Speaking on Sunday to the Qatar-based international satellite TV "Al-Jazeerah", chairman of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (known by French acrononym -CORCAS), Khalihenna Ould Errachid called on the Polisario, to allow the return to the motherland (Morocco) of tens of thousands of Sahrawis being held against their will in the Tindouf Camps (southwestern Algeria).
He said the Polisario is now provided with all opportunities to "ensure the dignity of the Sahara people inside the Kingdom of Morocco and to achieve all its historical claims in the political, economic, social and cultural fields."
The Polisario which receives logistic, financial, military and political support from Morocco’s eastern neighbour, Algeria, has been, since 1976, seeking to separate Morocco’s Southern Provinces from the rest of the country. The North African kingdom retrieved the former Spanish colony in 1975 under the Madrid Accords signed with Spain and Mauritania.
Touching on Morocco’s proposal to grant a larger autonomy to the Saharan Provinces, the CORCAS chairman insisted it would meet expectations of all parties and would constitute the best means to settle the Sahara dispute in accordance with international legality.
Kahnnihenna Ould Errachid noted that this conflict has rather “delayed” the edification of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) made up of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania. It also divided Africa and constitutes a hot spot in the region that should be eradicated, he went on.
He also spoke about what he called the “deplorable conditions” in which the Sahrawi population live in the Tindouf Camps, warning that “divergences could get worse inside the camps if the Polisario leadership does not engage, as soon as possible, negotiations meant to put and end to the conflict by adopting the autonomy (proposal)”.