 Morocco has called on the European Union institutions to denounce "Polisario" irresponsible and provocative actions and impediment acts to a definitive solution to the Sahara issue conducted by the separatists who are planning to organize their "congress" in Tifariti buffer zone.
In a letter to the EU presidency, the EU Council, the European Commission and Parliament, Morocco points out that this is another violation of ceasefire agreements proclaimed in 1991.
According to the letter sent to European institutions by the Moroccan Ambassador to the European Communities, Mr. Menouar Alem, these are new manoeuvres by "Polisario" clearly aiming at damaging the positive momentum generated by the Moroccan autonomy initiative reinforced by the latest Security Council resolutions (1754 and 1783) and the General Assembly and greeted by all the international community.
These actions, says the letter, sent also to EU senior officials and several MEPs, endanger the serenity climate that should prevail at this crucial stage of the negotiation process between parties.
The letter added that since ceasefire declaration, "Polisario" was responsible for several violations, proved by UN Secretary General reports and that no UN documentation recognizes any territory division, or a so-called "Polisario" sovereignty in eastern defence area.
Morocco, the letter continues, regrets that "Polisario" uses, again and in disregard of humanitarian law, civilian population as part of a propaganda operation in a high-risk region, hoping to win legitimacy and representativeness of the Sahara population, of which it represents only a minority, which is itself detained in the Tindouf camps and therefore cannot express itself freely.
Accordingly, the letter says, the displacement of hundreds of people and their leadership by military elements, wearing civilian clothes for the occasion are, as pointed out by the UN Secretary-General, "a breach of the military agreement no.1 "(reports S/2005/254, April 19, 2005 and S/2007/207, April 30, 2007) and" contributes to heightened tensions on the ground and can cause a deterioration of the situation along the defence wall. " (See report S/2005/648, October 13, 2005).
The ambassador recalled that in the southern provinces, people contribute actively at the local, regional and national levels in the political, economic, social and cultural life in Morocco. This was demonstrated during the last legislative elections in September, when participation rate in the region was the highest compared to other regions of Morocco, ranged from 52 pc to 64 pc.
The ambassador also highlighted the role of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS), the representative of various segments of the population in the region, in developing the Moroccan Initiative for the Negotiation of an Autonomy Statute in the Sahara and its active participation in negotiations.
Source: MAP
News and events on Western Sahara issue
|