At the moment when the preparations are on their way for the holding in March of a new informal round of negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario, the persecution of the Sahrawis in Tindouf who are in favour of the autonomy plan for the Western Sahara, continues worse than ever. The Polisario leaders have reinforced the tight surveillance of the camps set up on the Algerian territory, and strengthened the supervision of the elements suspected of sympathizing with the Polisario dissident Mustapha Salma. Many dozens of Sahrawis are thus prevented from moving inside the camps to avoid any contact between themselves and to hush up any possible action of coordination between the opposing people. The human rights international organizations among which Amnesty International and HRW have many times denounced the most fundamental human rights. In its 2011 report, Human Rights Watch has pointed “the human rights violations committed by the Polisario”. The violations of which were victims many Sahrawi dissidents, particularly Mustapha Salma.
This former Polisario executive who was arrested, tortured before being simply forced to return to Mauritania, for having dared to defend the Moroccan autonomy proposal for the Western Sahara. The Polisario helped by Algeria which finances and hosts the separatist movement on its territory, has kept till now a deaf ear to the calls of Mustapha Salma to return to the Tindouf camps and to be with his children. Since his forced exile, Mustapha Salma has asked the HCR to put some pressure on the Polisario and Algeria so that he can meet his family and put an end to the blockade imposed on the Sahrawis in Tindouf. On his side, the HRW organization had insisted on Algiers responsibility to “guarantee all the rights to all the persons being on its territory”.