Moroccan Sahrawi youth denounce breaches in identification process
Morocco, Politics, 4/27/1999

A group of Moroccan Sahrawi youth denounced violations that stained the identification of would-be voters in the self-determination referendum that the United Nations plan to hold in the Moroccan southern provinces, MAP reported

The youth, who met with Moroccan Minister of the Interior Driss Basri, decried the denial of the right of a group of fellow Sahrawi youth to participate in the referendum.

The representatives of the Sahrawi youth likewise denounced the attitude of some members of the identification commission, especially its president, Robin Kinloch, who seek to deprive large numbers of Sahrawis of their right to participate in the referendum.

They renewed the Sahrawi youth's attachment to their inalienable right to participate in the referendum that will confirm the Sahara as Moroccan territory, despite the obstacles and manoeuvres of the enemies of the Kingdom's territorial integrity.

The much-delayed vote is to be held in the Sahara, probably early next year, to decide whether the former Spanish colony, retrieved by Morocco in 1975, sets up on its own or be definitively incorporated into Morocco.

The process is stumbling over impediments created by the Polisario which seeks to exclude thousands of genuine Sahrawis, contesting their right to be identified as potential voters in the referendum.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan had said in a 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.

On Monday, Morocco announced an imminent accord with the United Nations on the identification of 65,000 Sahrawis belonging to the contested tribes.

Relatedly, Mezene Lahbib, from the tribe of Ait Oussa and brother of the so-called minister of culture of the SADR republic (self-proclaimed by the Polisario), denounced the behavior of Robin Kinloch and some members of the identification commission.

Kinloch attempts to prevent the members of the same tribe and even the same family from participating in the referendum, he said.

Previous Stories:
  Bouteflika's election heralds major progress in Moroccan - Algerian ties   (4/27/1999)
  Rabat renews call on Algiers to open borders with Morocco   (4/26/1999)
  Morocco announces imminent accord with UN on identification of 65,000 Sahrawis   (4/26/1999)
  Morocco announces imminent accord with UN on identification of 65,000 Sahrawis   (4/26/1999)
  Morocco and Algeria may be on their way to better understanding   (4/26/1999)

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