Indyk: A message from Clinton to King of Morocco
Morocco, International, 3/17/1998

US Undersecretary of State for the Middle East and North African Affairs Martin Indyk on Monday met in Rabat with the chairman of the Moroccan Senate council, Muhammad Jalal al-Saeed, in the course of his tour on al-Maghreb al-Arabi states devoted mainly "to the situation in Algeria."

A well-informed source in Rabat said the two sides discussed US-Moroccan relations, the situation in al-Maghreb region, and the question of West Sahara.

Indyk said at a press conference on Monday that US economic relations are good and that the US is "interested in Morocco's economic development. We think that the economic reforms that the government of Morocco has embarked on are very helpful to this process of economic development." Indyk said that the US intends to help forward those reforms.

Asked about the West Sahara process which resumed last week, Indyk called on Morocco and the Polisario to abide by the Houston agreements.

Indyk also addressed Arab accusations that the US policy represents a double standard in favor of Israel, specifically in light of the tough US position toward Iraq's implementation of UN resolutions. "There is an important difference between the Security Council resolutions which govern the situation in Iraq and the Security Council resolutions that govern the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In the case of Iraq, a special standard was established by the Security Council, not by the United States, but by the Security Council," he said.

Regarding the peace process, "Resolutions 242 and 338... call for direct negotiations between the parties on the basis of several principles... and no sanctions were ever suggested by any party, and the United States has been second to no one in its efforts since 1967 to implement both of these resolutions," Indyk said.

On Sunday Indyk arrived in Morocco from Algeria where he affirmed that "protecting civilians and fighting terrorism are the responsibility of the Algerian government," calling upon all Algerians "to discard violence."

Indyk told reporters in Morocco that an Algerian accusation that Morocco is involved in supporting terrorists in Morocco was not discussed during his Algerian stop.

Indyk is expected to meet with the new Moroccan Premier Abdul Rahman al-Youssifi and the ministers of the Foreign Affairs and the Interior, Abdul Latif al-Filali and Idris al-Basri, respectively. He is also to deliver a communique from US President Bill Clinton to King Hassan II, who is also the chairman of the OIC's Jerusalem committee, al-Nahar said. No information was disclosed on the content of the message.

Previous Stories:
  Libya condemns Maritn Indyk's tour of Morocco   (3/17/1998)
  US for resuming ME peace on all tracks   (3/14/1998)
  US assistant secretary of states to visit Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco soon   (3/7/1998)

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