Western Sahara conflict

[Al-khiyal]

Dimanche 24 juin 2007 -- La Grande-Bretagne a réitéré son soutien aux efforts des Nations unies (ONU) visant à trouver une solution «juste, durable et mutuellement acceptable garantissant au peuple sahraoui son droit à l’autodétermination», a rapporté l’APS. Cette position a été réaffirmée, en fin de semaine, par la ministre britannique des Affaires étrangères, Mme Margaret Beckett, lors d’un débat parlementaire à la Chambre des communes, consacré à la politique extérieure.

Mme Beckett réagissait à une question sur la position britannique concernant le plan marocain d’«autonomie» au Sahara occidental, à l’issue du premier round des négociations directes tenues, les 18 et 19 juin en cours, entre les deux parties en conflit à Manhasset (près de New York). Selon un communiqué hebdomadaire de la Chambre des communes, Mme Beckett a déclaré que «le Royaume-Uni considère le Sahara occidental comme un territoire au centre d’un conflit, jusqu’à ce qu’une solution y soit trouvée dans le cadre de l’ONU». Pour cette fin, a-t-elle ajouté, le Royaume-Uni «soutient pleinement les efforts du secrétaire général des Nations unies et de son envoyé personnel au Sahara occidental, M. Peter Van Walsum, visant à aider les deux parties à aboutir à une solution politique juste, durable et acceptable garantissant le droit du peuple sahraoui à l’autodétermination».

A une question d’un député sur l’intention du Foreign Office de publier un communiqué clarifiant sa position quant à «la proposition marocaine», Mme Beckett a rappelé que le Conseil de sécurité, qui avait adopté le 30 avril dernier la résolution 1754 qui a pris acte de la proposition marocaine soumise au secrétaire général de l’ONU le 11 du même mois, «avait appelé les deux parties à engager des négociations sans conditions préalables». Le Royaume-Uni, qui «se félicite des négociations entre le Maroc et le Front Polisario», continuera à soutenir le processus des pourparlers, a affirmé la ministre britannique.

A rappeler que le Royaume-Uni a toujours été en faveur d’une solution qui garantit au peuple sahraoui le droit à l’autodétermination. Cette position a été exprimée, à maintes occasions, par Mme Beckett ou par le ministre d’Etat chargé du Proche-Orient, de l’Afrique du Nord et de la sécurité internationale, M. Kim Howells, ou encore lors du débat historique animé à la Chambre des communes à l’automne 2006 sur la question sahraouie.

La Grande-Bretagne réitère son soutien au droit du peuple sahraoui à l’autodétermination

[Al-khiyal]

New York, June 28, 2007 (dpa) - Morocco and the Polisario Front, both of which claim Western Sahara, should settle their dispute by accepting autonomy of the territory that was once a Spanish colony, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday.

Morocco wants to integrate the territory, while the Polisario, which fought Morocco decades ago, are calling for an independent state.

The UN Security Council had been calling for a referendum in Western Sahara and let the inhabitants there decide whether they would agree integration with Morocco or let the once armed Polisario lead the territory as a new independent state.

Ban said in a report to the council that the parties failed in the most recent round of negotiations to agree on the definition of self- determination, which is considered the only way to settle their claim.

The talks in Manhasset, New York, in mid-June were also attended by envoys from neighbouring Algeria and Mauritania.

Ban said although those parties respected the principle of self- determination, their positions remained "far apart on the definition of self-determination."

Despite the negative assessment of the talks, Ban said Morocco's seriousness in the talks should be tested. He called for flexibility and sacrifice from the two sides, saying Morocco should accept autonomy for Western Sahara and not try to integrate it.

He also urged the Polisario to accept autonomy and drop the call for independence for the territory.

"If the negotiations are to lead to a positive outcome, both parties must recognize that the question of sovereignty is, and always has been, the main stumbling block in this dispute, and it is in this highly sensitive area that a solution will need to be found," he said in a report to the council.

The council also had refused to impose a solution, calling for self- determination. The Polisario, which received support from Algeria in its armed conflict against Morocco decades ago, supported the referendum.

Ban said a second round of talks is scheduled to begin on August 10 under the mediation of Ambassador Peter van Walsum of the Netherlands. The contents of the discussion in mid-June were not made public, because the parties attending the talks were asked for their confidentiality.

Plans for the referendum, set more than 10 years ago, were never implemented because neither Morocco nor the Polisario agreed on how to conduct them.

Ban urged UN members to lend support in pressuring the contenders to the former Spanish territory to end the dispute by showing flexibility and making sacrifices.

