President of European Parliament promises to inform parliament on Sahara issue
Morocco-European Union, Politics, 2/10/2000

President of the European Parliament, Nicole Fontaine, promised to endeavor to correct information at the parliament on the Sahara issues, particularly on the situation of populations sequestered by the Algeria-backed Polisario secessionists in Tindouf (southwestern Algeria).

After she heard explanations by the Moroccan advisory human rights council (CCDH), the European official conceded that information needs to be completed and proposed that a Moroccan delegation travel to Brussels to explain all aspects of the issue.

The CCDH members said the European Parliament should pay more attention to the plague of people sequestered in Tindouf camps where actual human rights abuses are taking place. They also denounced the embezzlement of humanitarian aid sent to populations by the Polisario leaders for political and military ends.

They also drew Fontaine's attention to Polisario maneuvers to deny to some Sahrawis their right to vote in the UN projected referendum in the Sahara.

In another work session, speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives, Abdelouahed Radi, deplored the recurrent raising of the Sahara issue by some European MPs and said this is not innocent but is part of denigrating Morocco and supporting Polisario propaganda.

Radi said at a dinner function hosted in honor of Fontaine it was Morocco that proposed the referendum and is cooperating with the United Nations in the enforcement of the various stages of the settlement plan. He added that the identification operation of persons eligible to vote in the referendum is not conforming to criteria agreed upon under the settlement plan, depriving thousands of Sahrawis from their right to participate. He cited, in this regard, results of the latest identification operation which declared 2,000 applicants eligible to vote out of a total of 51,000 applicants.

For Morocco, this cannot be a regular, fair and legitimate referendum unless justice is done to all populations of the Sahara, said Radi who insisted that Morocco is attached to international legality.

The issue of Moroccans sequestered by the Polisario was also the topic of talks held between the European Parliament president and Moroccan Human Rights Minister Mohammed Aujjar.

The minister briefed Fontaine on Morocco's human rights record and the king's resolve to enforce a new concept of authority at the service of citizens. He also cited the creation of a commission to compensate victims of human rights abuses as an evidence to Morocco's resolve to settle all past human rights issues.

The European Parliament president, who left Morocco on Wednesday, said her visit was "dense and rich" and hoped for a more ambitious development of relations between Morocco and the European Union.

During her three-day visit to Morocco, Fontaine was received by King Mohammed VI who decorated her with the Grand Cordon of the Alawit Wissam.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco and EU call for activation of political dialogue   (12/3/1999)
  Moroccan speaker attends European Parliament's session   (12/2/1999)
  European Union voices full support to UN settlement plan in the Sahara   (6/22/1999)

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