Martyr Al-Hafiz, June 9, 2026 (SPS) – This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the martyrdom of Wali Mustafa Al-Sayyid, the founder of the Polisario Front and the historical symbol of the contemporary Sahrawi Revolution and the pivotal figure in the founding of the Sahrawi Arab Republic, who fell as a martyr on June 9, 1976 while in the prime of his life. Fifty years have passed, and the cause whose banner he carried is still alive, and the people whose political awareness has been awakened are still continuing on their triumphant liberation path.
On the occasion of this fiftieth anniversary, we place in your hands the Arabic translation of an analytical article issued in Spanish by the Attorney General of the Spanish Supreme Court, Mr. Felipe Briones, and the Ambassador of the Sahrawi Republic of Kenya, Mr. Mohamed Limam Mohamed Ali Sayed Al-Bashir – who in 1997 gave us the autobiography of the Guardian, under the title “The Guardian: Freedom is an Unexpected Moment.” Today, the two writers return in their article to put the thought of the martyr Al-Wali in the face of our current situation: his idea of organization, his approach to armed struggle, and his view of building alliances, three lessons that have not aged or ended.
Remembering the Guardian, Mustafa al-Sayyid, Basiri, Muhammad Abd al-Aziz, and the rest of our righteous martyrs, is not only a duty of fulfillment, but an invitation to think and contemplate. These symbols did not leave us statues to worship, but rather they left us experiences and ideas to learn from, ideas to discuss and renew. A liberation project that does not feed from the legacy of its martyrs and does not develop it does not move forward, but rather turns into a soulless memory.
On the fiftieth anniversary of the martyrdom of Guardian Mustafa Al-Sayyid
June 9, 1976 – June 9, 2026
Al-Wali is considered the figure who sparked the contemporary Sahrawi revolution and established its national entity, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. He was martyred fifty years ago, on June 9, 1976
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Written by Felipe Briones* and Mohamed Limam Mohamed Ali.*
We had the honor of writing a biography of the rebel leader three decades ago. In the introduction to that book, “The Guardian: Freedom is an Unexpected Moment,” the writer, journalist, poet, and researcher of Mauritanian origins, Sahrawi of passion and identity, the late Ahmed Baba Miska, recalls the companion as follows: “The Guardian was a blessing. He was a gift from the Creator to this people at a unique moment in their existence. His early departure could only arouse resentment, as it was a major calamity and an irreparable loss. The guardian had a mission to accomplish, which was to awaken his people, restore hope to them, unite them, and direct the course destined for him to lead them into a new phase of their history. Ironically, his passing played a prominent and exceptional positive role in this path. Instead of creating frustration, demoralization, destabilization, and those discouraging feelings that might have been expected, pain and anger, on the contrary, led to a collective will to continue the martyr’s legacy, follow his example, and be worthy of his sacrifice. As he himself had wished in his life, every Sahrawi, from that moment, wanted to be a “guardian.” From here arose an amazing and stimulating spirit of competition and an explosive dynamism with amazing results. Following in the footsteps of the guardian – but always with him, because he was more than ever the guide, inspiration, symbol and example – Sahrawi fighters, activists, men and women, and diplomats were rushing in their various fields to achieve unparalleled achievements with the means at their disposal.
The martyr Al-Wali devoted his best efforts and life to three fields:
First: The internal field – organizational experience is the basis of national action. Al-Wali analyzed the desert reality with an approach that allowed him to approach citizens directly and dismantle the social and political concepts and ideas that affect their lives as individuals and people. This basic knowledge made it possible to evaluate the work from multiple angles: number, level of technical and organizational development, nature of culture and characteristics of society, and the importance of each element in light of its potential for future development. All of this taking into account the reality of the asylum imposed on the Sahrawi people. For this reason, part of the analysis must be devoted to understanding the enemy’s internal situation, its manpower, its economic structure, its contradictions, the nature of its problems, its political system, its regional ambitions, and its internal and external relations and alliances. In this way, his weaknesses can be exposed, sufficient damage can be done to him, and he can be forced to confess what he had been denying until then. Logically, the necessary tool requires the presence of an organized, cohesive, capable and respected people in their homeland. The path towards these goals passes through self-building in all areas: human, material, organizational, and intellectual. Inevitably, support a popular, democratic system that truly emerges from popular base and will.
