South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa said Tuesday that his government supports “without hesitation” the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Republic (SADR) in Western Sahara.
The Polisario Front (pro-independence), supported by Algeria, wants an independent state in Western Sahara, a vast desert area that Morocco considers part of its own territory.
Ramaphosa affirmed this on the visit of Polisario Front leader, Brahim Ghali to Pretoria.
In his words, “We are concerned about the continuing silence in the world regarding the struggle for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
“We believe that other struggles are expressed more loudly … and that is why as South Africans we clearly state that we are firm and unwavering in … our support for the Sahrawi people.
“It is a just struggle, it is a noble struggle, it is an honourable struggle, a people that wants to decide its own destiny through self-determination – drawing a comparison with the struggle of South Africa against the apartheid regime”.
It would be recalled that a former Spanish colony, Western Sahara lies at the western end of the vast desert of the same name, which stretches along the Atlantic coast.
