King Mohammed praises china's impartial stand in Sahara issue
Morocco-China, Politics, 10/29/1999

King Mohammed VI on Thursday praised the "impartial stand" of the People's Republic of China in the Sahara issue.

"We have to praise the impartial stand of the People's Republic of China, a stand that is beneficial to international legitimacy," King Mohammed VI said at an exchange of toasts during a dinner banquet hosted in honor of visiting President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China.

The king also underlined Morocco's attachment and respect to the international legitimacy in the issue when it called to holding a general referendum in the Sahara.

The vote, slated for July 2000, will seek to determine whether the Sahara --a former Spanish colony retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid Accords-- sets up on its own or remains part of the homeland, Morocco.

Morocco "offered undeniable proof of its attachment to and respect for international legitimacy when, as the first initiative of the kind in the history of international relations" the late King Hassan II declared at the 1981 Nairobi summit of the Organization of African Unity "calls for the holding of a general referendum in our southern provinces with the aim of confirming internationally its legitimate claim, a referendum sponsored by the United Nations for all who are originally from the Saharan provinces."

King Mohammed VI, who stressed that the consultation should be held for all people of Sahrawi descent, reiterated "commitment to this brave stand" and voiced "sincere determination" to solve "this artificial problem once and for all and clear the way in our region for the edification of the greater Arab Maghreb of which we are proud to be part."

Previous Stories:
  Jordanian Senate speaker meets Youssoufi and Essaid   (10/27/1999)
  Morocco is not responsible for referendum delay, minister says   (10/26/1999)
  King Mohammed chairs royal follow-up committee on Sahara   (10/26/1999)

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