We are the SDAR, and we are not joking.

A brief account of Tifariti 27/2/2011, the 35th anniversary of the Saharawi Democratic Arab Republic.

The 35 year celebration of the declaration of the Saharawi Democratic Arab Republic was the time for POLISARIO to show their military strength, and make a clear statement that if nothing further happens, POLISARIO is an opponent to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

Furthermore, this was an opportunity for POLISARIO to once again prove themselves as a serious government that would manage their promised land wisely if given the opportunity. A great effort was made to show the foreigners that POLISARIO is a transparent government that plays by the rules.

The anniversary was celebrated in Tifariti, the military HQ of the liberated areas of Western Sahara, 300 or 400 km from the refugee camps in Algeria. There are no roads and the travel takes 7-11 hours in a Land Rover.

The program of the weekend was as follows:

Saturday the 26th: All important guests, foreigners and journalists arrived and settled in their tents, no official program before the next day.

Sunday the 27th: After breakfast people started to move towards the parade square. The president arrived at around 10.00, standing on the back of a jeep together with his generals, then shortly after, the military parade started.

The parade was very long, consisting mostly of regiments of marching soldiers. After the parade the president and other officials held their speeches. The seats on the platform of distinguished guests were almost empty by the time the last speech was over.

For lunch all VIPs (including the the official Norwegian delegation; us) were joined by his Excellency the president.

In the evening there was a concert, theater, and more speeches. The concert was slightly interrupted by rambling soldiers who were not allowed to enter. The concert continued smoothly only when the improvised fence surrounding the stage crashed down and the soldiers were able to join the crowds without much further noise.

Monday the 28th: In the morning there was a conference on sustainable development usage of the fragile nature in Western Sahara. Both conservation of species, the natural environment and clean energy solutions were presented and discussed.

Following the conference it was time for us to witness two mighty explosions in which POLISARIO honored the anti-landmine treaty by destroying a stockpile of landmines. After lunch the official program was over and we raced back to El Aioun in a tightly packed Toyota Land Cruiser.

The essence: This event told us that the SDAR is everything that a state should be, just without a land.

Are we now convinced that the Saharawi war machine will crush all resistance in the conquest of Sahara? And do we believe that the Sahrawis are ready to manage their land? Dear reader, please, read on to discover more of this magnificent story (more will come on this blog, soon!). Inshallah.

To us, the military parades seemed just a little bit too WW2. It consisted only of thousands of soldiers equipped with Kalashnikovs marching by, and displayed no vehicles. It is of course difficult to judge the capabilities of an army based solemnly on a parade, but let’s say that I do not share my students belief that a war can only lead to victory.

However I am much more optimistic about the abilities of POLISARIO to tackle the event of independence. Both my experience from the camps, and what I saw in Tifariti is that POLISARIO is very responsible and knows how to make people move.