Sahara issue is a Morocco-Algeria problem that must be settled through dialogue, Italian speaker
Morocco-Italy, Politics, 6/25/2004

The Sahara issue is a problem between Morocco and Algeria (É) that must be settled through dialogue" and "the reasonable solution" to this issue "lies in giving the Sahara a large autonomy while preserving, evidently, Morocco's sovereignty," said at a conference in Rabat Thursday speaker of the Italian Senate, Marcello Pera.

The Sahara issue is opposing Morocco to the Algeria-backed separatists who claim separation of the kingdom's southern provinces, retrieved from Spain in 1975 under the Madrid accord.

Pera, who met speakers of the Moroccan upper and lower chambers, respectively Mustapha Oukacha and Abdelouahed Radi, voiced admiration from the kingdom's modernization and democratization process, describing Moroccan-Italian relations as "excellent."

The Italian speaker, who had started Wednesday evening a 3-day official visit to Morocco, lauded the role played by the kingdom in the Mediterranean region, expressing Italy's readiness to receive immigrants from the north-African nation and work to "avoid that this immigration favors violence and terrorism."

Concerning the situation of the Moroccan community in Italy, Pera said it Is one of the best integrated ones, adding that giving immigrants the right to vote, which is the current debate in the peninsula, will further favor this integration.

Marcello Pera also stressed the necessity to stop the amalgam between Islam and terrorism, which is the work of some extremist groups.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco counts on Italy to consolidate advanced status within EU, Minister   (5/11/2004)
  Italian group calls for immediate release of Moroccan POW in tindouf   (12/29/2003)
  Italian MPs to contribute to a solution to the Sahara issue   (10/4/2003)

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