No solution to Sahara issue outside Morocco's kingty, king
Morocco, Politics, 11/7/2000

Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Monday stressed that no solution to the Sahara issue is feasible outside Morocco's sovereignty.

"No matter how this (Sahara) issue will evolve, we (`) renew (`) that no solution is feasible outside national unanimity and sovereignty and international legality," said King Mohammed VI in a speech aired on the Moroccan radio and TV on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Green March.

The Green March, one of the major epics in Morocco's modern history, was launched by the Late King Hassan II on November 6, 1975 to free the Moroccan Sahara from the yoke of occupation. Some 350,000 armless Moroccans, men and women, marched through the artificial borders waving the Quran (Islam's holy book) and the Moroccan flag.

The March sealed the return of the southern provinces after years of Spanish occupation.

In his speech, King Mohammed VI called for more mobilization and unity to win the artificial conflict. "In the same way we recovered our Sahara through popular mobilization during the glorious Green March with mobilized ranks, we will, with God's help, win the artificial conflict fabricated around this issue with more general national mobilization, whether at the level of the State and its institutions or at the level of all the political and unionist organizations and associations, that we call to double efforts, at the internal scale, and at the external scale, to firmly oppose the maneuvers and allegations by the enemies of our territorial integrity and to thoroughly explain the firm grounds of our stand within all international instances, whether official or popular."

King Mohammed VI recalled the various initiatives made by Morocco to shelve the artificial dossier, especially at the meetings, brokered by the United Nations in London and Berlin.

"Morocco (..) proposed to the other party, during the meeting held last September in Berlin, to hold a bold and constructive dialogue to study the possibility to reach a political solution within the Moroccan sovereignty and national territorial integrity, within the respect of the democratic principles and the activation of a large decentralization and regionalization," the sovereign said, explaining that "such a concept is likely to help the inhabitants of the southern provinces to manage and develop their region and make it an invulnerable fortress and a strong pillar of the unified Moroccan state."

The king also voiced confidence that "our faithful subjects sequestered in Tindouf are aware that they can have no future, nor glory except in their homeland, Morocco, where they can live in dignity within the genuine democracy their brethren enjoy in all the parts of our Kingdom."

He recalled, in this connection, the efforts made by Morocco in all economic, social, educational and health sectors to develop the southern provinces, especially through employing the largest number of the sons of these regions and training the others to help them integrate in the regional and national economic fabric.

"We are indeed determined to double efforts to mobilize all potentials to guarantee a prosperous and secure life to all our subjects in these provinces to make of them a pole of the economic and social wellbeing to which we aspire for all the regions of our Kingdom, and where the southern regions come first in our priorities," he said.

King Mohammed VI also renewed a call made by the Late King Hassan II on the minority led astray by the separatists. "We renew to the minority, led astray, the testament and pledge of our August father "the homeland is forgiving and merciful."

Previous Stories:
  Africa SI committee calls for states' territorial integrity   (11/2/2000)
  Morocco supports UN action saying SC resolution should have provided for refugee repatriation   (10/31/2000)
  Several African parties pledge again to endeavor to restore international legality about sahara   (10/31/2000)

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