"The only logical, fair and lasting solution is autonomy for the Sahara that respects the interests of the countries in the region," said Mustapha Salma, adding that the only remaining possible solution, given international resolutions, is a consensual political solution satisfactory to all parties, which is autonomy."
    Referring to his last stay in Morocco to visit his relatives in Smara, Mustapha Salma took note of "the reality and democratic openness" in the kingdom. "I reflected on the conflict that has lasted so long. I arrived at the conclusion that the Sahara conflict cannot be resolved by total independence from Morocco because it is against the interests of the Saharawis."
    During a press conference in Samara, he went on, “I expressed these beliefs, and the Polisario Front considered me a traitor.... I tried to return to the Tindouf camps, and on the way there they detained me. Four Polisario Front military vehicles took me to an unknown location where I remained for 71 days in the middle of the desert.”
    Mustapha Salma added that “for two weeks, they interrogated me, and when they were done, they told me that I cannot return to the Tindouf camps by order of the Algerian authorities and I cannot see my family, nor can they visit me.”
    In this regard, The Washington Post recalled that the kidnapping of Mustapha Salma had “caused a storm of protest from the United Nations and human rights groups.”
    “Today, I am exiled from my family who are in the Tindouf camps. Like all the Saharawis in Tindouf who cannot leave the Algerian territory,” he said, calling on international human rights organizations to put pressures on Algeria and the Polisario “to get me out of that difficult situation.”
    Anyone who leaves the Tindouf camps without permission of the Polisario Front is considered a traitor who is committing a crime and such actions are punishable by ten to 20 years in prison, he denounced.
    “When I tried to raise my voice about the Polisario and Algeria's disregard for human rights, they expelled me,” Mustapha Salma said.
    In addition to his personnel ordeal, The Washington Post said, “The situation is grave for the youth who are marginalized.”
    “I feel that the camps are fertile grounds for Islamic fundamentalist groups and drug traffickers,” he stressed, noting that “the Sahara issue is central to the interests of the countries in the region.”
    “It appears that without further action, Sidi Mouloud's exile will continue, the suffering in the camps will persist, and the region will become a breeding ground for terrorism,” The Washington Post underlined.