UN Western Sahara envoy optimistic
2009-07-03
In an effort to resume the stalled Manhasset talks over the disputed Sahara territory, Christopher Ross will mediate an informal meeting between Morocco and the Polisario.
By Naoufel Cherkaoui for Magharebia in Rabat – 03/07/09
 [STR/AFP/Getty Images] UN envoy Christopher Ross (centre), shown with Polisario officials in Tindouf, ended a week-long tour to break the deadlock over Western Sahara. |
UN Western Sahara envoy Christopher Ross ended his second regional tour on June 30th on an optimistic note after securing an agreement that could break the deadlocked talks between Morocco and the Polisario Front over the future of the Sahara territory.
"I'm optimistic about a first informal meeting which, I'm sure, will make an important contribution to the search for a resolution to the conflict, which has gone on too long and which is hindering the work that needs to be done on regional integration," Ross said following talks with Morocco's Foreign Minister Taib Fassi Fihri in Rabat on Monday.
Ross also made stops in Algiers, Tindouf, and Nouakchott. He ended the week-long tour – the second since his appointment earlier this year – in Madrid, where he met with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.
The Moroccan government said it agreed to participate "positively" in the informal meeting on the basis of a recent UN Security Council resolution calling on all parties to enter into serious negotiations.
"Ross is working within a specific mission, which is the implementation of the latest Security Council resolution, which focuses on the need to take into consideration the achievements made in recent years, including the gains made by the Moroccan proposal for autonomy as a compromise solution for the issue of Sahara," Fihri told reporters following his meeting with the UN secretary-general envoy on Monday.
The Polisario Front also vowed a positive approach.
"The Front reiterates its position for co-operation with Mr. Christopher Ross with good intentions in order to implement the latest Security Council recommendation in which it called for holding negotiations between the two parties in dispute, the Polisario Front and Morocco, without any preconditions in order to reach a solution that guarantees the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination," said Mohammed Khadad, co-ordinator of Polisario with the UN.
Khadad, however, said that resuming the negotiations would hinge on the "respect of human rights, as negotiations can't just continue when human rights are being violated in the Western Sahara cities that are occupied by Morocco".
Tajeddine el-Husseini of Mohammed V University in Rabat downplayed Ross' optimism, calling it "an intelligent diplomatic move".
"We cannot depend on that to assess the success of any move towards resolving the situation," el-Husseini told Magharebia. "The agreement of the parties to enter into unofficial talks is not at all a success. Rather, it’s only preparation for a stage that the parties had already tried. Therefore, there is no real development in views. The only new development may be the involvement of some Arab countries, such as Qatar and Libya … to secure some sort of flexibility in the positions of the parties to the dispute."
Four rounds of UN-mediated direct talks in Manhasset, New York, failed to resolve the 30-year dispute. Morocco has proposed autonomy for the disputed territory, but within Moroccan sovereignty. The Polisario wants the status to be decided through a referendum that includes independence as an option. A fifth round of talks scheduled for June 2008 was delayed following objections by the Polisario over a statement by Van Walsum that independence is no longer a realistic option.
A UN Security Council resolution issued in April urged Morocco and the Polisario to achieve a "lasting and mutually acceptable political solution".
Email to a friend
Print version
WILD ABDULLAH Posted 2009-07-03
Salam alikum. To begin with, I would like to say I am a Sahraoui citizen. I hope this won't be an obstacle preventing our Moroccan brothers from listening to my viewpoint. The issue of Western Sahara for Moroccans is a concept with three different visions. The first is the opinion of the simple Moroccan citizen. This is an opinion which is divided in itself to two visions. The first concerns citizens who ignore the topic but who adopted the approach of the Moroccan regime about Moroccanity of the Sahara. They don't necessarily have bad intentions, but the way in which the problem is presented to them (using historical inaccuracies) made them believe that the territory of the Sahara is just a historical extension of Morocco. As to the second vision, it concerns citizens who know that the Sahara is not a Moroccan territory. However, they prefer to keep quiet as they are concerned about themselves. The second opinion concerns the intellectual class in the Moroccan society. This class knows more than others that the problem of the Sahara was fabricated by the regime in order to adjust internal situation of Morocco (exclusion of the army, excluding any attempt of reform under the pretext that the country faces a danger threatening the security of its unity). But this class preferred to keep silent to avoid prosecution by the government. This is due to the ferocity for which the regime is known especially during the rule of Hassan II. As to the third opinion, it is the opinion of major investors in Morocco who have always being behind the attachment of the monarchy to the issue of the Sahara. The objective of this category is to keep up gains even if it were on the detriment of Moroccans. Some of these investors operate in the phosphate sector (by annexing phosphate of the Sahara to the phosphate of Morocco they can occupy leadership in the world in this sector), suppliers of the Moroccan army in Sahara (there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Sahara. This is a secure market for the monopolizers of food products, hydrocarbons, cigarettes, spare parts and different types of services). On the international level, countries which pushed Hassan II to invade Sahara including France, the United States and Spain even if they supported Morocco, their policies are intended only to preserve the region of North Africa unstable. I think the tour of the new special envoy will not come up with anything new. We Sahraoui people don't relinquish our right. This doesn't need that we hate the Moroccan people, no by God, but we are angry at its regime which doesn't spare
FAKOU Posted 2009-07-04
The Polisario has only brought trouble to our neighbours. Ever since it met up with Algeria, the latter had fallen to misery and terrorism. This is not possible!
