On Tuesday, Spanish human rights activist and political analyst, Pedro Ignacio Altamirano, criticized the practices adopted by the Polisario Front under the sponsorship of Algeria to target anyone who opposes their separatist agenda.
Altamirano emphasized in a speech at the International Forum on Refugees in Geneva that this harassment will not deter peace activists and human rights defenders in the region from continuing to expose the violations and dire conditions in the Tindouf camps in southwestern Algeria.
The activist condemned Polisario’s harassment, which sometimes takes the form of death threats against activists who expose their repressive and corrupt practices in the camps.
Altamirano, speaking on behalf of the International Group for the Reunification of Sahrawis, stressed the importance of communication with public authorities and civil society organizations in Spain–as well as international organizations, particularly within the European Union–to dispel the misinformation that obscures the reality of the situation in the Sahara, as propagated by the separatists.
In a statement to news agency MAP, the political analyst warned of the danger of this propaganda, which exploits the suffering of the population in the Tindouf camps in order to attract international aid that is then used to purchase weapons or diverted for personal gain by leaders who own luxury properties abroad, particularly in Spain.
He also warned of the danger of the lack of international oversight regulating humanitarian aid, which exacerbates corruption and lack of transparency in the distribution process–which is of course managed by the Polisario–effectively transforming these camps into large-scale prisons.
The meeting also focused on the shortcomings of the refugee protection system and on the precarious conditions faced by this vulnerable group in conflict and disaster-affected areas across the world.