The UN Security Council took note in its 1920 (2010) resolution of the autonomy initiative and welcomed serious and credible Moroccan efforts to move the process forward towards resolution, said conservative member of the House of Commons, Andrew Murrisson at the British Parliament.
The autonomy proposal won the support of the majority in the US Congress in 2009 and Senate in 2010, he said, adding that Morocco has earned the respect of the international community thanks to this initiative.
The status quo in the Sahara is unbearable and Independence is not a realistic solution, Murrisson made it clear, echoing statements by UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy for the Sahara Christopher Ross who said “independence is not an option”.
“Independence is not an option neither for the population in Tindouf camps (south-western Algeria) nor for the Maghreb,” Murrisson said.
He underlined the non viability of an independent state in the Sahara, saying that such a state will be manipulated by Algeria and will fall an easy prey for activities of terrorist groups in the region.
In this respect, Murrisson recalled the recent discovery of an arms cache of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in the region of Amgala in Morocco’s southern provinces.
On the other hand, the British MP highlighted Morocco’s considerable efforts in the fields of promoting human rights adding that leading international human rights organizations are present in the country.
Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa director Malcolm Smart, and Human Rights Watch’ Eric Goldstein said that they faced no restrictions during their enquiry on Laayoune events, he added.
Murrisson also drew the attention of the British government to the inhuman situation endured by the Sahrawi human rights activist and former polisario official, Mustapha Salma Ould Sidi Mouloud, who was arrested by Polisario militias in the camp of Tindouf for the sole reason of voicing support for the autonomy initiative, adding that Ould Sidi Mouloud is now separated from his family.
Source: MAP
News and events concerning Western Sahara issue/ Corcas