The speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Chile Ricardo Lagos Weber reaffirmed last Wednesday before members of the Moroccan parliamentary delegation chaired by Hakim Benchemach, speaker of the second Chamber, currently visiting Chile, his support for the efforts of the United Nations to find a just and equitable solution to the artificial conflict created around the Sahara, thus reiterating Chile's interest in the Moroccan autonomy proposal as the sole solution to the Moroccan Sahara issue.
Mr. Weber, who received the Moroccan delegation at the Chilean National Congress headquarters in Valparaiso, expressed his sentiments of esteem and consideration for the democratic and development model adopted by Morocco.
The Speaker of the House of Councilors Hakim Benchamach also stressed the importance of this Moroccan parliamentary visit, which will strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries on all matters of common interest and contribute to deepening good relations between Morocco and Chile, mainly after the visit in 2004 by His Majesty the King.
For his part, Ahmed El Kharif, member of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (Corcas), of the Bureau of the Second Chamber and representative of the Central American Parliament, said that the Polisario has no legitimacy to speak in the name of Sahrawis, and that legitimate and authentic representatives of the southern provinces are the only ones entitled to speak on behalf of Saharawi inhabitants.
Ahmed El Kharif added that these provinces as an integral part of Morocco, have their institutions, their local elected officials regionally and nationally, reaffirming that they have the right to speak with legitimacy on behalf of Saharawis .
-News on Western Sahara issue / Corcas-