Visiting President of the parliamentarian majority group in Peru, Luis Javier Gonzales Posada Eyzaguirre, says the vote of the United Nations General Assembly on the Sahara is "a clear turning point" in favor of the autonomy project, which Morocco proposes to settle the Sahara dispute.
Peru backs Morocco's territorial integrity, Posada told press at the end of a meeting with the Chairman of the Royal Advisory Council for Sahrawi Affairs, Khalihenna Ould Errachid, recalling that his country abstained from voting at the last UN General Assembly in favor of an Algerian draft on the Sahara.
He also stressed the importance of dialogue in the conflicts resolution, calling to promote dialogue with Latin America countries to acquaint them with the realities of the Sahara issue.The Peruvian MP hailed the excellent relations between Morocco and Peru, deeming them "exemplary".
Luis Javier Gonzales Posada, who is on a visit to the kingdom till January 10, also met Moroccan Prime Minister Driss Jettou.
More support has come from Singapore. The country backs Morocco's efforts to reach a "just and equitable" solution to the Sahara issue, according to Singaporean Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
"We support the efforts displayed to reach a just and equitable solution to the Sahara issue," stressed Chok Tong in an interview published Monday by the French-speaking daily "Le Matin du Sahara et du Maghreb".
He also deemed that the settlement of this issue "would bring a lasting and stable peace to the region," noting that "the position of Singapore on such issues is based on two principal considerations. Initially, it is preferable to reach any solution in a peaceful way and by consensus. Secondly, we are attached to the respect of the rule of the international law, as well as of international agreements and engagements."
Bulgaria also reiterated its support. "We support a final solution to the Sahara issue that is accepted by all parties", said Bulgaria's ambassador in Rabat, Katya Petrova Todorova.
Bulgaria "will continue to back up the efforts aiming to find a final solution that is accepted by all parties within the framework of the UN," said Petrova Todorova in an interview published Friday by the French-speaking daily "Le Matin du Sahara et du Maghreb".
The Bulgarian diplomat noted that the solution to this conflict should emanate from an agreement based on negotiations between the concerned parties.
Evoking the autonomy project in the southern provinces within Moroccan sovereignty, Petrova Todorova said his country "appreciates that the project elaboration emanates from dialogue between political parties and representatives of all Saharawi population components."
The Sahara issue was triggered in the mid-seventies by the claim of the Algeria-backed "Polisario" to separate the Moroccan southern provinces, known as the Sahara, from the motherland, after they were retrieved from Spanish rule in line with the Madrid accords signed in 1975.
Most of the Sahrawi population aspire to continue to belong to their country, Morocco, said government spokesman, Nabil Benabdallah (pictured left).The Sahara issue took a new direction in 2006, the minister told the second national TV channel "2M", noting that the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) plays a major role in this respect by presenting Morocco's new approach to the international community, which consists in granting a large autonomy to the southern provinces, known as the Sahara.
Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
3 comments:
Most of those quotes sound like diplomatic boilerplate endorsing negotiation and non-violence instead of endorsements of the autonomy plan.
In the post, you say most Sahrawis want to be integrated with Morocco. If that's true, why won't Morocco hold the referendum it has promised since 1991?
I have yet to see any non-Moroccan source that says most Sahrawis want to be unified with Morocco.
"The autonomy project that Morocco proposes to settle the Sahara issue is the best solution to settle this conflict" - Daifallah Yahdih, former Polisario member who has recently returned to Morocco.
Certainly, David. Yahdih is only one of many former Polisario members who are for the autonomy plan. I think there are some Polisario members in CORCAS. That so many members of Polisario have defected from the movement raises questions about the Polisario leadership and the front's effectiveness.
I wonder whether the Moroccan government has influenced these Sahrawis living in Morocco. Either way, a referendum with options for integration, autonomy, and independence is the best way to determine the will of the Sahrawi people.
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