الهواري Posted 2009-07-04
We are concerned about our brothers who are detained and used as human shields by the military ruling junta in Algeria. Morocco must negotiate with Algeria in order to remove the siege on our brothers detained in the occupied Tindouf to return to their country Morocco. Morocco have to show to the international community that this territory was, is and will be Moroccan. Negotiation is just for the return.
Acharif Moulay Abdellah BOUSKRAOUI Posted 2009-07-04
An Open Letter to His Majesty Mohamed VI- Majesty, the history of the Moroccan Sahara is rich with a glorious past, a past of which we can all be proud. Morocco has always been a land of nobles, warriors, princes and descendents of the Prophet. Majesty, we are proud of our past and our present because, under the reign of Alaouite sovereignty, the Sahara was, is and will remain welcoming with its golden sands and its glorious past. We Sahrawis are proud of being Moroccans. And, we are proud of our young, dynamic sovereign, His Majesty King Mohamed VI, who has done his best for our good and our development. Morocco has made excellent progress in setting up a market economy and the impact of this is already being felt. In the face of such a task, such a noble cause, I wish His Majesty King Mohamed Vi all the success in the efforts he is currently making in favour of peace, security and the well-being of the Kingdom of Morocco and the region. Amen. -Signed, Acharif Moulay Abdellah Bouskraoui
امازيغي Posted 2009-07-04
It is called Moroccan Sahara not Western Sahara. Where have these mercenaries come to claim Sahara? It is Amazigh people who deserve Sahara. Amazigh are its first residents who belong to their Morocco and Sahara together with their Arab brothers who know everything.
bihi Posted 2009-07-04
This is a loss of time and energy. The Sahara is and will remain Moroccan. Mr Bouteflika, give us peace, please!
salma Posted 2009-07-04
Salam. I am Moroccan and as we are with the Sahraoui people in self-determination I ask our Moroccan brothers to be realistic. Sahara is not Moroccan but Western. This is reality.
tunisien 100% Posted 2009-07-04
This is a baffling problem, solve it and leave us in peace.
Kabs Posted 2009-07-04
Logic is first of all concerned with reason and values, not just observation. Did the Sahrawi states exist before 1884? Was there ever a Sahrawi sovereign before 1884? Was there a border between northern Morocco and the Moroccan Sahara before 1884? 1884 marks the year that Spain came. It came at a time when Morocco was weak. It drew borders and declared a new name for this region: the Western Sahara. The European power had a mind to balkanise all the regions they occupied in order to divide and rule. Let us not forget that Spain also colonised Northern Morocco. At best, this problem is a matter of secession, not a matter of decolonisation.
faess1950@msn.fr Posted 2009-07-06
In the name of God the Beneficent the Merciful. Sahara is an integral part of its origin and segment. As a Moroccan citizen, I visited Sahrawi regions and found our Sahrawi brothers enjoying, they have the right to, the resources of the south of their Morocco. Without doubt, those who have smart minds and sound nature recognize their noble country and its honourable regime. They are proud of it. So there is no need for flimsy thoughts and interpretations more fragile than the cobweb.
WILD ABDULLAH Posted 2009-07-06
Salam alikum. Many Moroccans have accustomed us (in all forums to express opinion) to use expressions including Western Sahara, Polisario mercenaries and dissidents, Moroccan citizens imprisoned in Tindouf and other expressions which reflect the ignorance of their authors of the background of the conflict in the Sahara. It is funny to see some of them reiterating “Morocco from Tangier to Lagouira” though Lagouira is currently controlled by Mauritanian authorities with the agreement of the Polisario when signing the peace agreement on August 5, 1979. Don't you believe this? Go there and you will see with your own eyes. If anyone has the right to use expressions of insults, it is Sahrawis who were killed and driven away from their territory who should do but they prefer not to. Do you know why does Morocco claim its right to the Sahara? It is because in 1958 it annexed part of it (province of Terfaya) without any problem. So it became greedier and claimed all western Sahara. In the past, Moroccans used to distinguish themselves from Sahrawis using the expression 'people with black veil) because Moroccans used white veiles. Oued Noune was the natural border separating them.
