Harakat Tahrir

Sahrawi movement for the independence of Western Sahara.

Related Topics:
Sahrawi - Western Sahara

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The Movement for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro, sometimes referred to as the "Movement for the Liberation of the Sahara" or simply the "Liberation Movement" (harakat tahrir in Arabic) was created in 1967 by Muhammad Bassiri, a Smara-based Sahrawi quranic teacher.

Related Topics:
Arabic - 1967 - Muhammad Bassiri - Smara - Quranic

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Its aim was the peaceful overturning of Spanish colonial rule and achievement of Western Sahara's self determination. It initially organized and operated in secret, but revealed its existence in a demonstration in El-Aaiun against Spanish rule on June 17 1970, attempting to hand over a petition to the Spanish colonial rulers calling for better treatment and Western Sahara's independence.

Related Topics:
Spanish - Colonial - El-Aaiun - 1970

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The protest was bloodily suppressed by the occupation forces. The massacre and ensuing disturbances has been named the Zemla Intifada, or uprising, after the place the demonstration was held. A nation-wide hunt for members of the movement followed: Bassiri himself was arrested and "disappeared" in Spanish custody. He is assumed to have been killed by his jailors, and is counted by the present-day Sahrawi nationalist movement as its first modern-day martyr.

Related Topics:
Zemla Intifada - Disappeared - Martyr

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After the crushing of the Harakat Tahrir, Sahrawi nationalists abandoned the hope of a peaceful end to colonial occupation. In May 1973 the militant Front Polisario formed under the leadership of El-Ouali, calling for armed revolution against Spanish rule. The Polisario, which is still active, would later turn its guns on the Moroccan and Mauritanian forces which invaded Western Sahara upon Spain's departure in 1975.

Related Topics:
Occupation - 1973 - Front Polisario - El-Ouali - Moroccan - Mauritanian - 1975

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