According to a source close to the Polisario Front commands, the confrontation with the Polisario is getting over an additional step with the seizure of the UN soldiers’ telecommunication material. A serious clash has thus taken place in Tindouf airport last Friday when three senior MINURSO officers have come to protest after an officer from the peace orders has been prevented from travelling the day before with his transmission material. The head of the police in the airport, as well as a representative of the Algerian protocol have thus held a meeting with the MINURSO to make it understood to the latter that its soldiers and representatives should no more “transport telecommunication material and cameras, for an unspecified period”. Giving arguments that this decision undermines seriously the freedom of movement and the diplomatic privileges granted to the UN mission, the MINURSO representatives have tried to make the Polisario and Algerian authorities change their mind but in vain, the latter maintained their positions.
The reason of this withdrawal as stated by many experts and observers well informed about the issue, is an attempt by the Polisario to “Protect” the return of Sahrawi mercenaries fighting on the side of Mouammar Kadhafi, and to try to hide certain “related” traffics which were developed as a fringe event to the Libyan revolution, and in which high senior officials from the Polisario among whom Colonel Ould Laakik, are also involved, namely in all that concerns arms traffics. Another very important event which has aroused the suspicions of the MINURSO investigators and which worries the latter concerning a possible strong degradation of their relations with the movement for independence: the setting aside of Bachir Miara, one of the deputy directors of the Polisario police, strongly suspected of being involved in drugs traffic with Mali. Recently, Miara has been seen with three individual cowls who have refused that MINURSO takes photos of the camps borders. The confiscation of the MINURSO telecom material comes when the UN forces were prohibited to patrol without the Polisario “controlling team”, and the decision was taken not to let the MINURSO forces take photos and arms which are, nevertheless, essential to maintain peace.
