UN envoy for Sahara says he delivered new initiative for political settlement of Sahara issue
Morocco-Algeria, Politics, 1/16/2003

The UN secretary general's personal envoy for the Sahara, James Baker, who started on Monday from Morocco a tour in the region, said he has delivered "a new initiative allowing for political settlement of the Sahara issue."

The UN envoy who was received by King Mohammed VI told "Abu Dhabi" satellite TV channel he submitted to the sovereign and to the Moroccan government a proposal in this respect.

Baker, who was appointed to the position five years ago, was mandated, last July 30, by the UN Security Council, to search for a political solution to end the longstanding conflict.

After Morocco, the former US secretary of state will travel to Algeria, Tindouf (South-Western Algeria) where the separatist polisario is based.

Commenting on Baker's trip, the Moroccan media reiterated this Wednesday that any solution to the Sahara issue should respect Morocco's indisputable sovereignty over the Sahara provinces, liberated from Spain's occupation in 1975.

For "Le Matin Du Sahara et du Maghreb" Baker's meeting with the sovereign bears a special significance because it took place at a time the world body has been intensifying efforts to resolve the problems and at a time Morocco is insisting that any solution should cater for Morocco's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"Al Bayane" also notes the unanimity in Morocco over the sine-qua-non condition of Morocco's indisputable sovereignty over the Sahara provinces liberated in 1975. Since then, the paper explains, UN efforts to put an end to the conflict triggered by Algeria have been frustrated by maneuvers meant to create a puppet state.

The columnist also points out that Baker is conducting his trip in an evolving regional context marked by resumption of contacts between Morocco and Spain (the former occupying country of the Sahara) to improve their bilateral relations.

While Spain has grown convinced of the need to reckon with Morocco's firm stand and as a member of the UN Security Council is shouldering a new responsibility to help settle the issue on the basis of UN resolutions, Morocco's eastern neighbor (Algeria) should understand that Morocco will not give up this crucial issue, adds the columnist.

For "Liberation," Baker's tour is a last-ditch effort by the international community to find a political solution that is accepted by all parties concerned.

The paper further comments that while Morocco has accepted some years ago the principle of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, it is still worried by the situation of Moroccan prisoners of war (estimated by the ICRC at 1,260) who have been held on Algerian soil for over 20 years. Morocco is also worried about the sequestration of thousands of Moroccans in the so-called refugee camps in Algeria, the paper goes on.

"L'Economiste" writes that pending the publication of Baker's new proposal, probably after he ends his tour or during the security council debates slated for end of this month, Morocco, which has expressed keenness to listen to the UN envoy and study his proposals, will not renounce its territorial integrity and remains ready to start dialogue.

But Morocco's interlocutor is actually Algeria because Morocco is convinced that the whole issue is a Moroccan-Algerian dispute, the paper insists.

Meanwhile, "Aujourd'hui Le Maroc" says the problem is to craft a comprehensive dynamic likely to get out of the present deadlock and Baker should focus efforts on Algiers because the solution of the problem lies there.

The columnist says Algeria and Spain are turning their back to the future. Even inside the two countries, there are some who realize the uselessness of their countries' traditional, retrograde and obsolete stands that hinder evolution of cooperation in the south Mediterranean bank, adds the editorial.

It is now clear that when Algeria and Spain keep on kindling this artificial conflict, they are, in fact, delaying a whole package of multilateral progress, the only factor likely to put the Mediterranean region on the track of growth, development and prosperity. Since the time when Baker was entrusted with this issue, we will not dare to say that he does not know the reality of facts, the paper concludes.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco says it will constructively study Baker's proposals   (1/15/2003)
  Sahrawi association decries human rights violations by Polisario   (1/14/2003)
  Morocco says it is ready to listen to U.N. envoy's proposals on Sahara   (1/10/2003)

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