Global Arab Network | Sahara: Morocco renews commitments to negotiate a realistic solution based on autonomy

Translate this article to your language:

GANPublications

e-Publications

Add Site to Favorites

Add Page to Favorites

Make Homepage

Share This Page

RSS Feed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |

Sahara: Morocco renews commitments to negotiate a realistic solution based on autonomy

Global Arab Network - - Adam Turner

Monday, 15 February 2010 16:27

Morocco reiterated, during the second informal talks on the Sahara, which were held in Armonk, in the outskirts of New York, its willingness to negotiate a realistic and feasible solution on the basis of the autonomy Initiative.

During these talks, held under the auspices of the UN chief's Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross, the Moroccan delegation emphasized the relevance of this initiative, whose primacy was explicitly underlined by the Security Council.

The delegation also recalled the democratic approach which governed the elaboration of this initiative, spelt out its substantive content, showed its conformity with the international legality and laid out its regional scope.

Moreover, the delegation recalled that the other party's proposal brings nothing new, as it only adopts the broad lines of previous plans which proved unfeasible.

Insisting that a referendum with extreme options is not workable, the delegation showed that the recourse to the referendum is rare in the UN practice, with most situations resolved through negotiations between the parties.

Algeria has to abide by the international legality

The delegation also called on Algeria to abide by the international legality on its territory with regard to humanitarian issues and allow the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to take a headcount of the populations detained in the Tindouf camps, southwest of Algeria.

During these talks, and like in the previous rounds, the Moroccan delegation reiterated “its political, legal and operational position with regard to the polisario’s proposal and showed again that it absolutely brought nothing new regarding the possibilities and mechanisms to lead to a final solution, because it adopts initial plans which proved unfeasible,” Foreign Minister Taib Fassi Fihri said.

Positive welcome by the international community and equivocation of other parties

In this regard, the minister deplored the fact that since the submission of the Moroccan autonomy Initiative and “the very positive welcome by the international community, the other parties have been engaged in maneuvers and schemes in a vain attempt to undermine the seriousness and credibility of this proposal.”

“While the other parties continue, for specific strategic or political reasons, refusing to join in this initiative, Morocco, as emphasized by HM the king, will continue building democratic institutions and its progress towards development as part of territorial governance,” the minister added during a news conference.

Through the Sovereign’s initiative on the extensive regionalization, “we have entered into a phase of implementation with the setting up of the Advisory Committee on Regionalization, which is to submit within six months proposals concerning the entire national territory,” he noted.

The separatists’ thesis based on a chimera

Secretary-General of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS), Maouelainin Ben Khalihanna Maouelainin, said that the delegation “exposed during the talks the false statements of the Polisario, which falsely claims to be the sole representative of the so-called Saharawi people,” showing that the “front does in fact only represent itself.”

The delegation also recalled that the Moroccan autonomy initiative is the “output of extensive and constructive consultations, initiated upon High instructions of HM King Mohammed VI, and thus stems from the Moroccan people in all their components, as part of a democratic, transparent, realistic and consensual process.”

“We also showed that the thesis of the separatists is based on chimera, and called on the international community to persuade those who refuse to abandon their rigid position how much they know that what we say is the truth,” Maouelainin Ben Khalihanna Maouelainin said.

At the end of the second informal meeting, Christopher Ross announced his forthcoming visit to the region to “consult further with the parties” following “their commitment to continue their negotiations as soon as possible."

The Moroccan delegation was composed of Taib Fassi Fihri, Maouelainin Ben Khalihanna Maouelainin, and Director of Morocco's intelligence agency (DGED) Mohamed Yassine Mansouri. (©MAP)

Global Arab Network

Add comment

The opinions of the authors in articles published are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Arab Network
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Published comments are the opinions of private individuals and do not reflect the views of Global Arab Network