Speaking in New York on the eve of the fourth round of UN-led negotiations on the Sahara in Manhasset,  (March 16-18), the Moroccan Minister who is leading the Moroccan delegation to these talks, insisted that Morocco's proposal constitutes a realistic platform for a final settlement of the 32-year old dispute over the Sahara. A former Spanish colony, the territory was ceded to Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid Accords. However, the Polisario, backed by Morocco’s eastern neighbor Algeria continues to claim independence of this  southern part of the Kingdom.

    Mr. Benmoussa who was addressing a meeting attended by the Moroccan delegation to these talks, said, like in the three previous rounds, the delegation is ready to discuss the details of the Moroccan autonomy proposal with the other party, making it clear that “Morocco will accept nothing but autonomy”.  He reiterated the North African country’s firm resolve to put an end to this conflict, while insisting that Morocco will never accept any attempt by the separatists to impose the fait accompli, in an allusion to the recent so-called congress held by the Polisario in Tifariti, a buffer zone at the border with Algeria, from which Morocco withdrew to avoid any clashes with the separatists or even with the Algerian army, and in implementation of the 1991 UN-brokered ceasefire.

    Echoing him, Morocco’s Ambassador to the UN, El Mostafa Sahel, said that the other parties, in an allusion to the Polisario and its mentor Algeria, do not want to engage in the process triggered by Morocco through its autonomy proposal which has received the support of the International Community. He reiterated Morocco’s resolve to preserve its territorial integrity and defend its interests.

    Prior to the fourth round of negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario, United Nations Secretary General's Personal Envoy for the Sahara Peter Van Walsum  toured the north African region in February to consult with the parties involved in this conflict. He visited Morocco, the Polisario-run Tindouf Camps in southwestern Algeria, Algeria and Mauritania. These two countries attend the Manhasset talks as observers.

    At the end of his tour, the UN envoy who is the facilitator of the Manhasset talks, said  he was "not satisfied with the state of negotiations."
Mr. Walsum is expected to submit a report on the issue to  Ban Ki-moon next April. In a recent report to the Council, the UN chief stressed, among other things, that the "parties’ stated positions remained far apart on ways to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution." 

    Morocco and the Polisario have, so far, held three rounds of talks in Manhasset (New York), in June (18-19), August (10-11) and January (7-9) in conformity with UN Security Council resolution 1754 that called for negotiations "without preconditions" and "in good faith."