Morocco advances cause on Sahrawi-Sadr issue
Morocco-OAU, Politics, 6/11/1998

The 34th summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) entrusted its foreign ministers conference, due next February in Addis Ababa, with debating removal of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Republic (Sadr) from the African fold.

The decision was made in a heated last-minute debate on the status of the self-proclaimed Sadr, whose admission sparked a walk-out in the early 80s by OAU founding member Morocco.

The Sadr, proclaimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario, is disputing Morocco over sovereignty in the Sahara, a territory that Morocco retrieved in 1975 under the Madrid accords. The issue is expected to be settled early next year by a referendum the United Nations plans to hold.

According to a delegate to the Ouagadougou summit, the Sadr issue was not on the meeting's agenda and was proposed by Guinea- Conakry with the backing of the Central African Republic, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Benin, Congo, the Comoros, Guinea Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe.

The Proposal to exclude the Sadr was opposed by Algeria, Madagascar, Angola, Burundi and some English-speaking countries including Namibia, Botswana and to a lesser degree Nigeria.

Mauritania, which was represented in the summit by its Foreign Minister, took a vague position, a diplomat said.

On the eve of the closing down of the Ouagadougou Summit, President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso informed his peers that he was requested by some countries to debate the exclusion of the Sadr and the return of Morocco to the African fold. He then gave the floor to Guinea which opened the debate on the issue.

"The OAU made a mistake when it admitted the Sadr, while it expresses backing to the United Nations settlement plan for the Sahara", the Guinean Foreign Minister said, adding "it is time to correct the mistake and invite Morocco, a founding father of the pan-African body, to return to its seat among the African family".

President Liamine Zeroual vigorously reacted to the Guinean request. He was followed by the Namibian president and the head of the Polisario, Mohamed Abdelaziz.

The Conference hall was then divided into three blocs: the first requesting the Sadr exclusion, the second backing its maintenance and a silent majority, a diplomat told Map news agency.

Senegal, represented by its justice minister, proposed an intermediate solution to suspend the Sadr membership pending the holding of the referendum.

Senegal's proposal was turned down by Algeria and its partisans, which also refused to vote on the issue.

"You fear the vote", Gabon's President Haj Omar Bango told them. Haj Bango distinguished himself with his firm support to Morocco and expressed pride for his Friendship with King Hassan II. To break the deadlock and avoid an imminent crisis in the OAU, the South African Foreign Minister proposed that the OAU foreign ministers council convenes next February in Addis Ababa to debate the issue.

Many see this summit as a success for Morocco. "The United Nations instances should take the new situation into account", an African diplomat commented, Map reported.

Previous Stories:
  Moroccan-African cooperation increased, despite withdrawal from OAU   (6/8/1998)
  False information to create tension between Morocco and Algeria   (6/4/1998)
  Burkina Faso Hopes that Morocco will Return to African Fold   (6/3/1998)

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