Western Sahara conflict

[Al-khiyal]

Next round of UN-backed Western Sahara talks slated

New York, January 14, 2011 -- The next round of informal talks between the parties to the conflict over Western Sahara will take place from 21 to 23 January in New York, the United Nations announced today. Participating in the talks will be delegations of the parties to the dispute – Morocco and the Frente Polisario – and the neighbouring states, Algeria and Mauritania. At the last round of talks in mid-December, the parties initiated discussion on innovative approaches to create an environment that could be more propitious for progress to be made. At the next meeting, the parties have been asked to make concrete proposals on these approaches. The meetings are being held at the invitation of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, within the mandate given by the UN Security Council. The UN has been involved in efforts towards a settlement in Western Sahara since 1976, when fighting broke out between Morocco and the Frente Polisario after the Spanish colonial administration of the territory ended. Morocco has presented a plan for autonomy while the position of the Frente Polisario is that the territory’s final status should be decided in a referendum on self-determination.

[Al-khiyal]

Western Sahara talks resume in Manhasset

January 23, 2011 -- A new round of unofficial, UN-brokered negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario began on Friday (January 21st), MAP reported. Observers Algeria and Mauritania also attend the three-day talks in Manhasset, New York. Last December, the fourth round of Western Sahara talks generated "new dynamism" in efforts to resolve the crisis, UN Western Sahara Envoy Christopher Ross said.

[Al-khiyal]

[Al-khiyal]

Western Sahara talks end in impasse

January 24, 2011 -- Morocco and the Polisario failed to reach an accord during the unofficial, UN-brokered Western Sahara negotiations in New York, but "both parties presented... concrete ideas that will be developed at the next round" in March, AFP quoted UN Western Sahara Envoy Christopher Ross as saying on Sunday (January 23rd). Observers Algeria and Mauritania also attended the three-day Manhasset meeting. The parties, meanwhile, agreed to meet next month in Geneva at the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to "move towards the launch of family visits by land" between Laayoune and the Tindouf camps, Le Matin quoted Ross as saying. Air visits resumed on January 7th.

[Al-khiyal]

Western Sahara talks end in stalemate

January 25, 2011 -- Morocco and the Polisario failed to reach an accord during the latest round of Western Sahara talks in Manhasset, which concluded on Sunday (January 23rd). The parties, however, agreed to resume the unofficial, UN-brokered negotiations in March. "Both parties have presented and discussed in a preliminary way of concrete ideas that will be developed during the next session of informal talks," UN Western Sahara Envoy Christopher Ross said in a press statement. The official also noted that the participants, including observers Mauritania and Algeria, agreed to meet next month in Geneva at the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in order to "move towards the launch of family visits by land" between Laâyoune and the Tindouf camps. Air visits resumed on January 7th.

Despite the atmosphere of "serious engagement, frankness, and mutual respect", no breakthrough was made in the negotiations as "each party continues to reject the proposal of the other as a sole basis for future negotiations", Ross said. "We have once again reaffirmed the readiness of Morocco to find a solution to this regional dispute on the basis of the legitimacy of Morocco in Sahara," Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri said, adding that Morocco resubmitted its interpretation of the autonomy proposal. The minister noted, "Talks also dealt with a new approach to accelerate negotiations so as to arrive at the desired final political solution." He added that "the Moroccan delegation submitted a number of ideas to activate negotiations", which include the discussion of real resources in the region, the representation of Sahrawi citizens in southern regions in the negotiations, as well as the need to adopt new means rather than rely solely on talks. "Based on UN experiences, when parties are unable to realise tangible progress, they resort to other approaches in the negotiations," the minister added. According to Fassi Fihri, the negotiations represent a historic responsibility for the peoples of the Maghreb, who face various risks and serious challenges but fail to make use of the possibilities of integration and joint work.

For his part, Sahrawi delegation chief Khatri Adouh noted that the fifth round "dealt with the proposals presented by both parties to end the conflict of colonisation in Western Sahara, based on respect of Sahrawi people's inalienable right of self-determination". "Morocco is still trying to avoid engaging in real negotiations dedicated to the aim which international groups are demanding," Adouh maintained. He also commented that the issue of "human rights violations in Western Sahara was dealt with in light of the findings recently announced by some Moroccan organisations". On January 14th, a group of rights groups, including Moroccan League for the Defence of Human Rights (LMDDH), released a report, alleging that "gross human rights violations" were committed in the Laâyoune clashes last November. "Sahrawi people's right of self-determination offers more than a single solution," MAP quoted Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez as saying. The official stressed the need to be aware of "the difficulty of holding a referendum as a means of solving the conflict".

[Al-khiyal]

Sahara occidental :
Le Polisario accuse Madrid de soutenir le Maroc

Mercredi 26 Janvier 2011 -- Le Polisario a accusé mardi Madrid de soutenir le Maroc dans le conflit du Sahara occidental, selon une déclaration du chef de la diplomatie du mouvement indépendantiste Mohamed Salem Ould-Salek, transmise à l'AFP. «La ministre espagnole des affaires étrangères, Trinidad Jimenez, a multiplié les déclarations au sujet du Sahara occidental qui démontrent clairement que son pays s'est éloigné totalement de la défense de la légalité internationale en défendant la thèse de l'occupant marocain», a affirmé M. Ould-Salek. Mme Jimenez a proposé lundi l'aide de l'Espagne pour résoudre le conflit au Sahara occidental au cours de rencontres séparées avec le chef de l'ONU Ban Ki‑moon et l'émissaire de l'ONU Christopher Ross. Elle a notamment indiqué que son pays proposait d'élever au rang de ministres le «Groupe d'amis du Sahara» à l'ONU qui est actuellement au niveau des experts. M. Ould‑Salek a ajouté que l'État espagnol est «la puissance coloniale administrante» de ce territoire et que de ce fait, «il est responsable du drame que vit le peuple sahraoui depuis 1975», date son annexion par le Maroc. «L'Espagne doit assurer en collaboration avec l'Onu la décolonisation du Sahara occidental (...) qui se réalisera le jour ou le peuple de ce pays exercera son droit inaliénable à l'autodétermination», a‑t‑il ajouté. Le Maroc et le Polisario ont achevé dimanche à Manhasset dans la banlieue de New York un cinquième cycle de discussions informelles sur l'avenir du Sahara occidental sans résultat, selon l'émissaire de l'ONU dans la région Christopher Ross.

[Al-khiyal]

Morocco, Polisario to attend Tindouf talks

February 9, 2011 -- Representatives from Morocco and the Polisario will meet in Geneva on Thursday (February 9th) to discuss humanitarian conditions at the Tindouf refugee camps, MAP reported. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres will chair the two-day meeting, which conforms to agreements reached last December during the fourth round of the UN-brokered Western Sahara informal negotiations, the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Delegates from observer nations Algeria and Mauritania, along with UN Western Sahara Envoy Christopher Ross, will attend the talks. Discussions will reportedly focus on the family visit programme.