Youssoufi: Referendum cannot be held in December
Morocco-West Sahara, Politics, 10/1/1998

The Moroccan prime minister on Wednesday said the self-determination referendum in the Sahara cannot be held next December, as initially scheduled, in view of the difficulties still hindering the identification of all would-be voters.

"The rate things are going at" shows that the referendum in the Sahara would not be held, as initially scheduled next December, Abderrahmane Youssoufi told French "Le Figaro" daily.

The number of eligible voters in the projected consultation is the major obstacle still hindering the referendum process, as the Polisario tries to limit the voters' lists.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a recent report that with the registration of 147,000 applicants, the identification process was completed except for the members of three contested tribal groupings: H41, H61 and J51/52.

In order to break the ice, Annan assigned his personal envoy for the Sahara, former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, to broker a meeting shortly in Lisbon (Portugal) between Morocco and the Polisario.

The meeting is aimed at reaching a compromise between the two sides on the issue of the tribes the Polisario is blocking from taking part in the referendum and paving the way for the holding of the referendum in the Sahara.

Youssoufi renewed Morocco's attachment to the participation of all Sahrawis in the vote, which will determine whether the Sahara sets up on its own or is definitively incorporated into Morocco.

Youssoufi also said that Morocco would not cede an inch regarding the issue of the three contested tribes.

While the Polisario tries to limit the voter lists, Morocco clings to its position to allow all Sahrawis to participate in the vote, including those who were driven by the Spanish repression northward (towards northern Morocco) or southward (toward Mauritania).

"France, which was waging war in Algeria, could not accept the presence of the Moroccan Liberation Army in the Sahara. That is why the then-leftist government of France reached an agreement with Franco's Spain to expel the Liberation Army from the Sahara," said Youssoufi, himself a former member of the Liberation Army.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco starts preparations for new stage in referendum process   (9/25/1998)
  UN mission completes identification of potential voters in Sahara referendum   (9/4/1998)
  Security Council satisfied over progress in UN settlement plan in Sahara   (8/27/1998)

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