New York, March 10, 2012 (SPS) - “The Moroccan approach, which wants both the building of the Arab Maghreb and annexation of Western Sahara, is deeply contradictory,” said Saturday the Polisario Front’s Representative to the United Nations, Mr. Boukhari Ahmed, in New York.
“Giving the fact that Morocco wants to achieve both goals at the same time, the annexation of Western Sahara by force and repressing its people as well as construction of Maghreb, is a clear contradiction,” Mr. Boukhari Ahmed told the Algerian Press Agency (APS).
The Saharawi official indicated, on the eve of the ninth preliminary meeting between the Polisario Front and Morocco to be held Monday and Tuesday in Manhasset (New York), that the Frente Polisario “waiting with interest from this round of negotiation with Morocco that there will be a new from this new government, which came after the recent elections, and different political will to those shown during the previous rounds.”
He indicated that the position demonstrated by Morocco during the last meetings “is a reason behind the obstruction of the course of negotiations and reaching the goal underlined by the United Nations, namely to enable the Saharawi people to exercise their firm right to self-determination and independence.”
“Next round of negotiations will be an occasion and opportunity for Morocco to get rid of the burden of invasion war without a future and violation of international law, its continuation only confirms a doubt in the seriousness of verbal commitments concerning the activation of the path of Maghreb construction,” he added.
“Between reality on the ground and speeches we recently heard from our Moroccans neighbors about the Maghreb construction an explicit contradiction questioning its seriousness,” Polisario Representative to the UN underlined.
Mr. Boukhari considered that this ambiguous approach that hangs over the minds of Moroccan decision-makers “cannot go further,” confirming that the alternative to “this game exists and accessible provided that the Moroccan party shows little of harmony and good will.”
He also said that the challenges which exist today and tomorrow in the region, both on economic and security spheres require us, without exception, to coordinate the efforts as to value our natural resources for Maghreb generations,” pointing out “it is a matter of the only road map and framework that would bring all peoples of Arab Maghreb for the enthusiast accession.”
The ninth round of the preliminary negotiations between Polisario Front and Morocco comes eight months after the previous round, being held under auspices of the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Mr. Christopher Ross, and in the presence of representatives of the observer states: Algeria and Mauritania.
The UN Security Council reiterated, in a resolution approved last April, its “commitment to assist the parties to the conflict to reach a just and lasting solution allowing self-determination of the people of Western Sahara,” calling the Moroccan party to “improve the situation of human rights” of the Saharawis.
The Polisario Front and Morocco have initiated direct negotiations since 2007 under aegis of the United Nations Organization, where they held four direct rounds in Manhasset (New York) as well as eight informal meetings in Vienna (Austria), Valletta (Malta, Italy) and Manhasset (New York). (SPS)
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