Morocco's insistence on sovereignty over Sahara should be understood, US Congressman
Morocco-USA, Politics, 6/17/2004

A US Congressman on Tuesday said he understood Morocco's "insistence" on its sovereignty over the Sahara, out of fear to see a terrorist entity created in the North West African region.

"We must understand the insistence of Morocco on its territorial integrity," said Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart explaining that the Kingdom "does not want to see installed a terrorist entity on its Sahara that would represent a threat not only for its national security, but also for the national security of the United states and their European allies."

He was alluding to the puppet state "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" proclaimed by the Algerian-Backed separatist movement "Polisario" which is disputing Morocco over the sovereignty of the Moroccan Sahara, previously known as Western Sahara. The former Spanish colony was retrieved by the kingdom in 1975 under the Madrid Accords signed with Spain and Mauritania.

Congressman Diaz-Balart, member of the Commission of Internal security at the House of Representatives, was speaking at the signing ceremony of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Morocco and the United States.

He urged the US to continue its support to Morocco a "stronghold of wisdom and stability" in the North African region and the Middle East.

He also recalled that Morocco, the first country in the world to recognize the birth of the United States of America, has always

sided with the USA, namely under the reign of a "great statesman," the late King Hassan II (father of King Mohammed VI) during "the dangerous period" of the Cold War and today, under the reign of "another great statesman," King Mohammed VI.

Concerning the FTA, Diaz-Balart said it represents a new milestone in the old relations between the two countries, and called the Congress to endeavor for its enforcement "the soonest possible."

Previous Stories:
  Morocco, a bright light of reform and moderation in the Islamic world, Zoellick   (6/15/2004)
  Morocco, leader of reforms in the region, Burns   (5/15/2004)
  Washington not seeking to impose solution on Sahara dispute, Burns   (5/15/2004)

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