Sahara issue poisons regional relations, former Mauritanian president says
Morocco-Maghreb, Politics, 3/2/1999

The "painful conflict" in the Sahara, which has lasted nearly 25 years, "poisons regional relations" in North Africa, former Mauritanian President Mokhtar Ould Daddah said.

Ould Daddah, who ruled Mauritania between 1958 and 1978, told the Moroccan Al-Bayane daily that the Sahara issue "poisons regional relations and brakes the achievement of the Maghreban union cherished by our populations."

The issue is in the hands of the United Nations, which is trying to hold a self-determination referendum to determine whether the Sahara -- a former Spanish colony retrieved by Morocco in 1975 -- sets up on its own or remains within Morocco.

The vote, proposed by Morocco in the early 1980's, stumbles over difficulties between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario front over the number of would-be voters in the consultation.

Mokhtar Ould Daddah said that after 23 years, "The settlement of this conflict which opposes Algeria and the Polisario on the one hand, to Morocco, on the other, is at a standstill."

"It is obvious that as long as this conflict is not settled, Mauritania will remain involved, whether it wants it or not," he said, recalling that the late Algerian President Houari Boumedienne had "severely warned" him (in 1975) against maintaining a Moroccan - Mauritanian alliance.

Previous Stories:
  Referendum in Sahara is a political rather than a juridical issue, Moroccan minister says   (3/1/1999)
  Mauritanian Authorities Cancel Rigged Municipal Vote in Nouakchott   (2/1/1999)
  Ould Daddah calls for investigation of Israeli nuclear dumping in Mauritania   (1/20/1999)

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