Western Sahara conflict

[Al-khiyal]

Morocco will present its plan for autonomy for the Western Sahara to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday (April 10th). The Security Council is due to debate the Sahara issue on April 20th. Morocco has presented the plan to countries in Europe, Africa, America, Asia and the Arab world during a worldwide diplomatic campaign to generate support for the proposal. As part of the initiative, Prime Minister Driss Jettou and other government officials are holding a series of meetings from Monday through Wednesday with representatives of the two parliament chambers, the leaders of political parties, and media outlets.

Morocco to present Western Sahara plan to Security Council

[Al-khiyal]

Dimanche 15 avril 2007 -- Le Front Polisario s’est déclaré, hier, «satisfait» du rapport présenté par le secrétaire général de l’ONU, Ban Ki-moon, au Conseil de sécurité, et qui, considère-t-il, «constitue une nouvelle preuve de l’attachement des Nations unies à la légalité internationale à travers la réaffirmation du droit du peuple sahraoui à l’autodétermination».

Dans une déclaration de presse, le coordinateur du Front Polisario avec la Minurso, M’hamed Khadad, relevait que «pour les Nations unies, la solution du problème du Sahara occidental doit être mutuellement acceptable et assurer l’autodétermination du peuple sahraoui».

La déclaration estimait qu’»en dépit des manœuvres du Maroc» pour obtenir la caution des Nations unies à son plan d’autonomie, le SG de l’ONU a accordé «un traitement égal aux deux propositions du Polisario et du Maroc et a exhorté les deux parties à progresser en vue de parvenir à une solution juste et mutuellement acceptable assurant le droit du peuple du Sahara occidental à l’autodétermination».

Par ailleurs, M. Khadad notait que le secrétaire général a «accordé une attention toute particulière aux violations des droits de l’homme par les forces d’occupation marocaines au Sahara occidental», rappelant que «les manifestations des Sahraouis appelant au respect des droits de l’homme et de leur droit à l’autodétermination se sont poursuivies dans le territoire», en dépit de la répression.

«Le rapport du SG de l’ONU représente donc pour le Front Polisario un nouveau témoignage sur la répression imposée au peuple sahraoui et une confirmation de la justesse de sa cause», affirme la déclaration.

Sahara occidental - Nations unies : Le Polisario satisfait du rapport du SG de l’ONU

[Al-khiyal]

ALGIERS (Reuters) - A new proposal by Western Sahara's independence movement Polisario to solve a dispute over the Moroccan-controlled territory is a "concession for peace" with Rabat, the group's leader said on Sunday.

Mohamed Abdelaziz, president of the self-proclaimed government in exile for Western Sahara and of Polisario, told Algerian state radio the plan would expand the choices available to Sahrawis under a promised vote on the territory's future.

"We have expressed a real opening towards our neighbour, Morocco," he said of efforts to settle the status of the northwest African territory of some 260,000 people and bring an end to Africa's oldest territorial dispute.

"It's a concession, on our part, for peace," he said.

In its proposal submitted to the United Nations last week, Polisario says it is ready to negotiate with Morocco on ways to hold a "genuine referendum" in the former Spanish colony that would offer "the choice between independence, integration into the Kingdom of Morocco and self-governance".

Previously Algerian-based Polisario had suggested a referendum should offer the choice of only independence or integration into Morocco.

Autonomy or self-governance is the status Morocco seeks to confer on the territory under its own, rival proposal, which was also submitted to the world body last week.

"If the independence option wins, we have indicated our willingness to negotiate with our neighbour Morocco about security, about the economy and even about the worries of the Morocco government about (the future of) Moroccan settlers who live in Western Saharan territory," Abdelaziz said.

Tens of thousands of Moroccans have been encouraged by Rabat to move to Western Sahara over the years, drawn by generous public salaries and tax breaks.

Morocco, claiming centuries-old rights over the territory, annexed it in 1975 when Spain withdrew, triggering a low-level guerrilla war with the Polisario.

A U.N. cease-fire agreement in 1991 promised a referendum on the fate of the territory, but it never took place and Rabat now rules it out, saying autonomy is the most it will offer.

"Sovereignty is at the heart of everything"

The U.N. Security Council will discuss the three-decade-old dispute later this month when the mandate of the 220-strong U.N. peace-keeping mission there comes up for renewal.

Both sides have said they are willing to negotiate, but differ on what the talks should be about.

