Morocco renews determination to arrive at final political solution to fabricated sahara issue
Morocco-Algeria, Politics, 9/16/2002

Morocco has renewed its sincere determination to arrive at a final political solution to the fabricated issue of the Sahara and emphasized its readiness to pursue its cooperation with the Secretary-General as well as with his Personal Envoy and with the Security Council in order to achieve a lasting political solution to the issue.

"Concerning the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, the Kingdom of Morocco would like to recall its constant good will and sincere determination to arrive at a final political solution to this fabricated issue," said Moroccan minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Mohamed Benaissa, in remarks Saturday before the 57th session of the UN General Assembly.

Benaissa who recalled that Morocco has always cooperated with the United Nations in this regard, emphasized the kingdom's "readiness to pursue its cooperation with the Secretary-General as well as with his Personal Envoy Mr. James Baker and with the Security Council in order to achieve a lasting political solution to the issue of the Sahara in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1429."

"Such an approach will pave the way for the creation of propitious conditions for a new dynamic in the region of the Arab Maghreb, which will enable it to become an economic partner stable and worthy of the trust of other regional groupings," he said, recalling that "in this context, Morocco supported the option of the framework-agreement submitted by Mr. James Baker to the Security Council as a basis for negotiable political solution for this long-standing conflict, which would preserve the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco and its historical sovereignty on its land, and would ensure for the population of the Sahara provinces the exercise of large-scale competences in terms of running their affairs within the framework of regional democratic institutions."

"Morocco accepted this option as a basis for negotiation in order to reach a final and lasting solution to this regional conflict," Benaissa insisted.

Touching on the situation of the Moroccans detained in Algeria, the Moroccan official said " Morocco calls insistently for the enforcement of the provisions of Security Council Resolution 1429 calling for the immediate release, without restriction or condition, of all the 1260 Moroccans detained in Algeria."

"The international community and the humanitarian organizations, on the forefront of which is the International Red Cross Committee, have been unanimously formulating the same demand," he recalled, insisting that "Morocco rejects categorically any political exploitation of the humanitarian aspects related to the Sahara problem, the more so since the problem concerns the fate of the oldest detainees in the world."

Previous Stories:
  UN secretary general hopeful that political settlement will end sahara conflict   (9/13/2002)
  Le Nouvel Afrique-Asie: Moroccan fm ascribes deadlock in sahara settlement to Algeria   (9/11/2002)
  Butaflika congratulates King Mohammed on anniversary date   (8/31/2002)

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