The Polisario Front recognised the importance of press at an early stage. They took journalists to occupied territories and established the Sahara Press Service at the Sahrawi refugee camps on 29 March 1999 (A POLISARIO agency press had been founded previously in 1980). The Sahara Press Service Dispatches began to be posted on the internet since April 1999, due to the combined efforts of the Friends of Sahrawi People in Switzerland and Spain.