This solution is based on the autonomy initiative which remains on the table, within the framework of territorial integrity, national sovereignty and the immutable values of the Moroccan State, with the aim of putting an end to this long-running conflict, Fassi Fihri said at the House of Advisors’ question time.

    The conclusions of the latest resolution (1920) by the Security Council, the minister went on to say, stress the clear elements specified by this council to support the UN Secretary General and his personal envoy, Christopher Ross, in order to reach a consensual and final political solution, while focusing on the negotiation process in accordance with the will of the international community to put an end to this long-standing regional dispute.     
       
    He said that this resolution shows a progress in the way of dealing with this dispute in all its political, legal and humanitarian aspects, underlining that the Sahara issue witnessed a crucial turning point in favour of the autonomy initiative initiated by HM King Mohammed VI to overcome this situation of lethargy and all its hazards.  
 
    This initiative had a tremendous impact on the Security Council which definitively abandoned the referendum option for the benefit of a third choice as being the ideal settlement to achieve a final political solution to this artificial conflict, he noted.

    He recalled the two visits made in the region by UNSG’s personal envoy, Christopher Ross, and the two informal sets of talks held in August 2009 and February 2010.

    The latest informal set of talks occurred at a time when the polisario was conducting a campaign of propaganda and provocation with Algeria’s direct support regarding what they called “human rights abuses” and “natural resources exploitations”, he added.

    This campaign witnessed an upsurge with the nearing of the UNSG’s report, in prelude to the UNSC’s latest resolution, in hopeless attempts to derail the negotiations process through slogans related to the extension of the MINURSO’s mandate, he said.      

    The minister recalled that, in conformity with the royal instructions, official letters were sent to the UNSG to cast light on the Moroccan stance, expose the separatists’ fallacious manoeuvres, and draw the international community’s attention to the appalling human rights situation prevailing in the Tindouf camps on the Algerian territory.

     Fassi Fihri reiterated Morocco’s unwavering stand which calls upon Algeria to end the sufferings of people held captive in the Tindouf camps. He underscored the need to implement a special program of visits to facilitate the return of this population to their mother land, Morocco.

Source: MAP
News and events concerning Western Sahara issue/ Corcas