Algeria renews backing to U.N. settlement plan for Sahara
Algeria, Politics, 6/30/1998

Algeria on Monday renewed backing to the United Nations settlement plan for the Sahara and said it considers the Sahara issue a "decolonization question that falls within the prerogatives of the United Nations."

Algeria "backs the United Nations settlement plan (for the Sahara), as it has already expressed support to the Houston accords concluded between the two parties (Morocco and the Polisario) to find a fair and lasting solution to this issue which remains a decolonization issue," Spokesman for the Algerian Foreign Affairs department, Abdelaziz Sebaa, said.

The United Nations is trying to settle the Sahara issue through a self-determination referendum to determine whether the former spanish colony, retrieved by Morocco in 1975, sets up on its own or incorporates into Morocco.

Initially set for next December 7, the referendum will most likely be postponed to the beginning of next year in view of the obstacles erected by the polisario to hamper the ongoing identification of would-be voters in the consultation.

The Houston accords, concluded last year between Morocco and the Polisario under the aegis of James Baker, then Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General for the Sahara, put back on track the protracted U.N. settlement plan through the resumption of the identification operation after almost two years of suspension.

Algeria is directly involved in the Sahara issue through its political and financial backing to the polisario, which claims sovereignty over Morocco's southern provinces.

Previous Stories:
  General Assembly extends over $22 million for Sahara mission   (6/30/1998)

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