Sahara partitioning proposal inapplicable, former official
Morocco-Algeria, Politics, 2/22/2002

Former advisor to the late King Hassan II, Abdelhadi Boutalib, stressed on Thursday the UN secretary general's option to partition the Sahara territory is inapplicable given the nature of the local population made of several tribes.

In a program broadcast by the Moroccan TV channel "2M," Boutaleb explained that one of the four options cited in the UN secretary general's latest report on the Sahara, namely dividing the territory, cannot be applied since the population is made of several tribes and only the monarchy can unify these tribes and guarantee the integration of all the society's cultural components. He went on that the Polisario, an Algeria-backed separatist movement, is unable to guarantee the unity of the population because the guerilla movement only represents two tribes.

The former royal advisor also stressed the solution of the Sahara issue lies in the framework agreement, engineered by the UN secretary general's personal envoy James Baker and providing for a large autonomy of the territory under Moroccan sovereignty.

He also called the international community and the United nations not to endorse the UN orientation to harm Morocco's territorial integrity and its inalienable sovereignty over its southern provinces, which is a major principle of the states' right to preserve their territorial unity. He further urged the U.S.A. to use the veto in case this option is chosen by the security council and warned that the creation of a puppet entity in the region will have negative effects.

Abdelhadi Boutaleb was answering questions on a report submitted on Wednesday by UN secretary general Kofi Annan in which he outlines four options for the Sahara issue: either to implement the (initial) settlement plan, revise the framework agreement, partition the territory or end the UN mission in the territory.

The former royal advisor also insisted that Morocco has always opted for international legality in its process to recover its territories as evidenced by the ruling of the International Court of Justice in 1975, Morocco's proposal in Nairobi in 1981 to hold a referendum in the territory and its acceptance of the framework agreement as a basis for negotiations.

He also explained that by making this proposal, Algeria which claimed to be defending the self-determination right of people has unmasked its real image as it is now clear that it was actually after an outlet on the Atlantic Ocean. "This new data has revealed the reality of the conflict with Algeria," he went on.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco renews rejection of any project or proposal meant to harm its territorial integrity   (2/21/2002)
  Algeria seeks to create vassal state in Moroccan sahara, diplomat   (2/21/2002)
  Morocco exacts unconditional release of Moroccans detained on Algerian soil   (2/14/2002)

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