UN's Ban Ki-moon calls for autonomy in disputed Western Sahara

[Al-khiyal]

UN's Ban Ki-moon calls for autonomy in disputed Western Sahara

New York, June 29, 2007 (dpa) - One day after backing a proposal for autonomy in the disputed Western Sahara region, the United Nations appeared to be backtracking Friday, saying it would reissue a report without mentioning the idea.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a report on Thursday saying that autonomy for Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony claimed by both Morocco and a group known as the Polisario Front, should be tested.

But a UN spokesperson on Friday said the report would be rereleased without the paragraphs mentioning autonomy, raising questions as to whether Ban was pulling his support.

"It was felt by all concerned that in this stage in the talks, it would be in the interests of the process for the UN secretary general's envoy to share observations and recommendations to the Security Council ... and to the parties directly within the negotiations themselves, rather than in a public report," said UN spokesperson Michelle Montas.

Morocco has sought for decades to integrate the territory, while the Polisario Front, which fought Morocco decades ago, has called for an independent state. Diplomats said Morocco would now be willing to accept autonomy.

The UN envoy to the talks, Dutch Ambassador Peter van Walsum, will instead brief the 15-nation council orally on the talks to settle Western Sahara, Montas said.

Ban, in Thursday's report, called on both parties to be flexible and to make sacrifices, but appeared to say that one party was making greater sacrifices than the other, without elaborating.

Ban said the Polisario should test Morocco's "readiness to take part in serious, constructive negotiations" to settle the dispute.

"If the negotiations are to lead to a positive outcome, both parties must recognize that the question of sovereignty is, and always has been, the main stumbling block in this dispute, and it is in this highly sensitive area that a solution will need to be found," he said in the report to the council on Thursday.

The UN Security Council had been calling for a referendum in Western Sahara to let the inhabitants there decide whether they would agree to integration with Morocco or let the once armed Polisario lead the territory as a new independent state. But the referendum, proposed more than a decade ago, never took place.

Ban convened a meeting in mid-June attended by Morocco, the Polisario, Algeria and Mauritania under the mediation of van Walsum. He said the parties failed to agree on the definition of self- determination, which is considered the only way to settle their claim.

Ban said although those parties respected the principle, their positions remained "far apart on the definition of self- determination."

The council also had refused to impose a solution, calling for self-determination. The Polisario, which received support from Algeria in its armed conflict against Morocco decades ago, supported the referendum.

Ban said a second round of talks is scheduled to begin on August 10.

UN appears to backtrack on autonomy proposal for Western Sahara

[Al-khiyal]

Dimanche 1er juillet 2007 -- La date du second round des négociations entre le Front Polisario et le Maroca été fixée au 10 août prochain dans la banlieue new-yorkaise aux Etats-Unis, a indiqué le rapport du secrétaire général de l’ONU, Ban Ki-moon sur l’état et les progrès des négociations sur le Sahara occidental publié vendredi dernier sur le site du Conseil de sécurité. Ce second round, à l’instar du premier, se déroulera à huis clos en présence de délégués d’Algérie et de Mauritanie, comme convenu dans le format Baker, après les accords de Houston de 2003.

Le rapport du secrétaire général, en date du 27 juin, fait suite à la résolution 1754 dans laquelle le Conseil demandait aux parties en conflit, le Front Polisario et le Maroc, d’engager des négociations de bonne foi, sans conditions préalables, en tenant compte des développements survenus les mois précédents, en vue de parvenir à une solution politique juste, durable et mutuellement acceptable qui permette l’autodétermination du peuple du Sahara occidental.

Le rapport de Ban Ki-moon, présenté au Conseil, fait le point de l’état d’avancement des négociations directes des 18 et 19 juin. Ces négociations sont sanctionnées par un communiqué de l’énvoyé personnel de Ban Ki-moon pour le Sahara occidental, Peter Van Walsum, qui avait conduit les négociations en sa qualité de facilitateur désigné par les Nations unies aux côtés de Julian Harston, l’envoyé spécial du secrétaire général et coordinateur de la Minurso.

Selon la porte-parole du secrétaire général, Michèle Montas, la version définitive du rapport du secrétaire général sur l’état et les progrès des négociations sur le Sahara occidental sera publiée dans les prochains jours sans faire référence à des observations ou recommandations de la part du facilitateur onusien alors que le Conseil de sécurité a programmé, pour les premiers jours du mois de juillet, une réunion avec l’envoyé personnel du secrétaire général pour le Sahara occidental pour discuter du contenu du rapport dont une version définitive devra ensuite être rendue publique.

Le dernier rapport de Ban Ki-moon rappelle que le Conseil de sécurité «a constamment indiqué de façon claire qu’il n’imposerait pas une solution à la question du Sahara occidental mais qu’il tenait à aider les parties à trouver une solution politique mutuellement acceptable qui permettrait d’assurer l’autodétermination du peuple du Sahara occidental».

