Members of the Sahrawi People’s Liberation Army parade with Polisario Front’s flags in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, February 27, 2016. Photo: Farouk Batiche/AFP.
On Sunday, Venezuela commemorated the 53rd anniversary of the foundation of the Polisario Front in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (often referred to as “Western Sahara”). Through official channels, Venezuela’s foreign minister Yván Gil Pinto marked the historic courage of the organization and its struggle for full independence.
Since its founding, the Polisario Front has emerged as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people in the face of the ongoing occupation of their sovereign territory. The front’s 53 years of resistance against foreign colonization stand as an example of dignity for peoples anywhere in the world seeking liberation from imperialism. In 1976, the Polisario Front declared the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic to be independent of Spanish colonial rule. Until that time, the large region in Western Africa was known as “Spanish Sahara.” To this day, a majority of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic remains illegally occupied by Morocco.
Venezuela reaffirmed its unwavering support for the right of nations to self-determination and its respect for Sahrawi territorial integrity. Venezuelan diplomacy holds that this cause deserves the unanimous backing of the international community in order to halt the historic injustices that have been committed against the Sahrawi people.
The statement highlights that the Polisario Front continues to firmly defend its right to exist as a free and sovereign nation on the African continent, a historic struggle grounded in the fundamental principles of international law and the pursuit of a peaceful resolution to the ongoing territorial conflict.
Solidarity between Venezuela and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has grown stronger over the years through political cooperation and mutual recognition of their emancipatory processes. The Bolivarian government reaffirmed that it will always stand alongside those calling for an end to the colonial practices that persist in various regions of the world.
The commemoration serves as a reminder of the importance of popular unity in securing the most basic social and political rights. The sovereignty of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic remains a priority on the agenda of cooperation that Venezuela promotes towards peoples struggling for their independence.
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(Telesur) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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Cameron Baillie is an award-winning journalist, editor, and researcher. He won and was shortlisted for awards across Britain and Ireland. He is Editor-in-Chief of New Sociological Perspectives graduate journal and Commissioning Editor at The Student Intifada newsletter. He spent the first half of 2025 living, working, and writing in Ecuador. He does news translation and proofreading work with The Orinoco Tribune.