Morocco says such talks should be limited to the details of autonomy option. But Polisario says such talks should be about how to hold a referendum among Sahrawis on self-determination.

Many countries have extended diplomatic ties to Polisario and recognise its claim to a Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Abdelaziz added: "Sovereignty is at the heart of everything. There is no one who can circumvent the Sahrawis in terms of sovereignty over their territory. That's why we have left to the people all possible choices - independence, integration or autonomy. Unfortunately Morocco's only choice is autonomy."

Polisario says makes concession for Western Sahara peace

[Al-khiyal]

L’ambassadeur de la République sahraouie à Alger a présenté, hier, les grandes lignes de l’initiative politique de règlement du conflit soumise par le Front Polisario à la communauté internationale. Mohamed Yeslem Baïssat a insisté sur les caractères “pacifique et démocratique” de cette proposition dont l’application passe par l’organisation d’un référendum d’autodétermination:

Lundi 16 Avril 2007 -- “La proposition du Front Polisario pour une solution politique mutuellement acceptable assurant l’autodétermination du peuple du Sahara occidental est éminemment démocratique car elle offre à notre peuple l’opportunité de décider de son destin à travers la tenue d’un référendum. Aussi, cette initiative répond aux principes de la légalité tout en prenant en compte les intérêts politiques et économiques des deux parties. Cette initiative est une proposition de paix concrète qui peut être mise en application immédiatement”, a indiqué, hier, le diplomate sahraoui lors d’une conférence de presse animée au siège de l’ambassade de la RASD. Mohamed Yeslem Baïssat a cependant souligné que la proposition de son gouvernement n’a pas pour objectif de contrer le projet d’autonomie que le Maroc tente de faire approuver par l’ONU. “Les deux initiatives n’ont rien à voir. Le projet marocain est égoïste car il n’impose qu’un seul choix. Il ne prend pas en compte les aspirations du peuple sahraoui et de fait est contraire à la légalité internationale”, dira-t-il. Selon lui, “le plan d’autonomie marocain est une initiative post-référendaire qui pourrait être présentée au cas où le peuple sahraoui vote contre l’autodétermination”.

Mohamed Yeslem Baïssat a expliqué que le Front Polisario est disposé à négocier directement avec le gouvernement marocain en vue d’organiser ce référendum d’autodétermination, mais évitera toutefois de se prononcer sur l’existence actuelle de contacts entre les deux parties. Le Front Polisario propose également de négocier l’octroi de garantie concernant le statut et les droits et obligations des colons marocains au Sahara occidental. A travers sa proposition politique, le gouvernement sahraoui présente sa pleine disponibilité à conclure des arrangements sécuritaire et militaire avec le Maroc et à œuvrer à la préservation de la paix et de la stabilité de la région. Notons, enfin, que l’ambassadeur du Sahara occidental à Alger a dénoncé les récents attentats terroristes qui ont eu lieu en Algérie et au Maroc.

Mohamed Yeslem Baïssat, ambassadeur du Sahara occidental à Alger :
"Notre proposition est un appel à la paix"

[Al-khiyal]

Rabat • Morocco accused Algeria yesterday of trying to wreck its proposal to give autonomy to the disputed Western Sahara territory by encouraging the separatist Polisario Front there to present its own plans.

Speaking less than a week after the plan was presented to the UN, Foreign Minister Mohamed Banaissa told a parliamentary committee that Algeria was attacking it “based on erroneous and unfounded grounds”.

He said Algiers was “encouraging the Polisario Front to deceive the international community by tabling an initiative that has no other aim but to block our own constructive proposal”.

On Wednesday, the day Rabat presented the proposal to the UN, the Polisario Front submitted its own plan advocating independence in the Western Sahara and “good neighbourly relations with the Kingdom of Morocco”.

Banaissa said the Moroccan proposal was a “an open proposition aimed at reaching a consensual and realistic settlement that could be enriched by suggestions from other parties during negotiations”.

The Algerian-backed Polisario Front fought Morocco for independence in the Western Sahara from when the territory was annexed by Rabat in the 1970s until a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991.

Morocco says Algeria trying to wreck Sahara plan

[Al-khiyal]

The UN Security Council is set to decide on Western Sahara, the territory disputed between Morocco and the Polisario Front. The UN will examine proposals to settle the dispute and determine whether it will lengthen the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). On April 10th the Polisario Front submitted a plan to the UN and the following day Morocco submitted its proposal to resolve the decades-old dispute.

