Are the Polisario Front and Algeria understanding Öcalan’s message… and moving from the illusion of separation to the reality of politics?
History does not repeat itself, but it gives a grace period to those who delay in reading it. This is how the situation appears today regarding the Moroccan Sahara issue, where transformations are accelerating, and the outlines of a new reality are becoming clear, while Morocco’s adversaries remain trapped in rigid discourses and separatist doctrines that have lost touch with reality.
Weeks ago, Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, sent a political message from his prison that demonstrates a courageous acknowledgment and a sense of realism. He urged his followers to dissolve the party, lay down their arms, and engage in political and democratic work under the Turkish state’s banner. This position, despite its late emergence, reflects a profound awareness of the failure of the separatist project grounded in Marxist and armed references, which has brought nothing but death, isolation, and further marginalization of the Kurds for decades.
This symbolic moment is not far from the Maghreb context. In Tindouf, the Polisario Front still raises the same old slogans and feeds off a regime in Algeria that is increasingly isolated and confused. However, the question today is more pressing: how long can one live outside of history?
Morocco has made its choice clear for years. It proposed the initiative of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as a final solution to the conflict, not just in terms of international law but also in the language of political realism, respect for diversity, and ensuring development. The project has gained wide international support from significant powers such as the United States, Spain, Germany, France, and numerous Arab and African countries. More than 30 countries have opened consulates in Laayoune and Dakhla, affirming Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern regions in tangible and practical terms.
In contrast, the Polisario has nothing left to offer. There is no political vision, no democratic legitimacy, and no marketable discourse. What remains are merely rigid slogans and isolated military movements that find no echo outside of the closed camps. Even within the camps, voices of anger and rejection are growing, amidst a closed-off horizon and the absence of any realistic project to improve living conditions or fulfill the aspirations of the Sahrawis.
As for the Algerian regime, its cards are now laid bare. Its blatant interference in the affairs of Sahel countries, its ambiguous relationships with extremist armed movements, and its insistence on fueling separation instead of investing in its neighborhood have led it into a deepening strategic isolation. African initiatives have surpassed it, and Sahel countries have pulled their trust away. Algeria has failed to become a stable pivotal state and has instead chosen to turn into a perpetually tense entity, escaping from its internal crises through regional escalation.
In this context, Öcalan’s call serves as a lesson for those wishing to avoid a fate of disorientation. There is no future for any separatist organization outside of international legitimacy and national sovereignty. Armed struggle is no longer a legitimate or acceptable means. States are built on the basis of unity within diversity, not on projects of fragmentation and violence.
The reality indicates that Morocco has triumphed in the battle of strategic patience, political prudence, and international legitimacy. In contrast, the legitimacy of the Polisario dwindles, along with the resources of the Algerian regime. The moment of truth is approaching. Either join the wave of transformations or remain on the margins, where no voice is heard, and no case is won.
Do the decision-makers in Algeria comprehend this shift? Do the leaders of the Polisario have the courage to retreat, as Öcalan did, in favor of a political solution that preserves what remains of their dignity? Or will stubbornness lead them to further losses and greater isolation?
History is changing. Those who do not change themselves will be bypassed by time, and the Sahara will remain Moroccan.
