Ara Balears in English - Western Sahara

A PP councilor demands that the UN allow the Sahara to vote on independence after Vox's attack on cooperation

Mercè Pinya — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 10:48:09 +0000

A PP councilor at the Council of Mallorca demanded this Friday before the United Nations the holding of a self-determination referendum in Western Sahara "that includes the option of independence." The head of Social Welfare and president of the Majorcan Institute of Social Affairs (IMAS), Guillermo Sánchez, defended in New York that the Sahrawi people be able to “freely decide their future.” He did so just one day after Vox, the popular party's governing partner at the island institution, lashed out harshly against the international cooperation policies promoted by the Council itself. Despite governing together at the Council, the PP and Vox thus maintain conflicting positions regarding the institution's external action.

Between the desert and memory: half a century of Sahrawi resistance

Joan Pau Jordà — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 06:45:29 +0000

These days we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the proclamation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). The tricolor crescent flag was raised for the first time on February 27, 1976, in Bir Lehlu, a small village in the middle of the desert. That moment was much more than a simple political declaration; it represented a people's struggle to exist.

Cort Square hosts the annual event in support of the Sahrawi people

ARA Balears — Thu, 25 Dec 2025 14:12:09 +0000

The Plaça de Cort in Palma will host this afternoon's annual rally in support of the Sahrawi people, organized by the Association of Friends of the Sahrawi People of the Balearic Islands. The event will include the lighting of candles in remembrance of political prisoners and the disappeared. As the organization noted in a statement, December 25th marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the occupation of Western Sahara. Musicantes, Cor de Cambra, the Orfeó Ramon Llull, and CAUOM will participate in the rally. The event will serve to denounce the forced disappearances, repression, human rights violations in the territory, and the imprisonment of Sahrawis fighting for their freedom. The association points out that there are currently 39 Sahrawi political prisoners serving life sentences or 30- and 25-year terms in Moroccan prisons, under conditions they describe as inhumane. "Each candle we light will be a light against the silence, a cry against impunity, and a tribute to all the victims," the statement affirms. The Association of Friends of the Sahrawi People of the Balearic Islands reiterates its demand for the holding of the self-determination referendum promised to the Sahrawi people and recalls "the political, legal, and moral obligation" of Spain as the administering power of the territory. "This Christmas, we join in their pain, their hope, and their struggle," the organization concludes.