Morocco king rejects independence for Western Sahara

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has ruled out any peace deal that
allows for the independence of the Western Sahara as the United
Nations renews efforts to resolve the decades-old dispute.

A UN peacekeeping force has been deployed in the former Spanish
colony since 1991 with a mandate to organise a referendum on its
independence or integration with Morocco.

Morocco agreed to the vote in a 1988 agreement with the
pro-independence Polisario Front that ended 13 years of conflict
but has since blocked it being held, saying it will accept only
autonomy for the territory.

“No settlement of the Sahara affair is possible outside the
framework of the full sovereignty of Morocco over its Sahara and
the autonomy initiative, whose seriousness and credibility the
international community has recognised,” the king said in a
televised address on Monday.

His speech marked 42 years since hundreds of thousands of
Moroccan civilians marched across the border to lay claim to the
mineral-rich territory.

The “Green March” triggered a war with the Algerian-backed
Polisario Front which had been campaigning for independence for the
territory since 1973.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in April that
called for a new push for talks between Morocco and the
Polisario.

The new UN envoy, former German president Horst Kohler, held
talks with both sides last month.

The king said Morocco was committed to contributing to the “new
momentum” desired by the United Nations and to cooperating with the
new envoy.

But he said it would categorically reject “any overreach, any
attempt to undermine the legitimate rights of Morocco”.

The king said Morocco would press ahead with its own plans for
the development of the Western Sahara, regardless of the progress
of the new peace push.

“We are not going to sit idly by waiting for the solution to be
found,” he said.

“We will continue to stimulate the development of our southern
provinces and provide their people with the conditions for a free
and dignified life.”

Tens of thousands of Sahrawi refugees have lived for decades in
desert camps run by the Polisario in neighbouring Algeria.

Spread over 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 square miles)
where the desert meets the Atlantic Ocean, the Western Sahara is
the last territory on the African continent whose post-colonial
status has yet to be resolved.

Morocco controls all of the territory’s main towns. The
Polisario controls parts of the desert interior.

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic declared by the Polisario
is a member of the African Union and recognised by many African
governments.

Morocco’s claim to the territory is supported by the Arab
League.

The conflict has poisoned relations between Morocco and Algeria
for decades. The land border between the North African neighbours
has been closed since 1994.

AFP

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has ruled out any peace deal that
allows for the independence of the Western Sahara as the United
Nations renews efforts to resolve the decades-old dispute.

A UN peacekeeping force has been deployed in the former Spanish
colony since 1991 with a mandate to organise a referendum on its
independence or integration with Morocco.

Morocco agreed to the vote in a 1988 agreement with the
pro-independence Polisario Front that ended 13 years of conflict
but has since blocked it being held, saying it will accept only
autonomy for the territory.

“No settlement of the Sahara affair is possible outside the
framework of the full sovereignty of Morocco over its Sahara and
the autonomy initiative, whose seriousness and credibility the
international community has recognised,” the king said in a
televised address on Monday.

His speech marked 42 years since hundreds of thousands of
Moroccan civilians marched across the border to lay claim to the
mineral-rich territory.

The “Green March” triggered a war with the Algerian-backed
Polisario Front which had been campaigning for independence for the
territory since 1973.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in April that
called for a new push for talks between Morocco and the
Polisario.

The new UN envoy, former German president Horst Kohler, held
talks with both sides last month.

The king said Morocco was committed to contributing to the “new
momentum” desired by the United Nations and to cooperating with the
new envoy.

But he said it would categorically reject “any overreach, any
attempt to undermine the legitimate rights of Morocco”.

The king said Morocco would press ahead with its own plans for
the development of the Western Sahara, regardless of the progress
of the new peace push.

“We are not going to sit idly by waiting for the solution to be
found,” he said.

“We will continue to stimulate the development of our southern
provinces and provide their people with the conditions for a free
and dignified life.”

Tens of thousands of Sahrawi refugees have lived for decades in
desert camps run by the Polisario in neighbouring Algeria.

Spread over 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 square miles)
where the desert meets the Atlantic Ocean, the Western Sahara is
the last territory on the African continent whose post-colonial
status has yet to be resolved.

Morocco controls all of the territory’s main towns. The
Polisario controls parts of the desert interior.

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic declared by the Polisario
is a member of the African Union and recognised by many African
governments.

Morocco’s claim to the territory is supported by the Arab
League.

The conflict has poisoned relations between Morocco and Algeria
for decades. The land border between the North African neighbours
has been closed since 1994.

AFP