Morocco will not reintegrate OAU as long as legitimacy is violated
Morocco, Politics, 4/15/1999

Morocco will not reintegrate the Organization of African Unity (OAU) as long as legitimacy is violated within the organization, said Moroccan roving ambassador, Ibrahim Hakim.

Ibrahim Hakim who was meeting in Rabat on Wednesday with a delegation of African french-speaking journalists said legitimacy has been violated when the OAU admitted as member the puppet Sahrawi republic (SADR)-- self-proclaimed by the Algerian-backed separatist polisario movement.

He explained that the admission of the so-called "SADR" within the OAU runs counter to the holding of a self-determination referendum in the Sahara--a former Spanish colony retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid accords.

At the meeting with the African newsmen, Ibrahim Hakim renewed Morocco's attachment to the holding of the UN-projected referendum, underscoring the polisario's continued maneuvers to hamper the organization of the voting.

He added that the polisario is actually used by some countries to exert pressures on Morocco. The issue of the Sahara and the OAU stand were expounded at another meeting that the visiting African newsmen held with minister of employment and spokesman of the government, Khalid Alioua.

Alioua pointed out that when the OAU admitted the so-called "SADR," it made a mistake vis-a-vis Morocco and the international community as well, since the United Nations has not recognized the puppet entity.

It is up to African countries to make up for the mistake to pave the way to the normalization of relations with Morocco, he insisted.

The Moroccan official explained that despite its withdrawal from the OAU, Morocco maintained "excellent" political, economic and diplomatic levels relations with African countries.

The delegation of African journalists who will make a trip to the Moroccan southern provinces includes reporters from Benin, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Mali and Mauritania.

Previous Stories:
  Polisario is doomed to disappear, former Polisario leader says   (4/13/1999)
  UN to submit revised protocols on referendum for signature   (4/13/1999)
  Belgium considers Sahara issue should be settled through political solutions   (4/13/1999)

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