Détaillant le déroulement des travaux du premier round des négociations entre Sahraouis et Marocains, il a mentionné que bien que les deux parties aient fait preuve d’un «dialogue franc et ouvert, mais néanmoins empreint de respect», réaffirmé leur attachement au processus et confirmé leur respect du principe d’autodétermination, «leurs positions sont demeurées très éloignées en ce qui concerne la définition de l’autodétermination».

Evoquant le communiqué publié le 19 juin à l’issue des négociations, le secrétaire général note dans son rapport au Conseil que si son envoyé personnel s’est déclaré satisfait du climat positif qui avait présidé aux négociations des 18 et 19 juin, il a néanmoins ajouté que «cela ne suffisait pas pour mener à bien un processus de négociations» tout en donnant rendez-vous aux deux parties en conflit au 10 août prochain au domaine de Greentree Estate, à Manhasset, dans la proche banlieue de New York, pour une seconde rencontre à huis clos en présence de délégués d’Algérie et de Mauritanie, comme convenu dans le format Baker, après les accords de Houston de 2003.

Quant à la partie sahraouie, elle s’est déclarée satisfaite du rapport du secrétaire général de l’ONU. «C’est un rapport objectif et factuel», qui rend compte du déroulement du premier round des discussions entre le Front Polisario et le Maroc, a déclaré à l’APS, M. Ahmed Boukhari, représentant du Front Polisario auprès des Nations unies et membre de la délégation sahraouie aux négociations.

Il ajoutera que le rapport «n’a pas voulu entrer dans la substance des négociations, étant donné que la résolution 1754 du 30 avril dernier, du Conseil de sécurité, établit et définit cette substance, à savoir qu’il prend note des propositions sahraouies et marocaines présentées en avril au secrétaire général, que ces deux propositions sont placées sur un pied d’égalité, et que l’objectif des négociations directes est de trouver une solution politique qui assure le droit à l’autodétermination du peuple du Sahara occidental».

Pour rappel, le premier round des négociations pour une solution politique du conflit saharouie s’était tenu les 18 et 19 juin dans la résidence privée Greentree Estate, toujours à Manhasset. Il avait réuni les délégations du Front Polisario et du royaume du Maroc pour des négociations directes sans conditions préalables, comme recommandé par la résolution 1754 adoptée le 30 avril 2007 par le Conseil de sécurité. Des délégations algérienne et mauritanienne avaient été invitées à cette rencontre en leur qualité de pays voisins pouvant être consultés pour des questions les concernant.

Dans la même résolution, le Conseil demandait au secrétaire général de lui présenter, avant le 30 juin, un rapport sur l’état de ces négociations sous ses auspices et des progrès réalisés.

Le communiqué, agréé par les délégations marocaine et sahraouie, rappelait l’esprit et le cadre dans lequel se tenaient ces négociations et fixait la date du prochain rendez-vous à la deuxième semaine du mois d’août 2007 ainsi que le lieu de la réunion.

Le rapport présenté la semaine dernière au Conseil de sécurité évoque aussi les contacts menés par Peter Van Walsum depuis l’adoption de la résolution 1754 avec l’ensemble des parties intéressées et concernées par les négociations, dont l’Algérie et la Mauritanie en leur qualité de pays voisins, mais aussi avec des représentants des Etats-Unis, de la France, de l’Espagne, de la Russie et de la Grande-Bretagne.

Négociations entre le Maroc et le Sahara occidental : Le second round fixé au 10 août à New York

[Al-khiyal]

UN appears to backtrack on autonomy proposal for Western Sahara

UNITED NATIONS, July 2, 2007 - In a rare acknowledgment that U.N. officials may have overstepped, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reissued a report Monday on the Western Sahara that eliminated controversial recommendations on the future of the disputed region.

The original report was released last month, a week after Morocco and rebels seeking independence ended their first direct talks in seven years by agreeing to meet again August 10 after making no headway in resolving their 32-year dispute.

Morocco, whose occupation of the former Spanish colony in 1975 sparked a 16-year war with Polisario Front guerrillas, stuck to the autonomy plan it proposed in April that would maintain Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. The rebel movement, backed by Algeria, maintained its April demand for a referendum with a choice of autonomy or independence.

Ban's original report to the U.N. Security Council recommended the Polisario Front make concrete proposals to clarify or amend Morocco's autonomy proposal, "leaving the final status out of consideration at this stage."

At the same time, Ban said, Morocco could "show a greater awareness" that its acceptance of autonomy for the region would not be not equal - "in terms of sacrifice" - to the Polisario Front agreeing to autonomy instead of independence.

The recommendations sparked immediate concern because the Security Council on April 30 had urged that the talks be held "without preconditions in good faith."

