Mail & Guardian: Pretoria weighing economic & political risks of U.S. designation of Polisario terrorist organization

The American designation of the Polisario a foreign terrorist organization will have serious implications for South Africa,warned South-African newspaper Mail & Guardian.

Such a designation will deprive the separatist group of its traditional state supporters namely Algeria and South Africa,said the daily in a recent Op-Ed authored by Michael Walsh,senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

The designation of the Polisario terrorist organization will have a substantive effect on advocacy and fundraising for the separatist group in South Africa,added the newspaper,citing the comments of an expert on the serious economic,financial and political risks facing Pretoria.

According to Zineb Riboua,a research fellow at the Hudson Institute,“some actors — especially mainstream NGOs — will likely step back to avoid legal exposure”.

Any designation will lead to increased international scrutiny of the South African banking system which will have a negative effect on the country’s economy with reputational damage,and even secondary sanctions,she added,affirming that South Africa could also be designated a state sponsor of terrorism.

The expert of the Hudson Institute said South Africans should expect the U.S. government to take the enforcement of any designation of Polisario Front seriously.

Since Trump’s inauguration,the risk of a complete rupture in US-South Africa relations has been rising by the day. The designation of the Polisario Front as a foreign terrorist organization will certainly exacerbate further an already strained relationship.