"Morocco is deeply convinced that a solution is not possible without Algeria's active involvement in the peace process, given the key role this country can play to overcome obstacles and reconcile viewpoints," said the Moroccan Minister of Interior at the opening of the fourth round of negotiations between the North African country and the Polisario in Manhasset, outskirts of New York.

    Chakib Benmoussa reiterated Morocco's call to "our brothers in this sister, neighbor nation, asking them to seize this historic opportunity in order to turn the page on the past and to contribute to leading our peoples towards a bright future (...) instead of wasting resources on outdated disputes that only lead to hegemony and balkanization."

    The Moroccan minister made a similar call to the Polisario separatist urging them to "contribute effectively to finding a mutually acceptable solution that fulfils their desire to run their own regional affairs" in an allusion to Morocco's proposal to grant substantial autonomy to its Southern Provinces, known as the Sahara. 

    "There is no room any longer for hegemony, recklessness or foreign exploitation," Mr. Benmoussa told the Polisario representatives whom he expects "to show, in concrete ways, that they are partners able to assume their responsibilities, that their claims are realistic ones and that they are major enough to take part in genuine reconciliation."
 
     He voiced Morocco’s determination to “engage in serious negotiations,”  adding that the kingdom is fully prepared to shed light on the various aspects of the autonomy Initiative, “which remains the only course of action likely to lead to a final solution for the Sahara dispute as well as an honorable way out for all (…).”

    This “bold initiative”, he insisted, has paved the way for the negotiations underway as has contributed to breaking the stalemate which had lasted for so many years. He made it clear that this Initiative, which received support of the International Community and the influential powers, “is neither a stratagem nor an improvised scheme”  and was the result of meetings and consultations involving all of the Kingdom’s institutions and the nation’s stakeholders, particularly the Shioukhs, elected officials, dignitaries and civil society in the Southern Provinces.

    The UN Security Council had, in its resolution 1754, praised the efforts exerted by Morocco, calling them serious and credible. The Council, as Mr. Benmoussa put it, was even more explicit in resolution 1783 when it stressed that negotiations should take into account the efforts exerted since 2006, which is a clear reference to the autonomy Initiative proposed by Morocco.

    The Moroccan minister once again deplored the attitude of the other parties (the Polisario and its mentor Algeria) who are “still clinging to the same rigid stances and obsolete ideas which had precipitated the Sahara issue into a stalemate.”  He lashed out at their “ill thought-out proposal” which, he insisted is nothing but a “desperate attempt to waste time, undermine the negotiations and frustrate the efforts of the International community to resolve the Sahara dispute once and for all.”

    Morocco and the Algerian-backed separatists have been disputing since 1976  the control of the  former Spanish colony that was ceded to Morocco a year earlier under the Madrid Accords.

    Mr. Benmoussa also deplored that the “other parties are opting for an escalation of tensions and are threatening to go back to armed struggle”, as was illustrated recently by the Polisario so-called “congress” in Tifarity, a buffer zone at the border with Algeria.  Morocco pulled out its troops from this zone in implementation of the 1991 UN-brokered ceasefire and in a bid to avoid any clashes with the separatists or even with the Algerian army.

    Despite these provocative acts, including the recent killing of a policeman in line of duty by a gang of Polisario sympathizers in Tan-Tan (south), Morocco, the minister said, reaffirms its commitment to dialogue as a civilized means to resolve pending issues. He however made it clear that the Kingdom of Morocco “will not accept, under any circumstances, that the status quo in that region be modified, or that any fait accompli be imposed in its territory, including in areas east of the berm” and that Morocco is fully determined to preserve and defend its territorial integrity, throughout its Sahara. 

    The minister concluded that “Morocco is determined to work for an honorable way out and for the achievement of a win-win political solution which conforms to international legality.“

    In addition to Mr. Benmoussa, the Moroccan delegation includes Foreign Affairs Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri, Chairman of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) Khalihenna Ould Errachid, and chief of Morocco’s intelligence (DGED) Yassine Mansouri.

News and events relating to Western Sahara issue / Corcas