The Sahrawi National Union Party, or Partido de Unión Nacional Saharaui (PUNS), was a short-lived political party set up by Francoist Spain to rally indigenous support in its rebellious Spanish Sahara colony (presently Western Sahara). Creation of PUNS The PUNS was created in late 1974 as the Partido Revolucionario Progresivo (Revolutionary Progressive Party), but soon changed its name. It was composed mainly of members of the Djema'a, a tribalist political body set up for similar purposes in the 1950s. Its flag is based on the Spanish flag for the Ifni-Sahara maritime province (1946-1975). PUNS was during its time the only legal party within the territory of Francoist Spain, except the ruling Falange Española. PUNS was allowed to send delegates to the Cortes (Parliament) in Madrid. It had no decision making powers, and was more an instrument of the military governors in Western Sahara. Its leaders and creators, Khellihenna Ould Errachid and Dueh Sidna Naucha, worked in close collaboration with Spanish authorities. Political profile The party's political program was supportive of Spain, and changed according to the rapid evolution of Spanish policy. In first months of its existence, its political activity mainly consisted of statements denouncing the Polisario Front, a nationalist guerrilla which had by then taken over most of the countryside. PUNS also advocated independence as a distant goal to be preceded by autonomy within Spain, and conditional on good relations with the government in Madrid. As the prospect of Moroccan invasion began to seem ever likelier after the 1975 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Western Sahara on Western Sahara, the colonial authorities allowed the PUNS to increase its demands for independence and campaign intensely against Moroccan ambitions, even threatening armed struggle against an invasion. As the difference of opinion rapidly shrank, the rank-and-file PUNS membership gravitated towards the Polisario, and as early as May 1975, the leaders of PUNS met with POLISARIO's Secretary General, El-Ouali, who consistently condemned the party as a "puppet" of fascism and colonialism. Many members were also present at the Ain Ben Tili and Guelta Zemmur conferences, although not as representatives of the party, but rather of the Djema'a or their tribal groupings. In mid-1975, PUNS seemed to simultaneously be slipping out of Spanish control and losing its political relevance, since Spain had agreed in principle to relinquish control of the Western Sahara and consequently no longer had a need for a loyalist