The Security Council will hold two meetings on the proposals and the future of the MINURSO mandate, which is currently set to expire on April 30th. The first meeting on Friday (April 20th) will consist of a closed door session of nations which have contributed forces to the MINURSO mission, followed by an open session the same day. The Council will hold another meeting on April 27th to vote on the two issues.

The Moroccan initiative

Morocco's proposal calls for Western Sahara to receive autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. It gives Sahrawis the right to run their own affairs by setting up legislative, executive and judicial bodies which "enjoy exclusive powers", according to a draft copy of the proposal. It offers respect for their cultural and social characteristics, but considers Western Sahara a region of Morocco under the sovereignty of the Moroccan kingdom.

Morocco's plan would provide for a local government and judiciary with a high level of autonomy, but ultimately answerable to the Moroccan government and king. Final decisions on national security, defence, territorial integrity, foreign relations and the judicial system would remain within the jurisdiction of the Moroccan government.

The initiative states that, "Morocco pledges to negotiate in good faith and in constructive open spirit to reach a final, mutually acceptable political solution to the dispute plaguing the region." The plan also notes that if the Polisario Front accepts the Moroccan proposal, Morocco will allow for a referendum on the proposal, but not on the question of independence.

The Polisario Front plan

In its plan, the Polisario Front holds fast to its call for a popular referendum on self-determination for the Western Sahara. The Polisario plan views the referendum as the sole solution to the conflict, emphasizing that there is no alternative. The Polisario asserts that its plan is bound by international law, previous UN Security Council resolutions and the Front's prior agreements with Morocco. In its plan the Polisario underscores its desire to reach a mutually acceptable, negotiated solution.

The Polisario Front's plan is based on co-operation with Morocco in the economic, security and social spheres. A Polisario Front official who wished to remain anonymous said that the Front's plan indicates the Polisario's readiness for good neighbourliness and strategic relations with Morocco.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will study the two proposals and present them to member nations of the UN Security Council. One Arab satellite channel quoted Ban Ki-moon as saying it was unlikely that a solution to the Western Sahara conflict would be reached in the near future due to the large discrepancies between the Moroccan and Polisario Front positions.

Proposals to resolve the conflict in the Western Sahara

[Al-khiyal]

UNITED NATIONS: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended that Morocco and an opposing independence movement begin "negotiations without preconditions" on autonomy status for the long-disputed Western Sahara region, according to a U.N. report.

Ban also recommended in his report released Wednesday to the U.N. Security Council that it call on neighboring Algeria, which backs the Polisario Front's demand for independence, and Mauritania, to be included in the negotiations and to consult separately on issues directly affecting them.

Morocco and Mauritania split Western Sahara after its Spanish colonizers left the territory in 1975. Full-scale war broke out the following year, and Morocco took over the whole of Western Sahara 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 the vote has never happened.

Last week, both sides submitted their own proposals to decide the region's status.

Morocco proposed that the territory govern itself while remaining part of the North African kingdom. The Polisario plan asked for free elections and would offer Saharawis a choice of independence from Morocco.

In his report, Ban recommended that the council call on Morocco and the Polisario "to enter into negotiations without preconditions, with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara."

He also encouraged assistance to refugees and progress in clearing an abundance of mines and unexploded ordnance in the territory where the local population and U.N. observers have been killed or injured.

Britain's U.N. ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said a question for a council discussion expected to take place Friday will be whether a resolution on the region should comment on plans by either side.

"There are a range of options there," he said.

Jones Parry cautioned that including details of those plans "could be quite interesting and probably controversial in the council."

After 15 years and more than $600 million, the U.N. has been unable to resolve the standoff between the Polisario Front and the Moroccan government. The current mandate of the 225-member U.N. mission in Western Sahara expires on April 30.

The report said the U.N. mission has continued to "enjoy good relations" with each side, but noted the two sides have continued to abstain from direct meetings with each other.

Both committed an almost equal number of military violations, including the construction of ammunition stores in a restricted area by the Royal Moroccan Army and a concentration of forces in an area of limited restriction by the Polisario, the report said.

Ban also encouraged the parties to lift restrictions on the movement of U.N. military observers who have been prevented from conducting thorough verification operations, the report said.

U.N. report recommends collective negotiations on Western Sahara