During this meeting, Mr. Maouelainin Maouelainin Ben Khalihenna said that the CORCAS is “a royal body created by HM the King Mohammed VI on March, 25 in Laayoune”.
HM the King entrusted the CORCAS with three main missions namely reconciling Sahrawis and the Moroccan administration, elaborating an autonomy project and contributing to the socio-economic development of the southern provinces.
He added that the creation of Polisario, which is the cause of the Sahara conflict, went back to 1971-1972 when some Sahrawi students, who were studying at Mohammed V University in Rabat, protested in Tan Tan in order to claim the improvement of their social conditions and push the Moroccan state to recover the Sahara.
However, the demonstrators were repressed and arrested because Morocco was not able to satisfy their claims due to the instability which was reigning then in the country, he added.
The majority of them went later to Mauritania where they created the Polisario Front in 1973 which, at first, was backed by Libya and armed by the eastern bloc, namely Cuba and Algeria which is still supporting the movement.
According to Mr. Maouelainin Maouelainin Ben Khalihenna, the Sahara issue was born outside the Sahara and led to the 1976-1991 war.
After recognizing that war was not the solution, the United Nations intervened in order to organize a referendum based upon identification, explained CORCAS Secretary General.
This step failed technically and politically, as was confirmed by the UN Secretary General himself, since Sahrawis do not live in Morocco only, but also in Algeria, Mali and Mauritania, added Mr. Maouelainin Maouelainin Ben Khalihenna.
With the failure of these two options, two others are remaining, whether to keep the statu quo, which serves nobody’s interest, or adopt the Moroccan proposal which meets Sahrawis claims, preserves the country’s sovereignty and unity and the norms of the international community in terms of autonomy, explained Mr. Maouelainin Maouelainin Ben Khalihenna.
The majority of Sahrawis support autonomy project under Moroccan sovereignty since it was elaborated by the CORCAS whose members represent two thirds of the Sahrawi population while 25 per cent, who live in Tindouf camps in Algeria, are reluctantly detained by a politico-military totalitarian movement.
This zone has become a land which encourages trafficking in human beings, cigarettes, fuel and weapons, he added before mentioning that it might become a field of terrorism with the recent emergence of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat if a quick solution is not found.
This solution is autonomy project under Moroccan sovereignty which will allow Sahrawis handle their political, cultural, economic and social affairs.
- Statement by Mr. Bruce Ramer, honorary president of the American Jewish Committee:
"We are interested in the Sahara issue and we understand that it is not easy. I hope, like Moroccans and everyone that a quick solution to this issue will be found in a manner to ensure safety and security of all parties.
“We want to contribute as much as we can to regional issues and the development of American-Moroccan relations as friends. We want to look at what we can do in helping to better understanding across the world and in the United States among Muslims and Jews»
Source: CORCAS