If this people possess nothing but their unity, combined with firm determination and profound knowledge, then they are capable of confronting any situation that comes their way. He is called to revolutionary work even if he does not have all the necessary conditions, but starting and persevering in the work is enough to create those conditions. Revolutionary action, as its name indicates, is action, not reaction. It is initiative, not waiting. Due to its revolutionary nature, it must be launched without having all the means available, as they are not always available at the required pace. The launch is always in the absence of parity with the forces and means possessed by the enemy. The size of the gains and the strength of cohesion necessary to achieve them in the face of an enemy superior in numbers and material, require this people – in addition to their unity – to possess exceptional specialness, not only to balance this enemy, but above all to achieve victory. This specificity is the strength of organization that can guarantee this degree of determination. Permanent communication with the popular base to explain and discuss ideas is one of the conditions that the guardian was demanding from the frameworks of the revolutionary vanguard, because gathering the conditions for work and final victory depends to a large extent on the capabilities of these cadres.
Second: The military field – the tool for national action: The governor insisted that the reality imposed on the Sahrawi people is an unjust and humiliating reality that must be rejected through the most powerful means: armed struggle. He insisted on the necessity of adopting the concept of the ultimate sacrifice, because usurping a right like freedom requires generosity in blood if we want to recover it. Armed action must be an organized national action free of any improvisation or spontaneity, which will only be achieved with the establishment of the Sahrawi People’s Liberation Army (ELPS). Realizing the importance and sensitivity of this aspect, he insisted from the beginning on being on the front lines and in the most dangerous lines. As fate would have it, the governor led the first military operation of the Polisario Front, in which he was captured. He led his last combat operations, in which he was a martyr, immortalizing with his last breath a page of unique sacrifice and unlimited dedication to the national cause.
Third: The diplomatic field – establishing alliances to consolidate national rights: Since his student days, the governor sincerely believed that the aspirations of the Sahrawi people for freedom and independence would receive support from progressive organizations in Morocco and Mauritania, because the three peoples were victims of either foreign colonialism in the case of the Sahrawi people, or of reactionary regimes allied with colonial powers in the case of the Moroccan and Mauritanian peoples. However, with the passage of time and the escalation of the sacrifices of the Sahrawi people in the struggle, the positions of these progressive organizations declined until they became mixed with the policies of the regimes themselves regarding the Sahrawi issue. This disappointment, coupled with Spain’s retreat from its commitments to Western Sahara, had a profound impact on the thought of the martyr Al-Wali. Therefore, organizing the resistance, instilling morale, and motivating the Sahrawis in light of the state of siege was the greatest challenge for the governor. These circumstances imposed on his people – small in number and limited in resources and experience – the most difficult test in its history. In the eyes of the governor, it was necessary to make a determined effort to ensure alliances that would support the revolution morally and materially. Algeria and Libya became the historical shield of that revolution. It is not an exaggeration to say that all subsequent stages of the Sahrawi people’s struggle were affected by this reality. The Sahrawi leader’s contribution and perseverance in forming this front was a historic event.
The guardian lived from within the material misery of his people despite the enormous resources in the desert interior, and he lived oppression despite the greatness and pride of the Sahrawi people. He lived the details of the fate that was being planned in foreign circles against his people, whose death was planned. Therefore, when he declared revolution, he did so as an expression of a profound rejection of injustice and misery.
Al-Wali was distinguished by a number of rare leadership characteristics: he always believed that the revolution was the result of the previous stages of the Sahrawi struggle, especially its final stage, which was represented by the vanguard movement and its leader, Sayyid Ibrahim Basiri. He had a tremendous ability to make history and change the course of events from a long-term perspective. He succeeded in transforming the despair and fear that overwhelmed the refugees fleeing the bombing of napalm and white phosphorus, into victory, joy, and defiance the day after he announced the birth of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The ruler did not define power from the perspective of a transcendent throne, nor from the perspective of managing affairs behind impregnable ivory towers. Rather, he understood it as a permanent sacrifice and trustworthiness to be carried.
June 9 – Martyrs’ Day, will remain a date dedicated to an ongoing commitment to loyalty, freedom, justice, national unity, social cohesion, human dignity, and a promise of equal citizenship. A day in which we remember the fallen so that this people can live in dignity on their lands, and in which the firm belief is confirmed that sovereignty remains the exclusive property of the Sahrawi people and no one can replace them or ignore their consent. The people must contemplate this history and realize the importance of remembering all the Sahrawi martyrs, especially Mohamed Sayid Ibrahim Bassiri, Wali Mustafa Sayyid, and Mohamed Abdel Aziz, as they are historical authorities, symbolic figures, and leaders whose experiences and ideas must be deeply studied, understood, and renewed, because any human work is capable of improvement and advancement. The Sahrawi people must choose the renewal and self-criticism necessary to move forward, by understanding the legacy of the martyrs and drawing from their thought.
* Felipe Briones Pepes, a high-ranking Spanish prosecutor working in the Criminal Division of the Spanish Supreme Court.
* Mohamed Limam Mohamed Ali Sidi Al-Bashir, Ambassador of the Sahrawi Republic to the Republic of Kenya. (SPS)
