The Zemla Intifada (or the Zemla Uprising) is the name used to refer to disturbances of June 17, 1970,
which culminated in a massacre (between 2 and 11 persons were killed) by
Spanish Legion
For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the Foreign Regiments () - such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the pena ...
forces in the Zemla
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of
El Aaiun
Laâyoune ( , also , ) or El Aaiún ( , ; Hassaniya Arabic: , romanized: ; ber, ⵍⵄⵢⵓⵏ, Leɛyun; ar, label=Modern Standard Arabic, Literary Arabic, العيون, al-ʿUyūn/el-ʿUyūn, lit=The Spring (hydrology), Springs) is the la ...
,
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
(nowadays
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
).
Demonstration
Leaders of the previous secret organization ''
Harakat Tahrir
The Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab, also referred to as the Liberation Movement ( ar, حركة تحرير Harakat Tahrir), Movement for the Liberation of the Sahara, Advanced Organization of the Sahara or si ...
'' called for a demonstration to read out a petition of goals in response against the
Spanish occupation of Western Sahara. On June 17, 1970, this petition was read to the Spanish governor-general of the colony, General
José María Pérez de Lema y Tejero, peacefully.
Riot
After the demonstration was being dispersed by orders from Spain's governor-general, police moved in to arrest the ''
Harakat Tahrir
The Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab, also referred to as the Liberation Movement ( ar, حركة تحرير Harakat Tahrir), Movement for the Liberation of the Sahara, Advanced Organization of the Sahara or si ...
s leaders. Demonstrators responded to the police's actions by throwing stones at the police. The Spanish authorities called in the
Spanish Foreign Legion
For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the Foreign Regiments () - such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the penal ...
who opened fire on the demonstrators, killing at least eleven people.
Aftermath
In the days following the incident, the ''Harakat Tahrirs founder
Muhammad Bassiri
Muhammad Sidi Brahim Sidi Embarek Basir ( ar, محمد سيدي إبراهيم سيدي مبارك بصير; born 1942 or 1944 – disappeared June 18, 1970) was a Sahrawi people, Sahrawi nationalist leader, disappeared and presumedly executed ...
, and other ''
Harakat Tahrir
The Movement for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Wadi el Dhahab, also referred to as the Liberation Movement ( ar, حركة تحرير Harakat Tahrir), Movement for the Liberation of the Sahara, Advanced Organization of the Sahara or si ...
'' activists, were hunted down by Spanish security forces. Bassiri
disappeared
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...
in
jail
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
after being arrested in 1970.
The Zemla demonstration led to the end of the ''Harakat Tahrir''. Hundreds of their supporters were arrested, while other demonstrators were deported from
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
.
The suppression of the Zemla demonstration pushed the Spanish Saharan anti-colonial movement into embracing armed struggle. The militant nationalist organization
Polisario Front
The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), (in ar, rtl=yes, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الس ...
was formed three years later.
References
{{reflist
Intifadas
Protests in Western Sahara
Western Sahara conflict
Spanish Sahara
Laayoune
1970 in Spanish Sahara
Conflicts in 1970