Ali Salem
In January 2004, Sahrawi political activist groups united under the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders. The collective demanded the formation of an international commission of inquiry to investigate human rights injustices in the Western Sahara. Aminatou Haidar, the president of the collective, and Ali Salem Tamek, vice president, were both organizers of the Sahrawi plight. Also in January 2004, Moroccan King Mohammed released and pardoned twelve Sahrawi activists, some of whom had been involved in the Sahara Branch of the Truth and Justice Forum. By 2005, however, discussions for peace negotiations had reached a standstill. Out of this, a new wave of Sahrawi nonviolent protest erupted, in what is known as the Second Sahrawi Intifada or Independence Intifada.