civilian populations in Moroccan cities by the polisario, justifying this as necessary evils in times of war and that the Polisario had to use every mean in order to defend the Sahrawi population from the enemy.
He sent formal condolences to the afflicted governments after the terrorist attacks in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
Also, as head of the SADR, he has signed the OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism at the 36th summit in Algiers, July 14, 1999, the Dakar Declaration against Terrorism in October 2001 & the additional Protocol to the previous OAU's Convention on Terrorism at the 3rd session of the Assembly of the African Union
Assembly of the African Union
The Assembly of the African Union, which is formally known as the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government AU-AHSG, is one of several decision-making bodies within the African Union. The other bodies are the Pan African Parliament, the Executive Council consisting of foreign...
in Addis Ababa, July 8, 2004.
Awards and nominations
In 2001, he was reportedly nominated for the Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
In December 2005, as leader of the Polisario Front, he received the Human Rights International Prize, given by the Spanish Pro-Human Rights Association.