Like the previous four rounds of Manhasset, the other party, which remained attached to its obsolete thesis, Communication Minister and the government Spokesman, Khalid Naciri, quoted Fassi Fihri as saying on Thursday at a press briefing following the weekly cabinet meeting.

    Fassi Fihri said that Morocco reiterated its political, legal and practical stance regarding the Polisario's proposal, stressing that the latter brought nothing new in terms of opportunities and mechanisms to reach a final settlement to this conflict.

    The polisario's proposal, the minister said, clings to narrow reading of the principle of self-determination and to the referendum option that is no longer mentioned by the Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.

    He said that the Moroccan delegation to the informal Armonk meeting highlighted the characteristics of the Moroccan autonomy initiative, which was described as “serious and credible” by the Security Council.

    Fassi Fihri added that the Armonk meeting took place in a context marked by the Polisario’s hostile campaign with the strong and explicit support of the Algerian authorities in a bid to obstruct the negotiation process.

    The minister reiterated Morocco’s condemnation of all attempts to sabotage the negotiation process and undermine the momentum spurred by the Moroccan autonomy initiative.

     He deplored the fact that the Algerian authorities maintain the blockade on Tindouf camps and refuse to allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to take a census of the populations of these camps.

    In this regard, Morocco once again denounces the lack of real commitment from the other party to achieve a political solution to the Sahara issue.
Source: MAP
News and events concerning Western Sahara issue/ Corcas