In a statement to the MAP on the sidelines of a reception held at the headquarters of the British Parliament in London in the United Kingdom on the occasion of the publication of his book "Autonomy in the Sahara, a prelude of Maghreb regions," Prof. El Ouali stressed that the draft submitted by Morocco has the merit of taking the best in the different experiences that have been successful in the world, including Finland and Spain. 

The Moroccan initiative, which aims to allow the Sahrawi people manage democratically and freely their local affairs, comes within the democratic momentum known by Morocco. The author has also explained that the self-independence approach has been followed so far "is a wrong approach" which cannot be applied to the Sahara issue, which remains, he said, a territorial question between a colonizing power (Spain) and Morocco, which sought to recover its territory.  

Echoing the same view, the author of the book noted that the approach of self independence as it was adopted in the past, was politically biased because some countries in the region, namely Spain and Algeria, wanted to create an artificial state in the region.

"If the self-determination principle had been applied as desired by Morocco in 1957, the matter would have been set as expected," he said, adding that the Spaniards and later Algerians have manipulated the issue to serve their own interests.  

Speaking about the failure recorded since 1965 at the application level of self independence, Pr El Ouali stressed that the Moroccan autonomy initiative is timely to overcome an unbearable deadlock situation in an era which imposes the need to relaunch the process of integration within the Maghreb region. 

Stressing that "Morocco has made a major concession" by presenting this initiative autonomy, Professor El Ouali noted that the project sees a change at the conception level.

The researcher explains that there is a new paradigm that is in the process of taking form, namely that the independence solution has become obsolete.  

The disintegration of States currently represents a source of concern for major world powers which see it as a factor of instability, he added, stressing that the creation of unreliable states creates enormous problems not only for indigenous peoples but also for the international community. 

Source: MAP
News and events on Western Sahara issue / Corcas