No solution to sahara issue outside Morocco's kingty, Sahrawi tribe chiefs
Morocco, Politics, 8/12/2003

Sahrawi Shioukhs, or tribe chieftains, and notables have rejected any settlement to the Sahara issue outside Morocco's kingty over all its territory, and renewed mobilization behind King Mohammed VI to continue the social and economic development of the Moroccan Saharan provinces.

The Sahrawi tribe chieftains, who were meeting with Interior Minister El Mostapha Sahel, underlined that the intensification of efforts for development is the best reply to the enemies of Morocco's territorial integrity.

Nobody has the power to put into doubt Morocco's national sovereignty and dare to sow discord between the north and the south of Morocco, said Khelli Henna Ould Rachid, President of the municipal council of Laayoune.

The Moroccan population, in the north as in the south, are united for the same struggle to defend the Kingdom's unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty, he said, recalling the fight all Morocco's tribes had waged, under the umbrella of the Crown, to liberate Morocco from the French and Spanish occupation.

For Ould Rachid, the suitable formula for Morocco is the enforcement of local autonomy, as called for by the Late King Hassan II vesting economic and social prerogatives on local populations. The inhabitants of the southern provinces, he said, reject any autonomy likely to harm Morocco's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Hami Bida, President of the region of Laayoune Boujdour Sakia Al Hamra, recalled the bonds of allegiance (Bayaa) binding the inhabitants of the Sahara with the Kings of Morocco.

The official stressed the level of social and economic development reached in the southern provinces since their liberation from Spanish occupation in 1975. The Sahrawis are now proud of the development level in their areas, he said, stressing the freedom and democracy prevailing in these regions.

The new settlement plan proposed last month by James Baker, personal envoy of the United Nations for the Sahara, to the security council came under fire during the meeting. "We should give no credit to the Baker Plan," said Brahim Bouihi, President of the Provincial Assembly of Laayoune. "As long as Baker ventured to cancel his previous proposals, we can rightfully reject his new plan," he stressed.

Morocco's unity does not depend on a United Nations recommendation, he said, adding Moroccans never submitted to force. Moroccans are a tolerant and peaceful people yes, but they do not tolerate their honor and the security to be put at stake, he added.

Previous Stories:
  Human rights watchdog denounces Polisario's crimes   (8/11/2003)
  Assabah: Sahara issue, a cause for whole Moroccan nation, concerns but an elite in Algeria   (8/11/2003)
  Former Polisario military returns to homeland, Morocco   (8/11/2003)

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