The Movement for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro, sometimes referred to as the Movement for the Liberation of the Sahara or simply the Liberation Movement was created in 1969 by Muhammad Bassiri, a Smara-based Sahrawi quranic teacher, to work for the independence of Western Sahara. The aim of the Harakat Tahrir was the peaceful overturning of Spanish colonial rule and achievement of then-Spanish Sahara's self determination. It initially organized and operated in secret, but revealed its existence in a demonstration in El-Aaiun against Spanish rule on June 17, 1970, when it attempted to hand over a petition to the Spanish colonial rulers calling for better treatment and Western Sahara's independence.