No referendum without all Sahrawis, Morocco says
Morocco, Politics, 3/25/2000

Morocco renewed its opposition to the holding of a self-determination referendum in the Sahara if all Sahrawis are not allowed to participate in the vote.

There will be no referendum in the Moroccan Sahara without the participation of all Sahrawis, Moroccan minister in charge of the government's general affairs, Ahmed Lahlimi told Egyptian Al-Ahram weekly.

The United Nations has been trying to hold the vote since the early 1990's to determine whether the former Spanish colony --retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid Accords-- sets up on its own, as claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario front, or remains part of Morocco.

The referendum has been halted due to Polisario's effort to exclude genuine Sahrawis from the poll rolls. The whole process is now at a standstill pending a new mediation by James Baker, Personal envoy of the U.N. secretary-general for the Sahara.

In his interview with Al-Ahram, Lahlimi insisted that the referendum will be a mere formality, as it will confirm the Sahara as Moroccan territory.

If all Sahrawis without exception are not allowed to vote, there will be no referendum he said. "The most practical and realistic way out will be to find a solution between Morocco and Algeria," he said.

Algeria supports the Polisario's self-declared republic politically and financially.

This solution should be based on "giving up the bloody masquerade that Algeria imposed and to turn to the Maghreb," Lahlimi said, adding, "In this case the border issues and Algeria's ambitions to have access to the Atlantic Ocean will no longer have a raison d'etre."

An entente between Morocco and Algeria is likely to consolidate the negotiating power of the region and help the peoples of the Maghreb benefit from their riches, Lahlimi said.

Algeria's direct involvement in the Moroccan Sahara issue is the major obstacle hindering the evolution of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA, mustering Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) into a full-fledged regional grouping. UMA was set up in 1989.

The Moroccan official also deplored the adverse consequences of the closure of Moroccan-Algerian borders on bilateral exchanges. The two neighbor states have important assets that can generate mutual well-being, he said.

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