"Al Hayat": the Council is a fusion of "visions and perceptions about the possible and impossible"
12.20.2006

London based paper "Al Hayat" said in an article published in December 2006 that the Moroccan initiative to restructure the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs, falls in the context of the distribution of power and authority between the center and the region, and based on the principle of decentralization, which is practiced in the framework of one state that provides mechanisms "enabling fusion of visions and perceptions about the possible and impossible. "

Saudi Okad Paper: King keen to enable the Council credibility and effectiveness
6/25/2006

when the Moroccan monarch Mohammed VI came to the city of Laayoune on March 25 this year, issuing orders to release riot detainees, he gave a formal speech considered by political observers as a historic sign to solve the long Sahara dispute, proposing the possibility to entrench a culture of consultation between Moroccans and open wide doors for citizens to contribute to all issues relating to territorial unity of the Kingdom of Morocco.  

The grandson of Mohammed V, the hero of the Moroccan liberation, addressed the historic news of the creation of the Royal Advisory Council for Sahara Affairs, which will give new dynamism and contribute along with public authorities and elected institutions to the defence of Moroccan Sahara, and express the legitimate aspirations of its citizens. The Moroccan monarch is devoted to enable the Council credibility and effectiveness. He personally attended its creation through democratic ballot, in which tribal dignitaries and elected people known for their sincere patriotism took part.

After the founding of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs, the Moroccan king urged the council’s chairman Khalihenna Ould Errachid, former Minister for Saharan Affairs, to carry out serious and deep reflection relating to the autonomy project under Moroccan sovereignty. The Council has started working to achieve the king’s hope to find a consensual solution to this long artificial conflict.

Maghrebiya and Le Matin
leader of the Liberal Mauritanian Party: Council "leading and important measure"

In an interview to  “Le Matin”, Ahmed Ould Domane, leader of the Liberal Party and head of the Mauritanian delegation visiting Morocco said: "We are parties that advocate the unity of the Arab countries especially unity within the same country".   

He adds that the Sahara continuing conflict is very costly to the peoples of the region in terms of stability and socio-economic development. "The trend in the world is the formation of blocs and regional groupings. 

Therefore, we should combat division and disunity. That is why we wholeheartedly support the Moroccan approach to find a solution to the Sahara in the context of broad autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty".

Jeune Afrique: King Mohammed VI has brought life back to the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs
10/24/2006  
 
 
Jeune Afrique: His Majesty King Mohammed VI has brought life back to the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs which had a "central role in setting up autonomy" of the southern provinces. The weekly highlighted, in a 35-page special issue devoted to development and in the southern provinces in various fields, that Morocco has invested at least 20 billion dirhams in the Territories to provide basic infrastructure.

Nouakchott Info: keys to the success of the Moroccan project of self-government its open and democratic aspects
12/22/2006

Nouakchott Info newspaper said on Friday that "participatory and inclusive" dimension which was present in the various stages relating to the preparation of the Moroccan autonomy proposal for the southern provinces is an unprecedented step, and gives greater credibility to the project. 

The newspaper highlighted in an article by the assistant Editor in Chief, Jeddna Ould deda entitled "Moroccan autonomy project", that  "has been the involvement of the population of the desert in determining their future".

(Nouakchott Info) added that another key to success lies in the open and democratic character of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs, which contributed to the preparation of this proposal".

Morocco body drafts W. Sahara autonomy plan "Reuters"

A Moroccan advisory council has proposed autonomy for Western Sahara, a move likely to fuel tension with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front which wants independence for the territory. 

Morocco has been floating the idea of limited autonomy for Western Sahara for some months and the council's plan shows it has buried the prospect of independence for the former Spanish colony.

Polisario has already dismissed autonomy and the council's draft proposal could worsen Morocco's strained relations with its neighbour Algeria.

"The draft plan offers a solution to the territory's problem on the basis of an autonomy," Khali Henna Ould Errachid, chairman of the Royal Consultative Council for Sahara Affairs, told a news conference on Wednesday.

"It offers self-determination via autonomy but it does not propose a self-determination that leads to separation and independence."

"The plan would be a final and complete solution to Western Sahara because it satisfies all the historic demands of the Sahrawis," Ould Errachid said.

French local weekly covers the establishment of corcas
5/6/2006

French regional weekly "Le Petit Niçois"  covered in its last issue the creation of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs as well as the last Royal visit to the Southern Regions which was an opportunity for Sahrawis to express their attachment to their identity and territorial integrity.

The weekly said that letter by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in Laayoune confirms Moroccan attachment to its Sahara.

The weekly added that the south section of the Moroccan Sahrawi tribes in Europe " highly praises the royal initiative (the establishment of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs), which was “enthusiastically received" by all Sahrawis.