Western Sahara had been declared a ‘non-self-governing territory’ by the United Nations. It is located between Morocco to the north, Algeria to the east, Mauritania to the south and east, and Spain to the west (Canary Islands). It has been under Moroccan occupation since 1975.
So far, so clear. But the Polisario Front, ‘Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro’, wants to end the occupation and has been waging a war of independence with the help of Algeria!
A UN decision had planned to hold a referendum to ask the Sahrawi people whether they wanted to become independent or Moroccan.
In the end, it was President Trump who made the decision without consultation!
The Polisario Front has its own radio station and television channel based at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. They are located in the Rabuni refugee camp, in the far south-west of Algeria in the wilaya of Tindouf.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for this radio station: will it shut down or continue its resistance? Algeria will certainly continue to provide support, but this will certainly not be the case for other countries, including Spain.
The POLISARIO has been broadcasting on medium and short wave for over 40 years. The transmission centre is located about 8 kilometres south of Tindouf, not far from the road connecting Rabuni to Tindouf. The medium wave transmitter has recently been re-equipped. It broadcasts on 1550 kHz with 100 kW and is coupled to a 120-metre guyed antenna. However, the 20 kW shortwave transmitter on 7460 kHz or 6297 kHz, which has an antenna directed towards Spain, is unusable.
Broadcasts are mainly in Arabic, but a programme in Spanish is broadcast every evening: ‘La Voz del Pueblo Saharaui’.
Broadcasts have also been available on the Internet since 2006. RASD Radio also has small FM transmitters to provide a link between the studio and the transmitter and to serve the camps located in other wilayas.
Between the heat and the desert sands, the teams and equipment work in difficult conditions: the heat is unbearable and the air conditioning systems struggle to cool the facilities, while electricity is produced by generators due to the instability of the grid.
(Translated from French)
Michel Fremy, Radio Magazine Facebook group (2025-11-02)