Paris, June 29, 2019 (SPS) - The resolution of the Western Sahara conflict, enshrining the independence of its territory, is a “key” solution to security and stability in the Maghreb and Sahel regions, said speakers at a conference held at the French Assembly.
Organized for the third time at the France’s Lower House, the conference on Western Sahara was an opportunity for speakers (academics, politicians and activists) to examine the issue from the perspective of security challenges in the Maghreb and Sahel region.
The conference organizer, communist Deputy Jean-Paul Lecoq, told APS that "it is good that the event takes place at the National Assembly because we are talking about the right of a people.”
This meticulous academic has practically deconstructed Morocco's official discourse on the fight against terrorism and illegal immigration, based on "flagrant contradictions" between discourse and practice.
As regards counterterrorism, Professor Carlos Ruiz Miguel was satisfied with a statement by King Hassan II's Minister of Interior, Driss Basri, who had acknowledged, while in exile in France, that the terrorism of the 1990s in Algeria was supported by Morocco.
"Neither war nor peace" in Western Sahara fosters security threats
The "neither war nor peace" situation has favoured the emergence of security threats in the region, which has forced the Sahrawi army to fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.
The Sahrawi authorities have taken additional measures to combat terrorist groups that want to destabilize the region or wear the hat of terrorism to the Sahrawis in their peaceful struggle for independence
Algerian professor Abdelkader Abderrahman at the University of Lyon stressed that covetousness over Western Sahara does not rest "only" on natural resources, but "is linked to geostrategic aspects.”
In his speech, he highlighted Algeria's role as a "regional leader" in addressing the region's security challenges.
"Algeria is assuming its role as a regional leader in the fight against terrorism, even if it does not openly assume it. The Army is very active for the stability and security of the region,” he continued.
He also focused on Algeria's efforts in resolving crises in the region (Western Sahara, Libya and Mali), and its close collaboration with Tunisia in the fight against terrorism. (SPS)
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