The report was a problem for the Polisario Front because it did not mention its referendum proposal and recommended leaving the region's final status off the table. For Morocco, while the recommendations appeared to focus on autonomy, they also stressed the issue of sovereignty had to be addressed.

The revised report without the final recommendations section was issued late Monday.

Morocco and Mauritania split Western Sahara after its Spanish colonizers left the territory in 1975. Full-scale war broke out, and Morocco took over the whole territory after Mauritania pulled out in 1979.

The fighting, which pitted 15,000 Polisario guerrillas against Morocco's U.S.-equipped army, ended in 1991 with a U.N.-negotiated cease-fire that called for a referendum on the region's future. But after 15 years and the expenditure of more than $600 million, the U.N. has been unable to resolve the standoff or hold the referendum.

U.N. report backpedals on Western Sahara

[Al-khiyal]

July 5, 2007 -- The Western Sahara dispute between Morocco and the Polisario Front was placed on the UN Security Council's agenda for July 11th, China's Ambassador at the UN and current President of the Council, Guangya Wang announced Wednesday (July 4th). He added the Council will review Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's report "The Status and Progress of Negotiations" on the Sahara, which was released Tuesday (July 3rd) in New York. Ki-moon's personal Envoy Peter Van Walsum, who mediated the first round of the latest talks held between the two sides in mid-June, will also speak before the Security Council. MAP quoted Wang as saying the negotiations "constitute a good sign and the start of a process to reduce differences between the parties." The new report is expected to differ slightly from Ki-moon's original report on the problem and several controversial recommendations regarding both sides' proposals will be removed. Also on Wednesday (July 4th), Moroccan government spokesman Nabil Benabdellah confirmed the next round of negotiations is scheduled for August 10th. Comments from both sides indicated that although negotiations themselves represent an important step forward in the reconciliation process, both sides remain far apart in their perceptions of the territory's future.

Sahara issue back on UN Security Council agenda for July 11th

[Al-khiyal]

ALGIERS, July 7 (Reuters) - President Nicholas Sarkozy should change France's handling of the Western Sahara dispute and push Morocco to let the territory vote on independence, an influential former Algerian prime minister said on Saturday.

Ahead of Sarkozy's inaugural visit to Morocco next week***, Redha Malek said his plan for a formal partnership between southern European and North African states would be impossible without a resolution to Africa's oldest territorial dispute.

That would require a shift in approach for Paris, which under former President Jacques Chirac quietly ignored a United Nations Security Council recommendation for Rabat to allow West Sahara to vote in a referendum on self-determination.

"France ought to encourage Morocco to try to play the game of the United Nations so we can have a more reasonable Maghreb policy (on regional integration)," Malek told Reuters ahead of Sarkozy's visit to Rabat on Tuesday.

Malek was prime minister in 1993-94 at the height of Algeria's undeclared civil war between the government and Islamist rebels. He also fought in its 1954-62 liberation war and helped negotiate the 1962 independence accords with France.

As a former foreign minister and ambassador to France, Malek echoes the government's views on the Western Sahara issue.

The dispute has been a barrier to commerce across the Maghreb region of 80 million people from Mauritania to Libya, and if it persists it is unlikely the region will achieve its goal of a free trade area by 2010, analysts say.

Morocco annexed the territory in 1975, angering its regional rival Algeria. The annexation set off a war with the Polisario Front independence movement. A U.N. cease-fire agreement in 1991 promised a referendum on the fate of the territory.

But it never took place. Rabat now rules out such a vote and has French support for a watered-down proposal for the territory of 260,000 to have self-rule under Moroccan sovereignty.

France says it plays a neutral role in the dispute but diplomats say it has sympathised with Rabat for many years.

Sarkozy is due to fly to Algiers on July 10 to meet Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and then go straight to Tunis for supper with Tunisian President Zine al Abidine ben Ali.

Algeria is a former French colony and Tunisia was once a French protectorate. Sarkozy had been due to go on to Morocco but will now skip the visit due to scheduling problems.

Malek said one of the main aims of Sarkozy's trip - to make progress towards the so-called Mediterranean Union, which would open ties between African and EU states - would be impossible under the current situation.

"We will judge him on this question of the Sahara. It's a very well-defined problem," he said.

"If you want to build big unions and big gatherings you need to solve this problem and find a reasonable solution."

But he was hopeful for a shift in policy and said there were signs Sarkozy might bring change, if only in tone.

"It seems he will try to be a bit more calm, more reserved, that he'll speak less in Morocco's favour. We'll see," he said.

Western Sahara key to Algeria-France ties, ex-PM says

*** Morocco refuses to receive Sarkozy because of “betrayal” of Western Sahara issue