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President of Republic invites Ban Ki-moon to visit Western Sahara

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UNITED NATIONS, June 12, 2013 (SPS) - The President of Republic, secretary-general of Polisario Front Mr. Mohammed Abdelaziz said on Tuesday, in a press conference in New York, that he has invited United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to visit Western Sahara to give a boost to the peace process there

 

Mohamed Abdelaziz said he met with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and "invited him to give more interest, more attention to Western Sahara." He urged the Ban to visit the region, saying his presence "will be seen as encouraging for the peace effort and could contribute to easing tensions."

 

Polisario Front Secretary-General  expressed “frustration” over the situation, two months after objections from Morocco and its ally France prompted the U.S. to abandon the proposal to give a U.N. peacekeeping force a mandate to monitor human rights in the region.

 

President of Republic also met with the president of the Security Council, British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant. Grant said Abdelaziz suggested the Security Council also visit Western Sahara.

 

"Clearly, the Polisario are disappointed at the pace of progress on the political tract and they are also concerned about the human rights situation in the Western Sahara," Grant said.(SPS)

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