الهواري Posted 2009-07-06
Without excess or compliment, it is a reality and truth. The Sahara was, is and will remain Moroccan until God inherits earth and everything on it. The issue of the Sahara for the Moroccan people is a crucial issue. It is a matter of life or death. Moroccan people hold on to the territorial integrity and one nation from Tangier to Lagouira. As to the military junta in Algeria it is an issue of entertainment and boasting in order to reduce some of the hatred established in their hears.
Tekchbila Posted 2009-07-07
The Sahara is Moroccan and it will that way through and through. As for the parasites, they live the lives of traitors and they will die as traitors too. Autonomy is a great offer for Morocco to make. May they take it or stay in Tindouf in the generals' Algeria.
WILD ABDULLAH Posted 2009-07-08
Salam alikum my Moroccan brothers. You are reiterating expressions inserted in your minds by the throne regime. What is your evidence that the Sahara is Moroccan? Who is the Moroccan Sultan who ruled the Sahara? The regime which taught you the common empty expressions and slogans addressed for local consumption, if this regime were to abide by international legitimacy and withdrew from Sahara, if it were to address you anew, it will say “We will not forsake one inch of our Sahara”, it would be honest because it might say it was always meaning the Sahara of Morocco including Guelmim, M'hamid Al Ghizlane all regions behind the gate of Sahara to the northern borders of Western Sahara. You keep on repeating the expression mercenaries. Do you think that a mercenary would have resisted all this period? No, it is a cause of an oppressed people who are convinced about their right. Thanks to this conviction they were able to resist in the face of your army supported by the French, American, Spanish and western arms and Israeli expertises in building belts, Saudi and Emirates money, all the media supporting these countries. We have other things in other occasions.
الغالية الركيبي Posted 2009-07-09
I refer readers to see human rights violations supervised by the Polisario front for decades against residents of Tindouf in the scandalous film screened recently in the film festival in Australia. It has stirred the anger of the front which tried to delete its traces. Visit the following link: http://www.sydneyfilmfestival.org/Insight.aspx?newscode=342. You will see the other face of the front which claims defending human rights but it violates them in Tindouf by enslaving part of its population. They are really slaves as they were known in history.
WILD ABDULLAH Posted 2009-07-12
Salam alikum. We heard the request of the sister Ghalia Rguibi to check the link she has introduced about the cinema festival in Australia 'Film Maker'. We understood she meant the film 'Stolen' which was prepared by Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw in order to win a prize of 10.000 dollars. I have followed an interview with them after screening the film. It was clear for the host who interviewed them and the followers that were involved in a fabricated novel about which they knew nothing. They had to read some papers in order to reply. The individuals in question have fabricated a story saying that black people in camps endure slavery and practice of slavery against them. This allegation was denied even by the hero of the story they have weaved (a young Sahrawi black girls who works as teacher). She has come to Australia specifically to deny what the English translation distorted of her speech in the Hassani dialect. She confirmed that she has received money from those concerned in order to narrate things which is consistent with their purpose of the film. The title of the film 'Stolen' meaning those who were stolen or kidnapped was founded by those concerned on facts they have distorted. When the young girl was with her relatives in the occupied Es-Semara. When the Moroccan invasion came, they fled to what is called today refugee camps like other hundreds of thousands of Sahrawis. She was thus separated from her mother who was in another place. As to the producers of the film, they presented the novel as a kidnapping for slavery. I return to the person who called himself/herself Ghalia Rguibi and say that problems we all endure are for others just a source of living and making profit. By the way, they speak as if the phenomenon is spread in all North Africa. Everyone knows today that when there is question of North Africa, the intention is just to find resentments between African Arabs and the African continent.
امال Posted 2009-07-15
What an abusrdity to consider that the Sahara is not Moroccan, hhh.
said Posted 2009-07-23
Long live the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic! My thanks for changing our lives and for the great Obama!
esternnnnnnnnnovich Posted 27 days ago
I just want to say that Morocco and the Sahara are two identical things. Long live Morocco, the Moroccans and, also, the inhabitants of the Sahara, who are the Moroccans! May the Sahara remain Moroccan! –A Moroccan
We welcome your comments on Magharebia's articles.
It is our hope that you will use this forum to interact with other readers across the Maghreb. In order to keep this experience interesting, we ask you to follow the rules outlined in the comments policy. By submitting comments, you are consenting to these rules. While Magharebia.com encourages discussion on all subjects, including sensitive ones, the comments posted are solely the views of those submitting them. Magharebia.com does not necessarily endorse or agree with the ideas, views, or opinions voiced in these comments. This is a moderated forum. Comments deemed abusive, offensive, or those containing profanity may not be published.
Magharebia's Comments Policy