Referendum is an imperative necessity, minister says
Morocco, Politics, 4/9/1999

The organization of a referendum in the Sahara is an imperative necessity, as it is the only means to put an end to the maneuvers of the enemies of Morocco's territorial integrity, says minister of the interior.

The statement was made by Moroccan minister of the interior, Driss Basri at a meeting he held on Thursday with the representatives of the population and of the various trends of the region of Laayoune- Sakiat Hamra-Boujdour in Southern Morocco.

Morocco is determined to go forward and to endeavor so that the self-determination referendum takes place in March 2000, Basri said recalling that Morocco had been the first to propose the holding of the referendum and that King Hassan II had called, without any constraint or pressure, for the referendum, during the summit of the Organization of African Unity in Nairobi in 1981.

Despite the variety of obstacles erected to hamper the referendum, the king's stand remained unchanged and his determination to put an end to this artificial problem remained unshaken, Basri said.

He recalled that Morocco, to evidence its good will, has signed the accord regulating the presence of the MINURSO (french acronym of the U.N mission for the holding of a referendum in Western Sahara) and showed the same good will vis-a-vis the U.N high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) by providing it with all the facilities to set its bureaux and structures.

The UNHCR will supervise the repatriation of the refugees of the Tindouf camps in south-western Algeria to the Sahara for participation in the referendum.

The referendum will determine whether the Moroccan Southern provinces, a former Spanish colony retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid accords, remain Moroccan territory or set up on their own as claimed by the Algerian-backed Polisario movement.

The referendum, initially scheduled for 1991 has been repeatedly postponed because of the polisario's refusal to participate in the identification of several Sahrawis and tribal groups which have left, during the colonial era, the Sahara for various reasons to settle elsewhere. Through these maneuvers, the polisario seeks to limit the electorate to only those persons who were present in the territory in 1974 and could therefore be covered by the census conducted by the Spanish colonial authorities, at a time Morocco insists that all the persons of Sahrawi descent should be granted the right to vote.

During the meeting, Basri renewed Morocco's determination to defend the right of all sahrawis to participate in the referendum.

At another meeting he held on Wednesday in Assa-Zag with the elected representatives and local officials of this Moroccan southern province, Basri announced that the identification operation of would-be voters in the referendum will resume next June 1st.

Basri renewed on the occasion Morocco's attachment to the U.N settlement plan on the Sahara and said Morocco will go through with the plan and ensure that the referendum actually takes place in March 2000. He said Morocco is embarking on this phase with trust and serenity being convinced of the fairness of its cause.

He also underlined that the participation of all the Sahrawi tribes in the referendum is an imperative necessity, on which relies the credibility of this very referendum that must be, he said, based on the identification criteria agreed upon.

The interior minister held another meeting in Laayoune on Thursday with the Moroccan Shioukhs (notables) and observers participating in the identification operation and informed them about the latest developments of the Moroccan sahara issue in the prospect of the resumption of the identification process.

The identification process which first started in 1994 was interrupted in December 1995 and resumed two years later, following the signing of (UN special envoy) Baker's brokered Houston accords in September 1997.

The U.N identification commission announced that the identification of all applicants from all tribal groups, except the contested tribes H41, H61 and J51/52, has been completed in August last year and that 147,000 applicants wishing to take part in the referendum have been identified.

Participants in the meetings with Basri have all renewed their attachment to their Moroccan identity and voiced resolve to participate in the referendum to settle once for all the Sahara dossier.

Previous Stories:
  Identification operation resumes on June 1, minister announces   (4/8/1999)
  King Hassan II receives US Congressional delegation   (4/8/1999)
  Morocco calls for unconditional reactivation of Maghreban union   (4/7/1999)

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