Moroccan Foreign Minister in New York for Talks with U.N Secretary General
Morocco-UN, Politics, 12/13/1999

Moroccan minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Mohamed Benaissa, arrived in New York on Sunday coming from Buenos Aires where he represented King Mohammed VI at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-elected President of Argentina.

Benaissa is scheduled to confer with the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The United Nations is trying to hold a referendum in the Sahara --a Moroccan southern territory that was formerly under Spanish rule and that was retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid accords. The referendum that will give the people of the Sahara a choice between independence or integration with Morocco, has been repeatedly delayed because of the maneuvers of the separatist Polisario which seeks to shrink the voters list.

Annan announced last week that there is little possibility to hold the referendum before 2002 or even later.

In a report to the Security Council released last Tuesday, Kofi Annan said the problems posed by the current number of appeals and the opposing positions taken by the parties on the issue of admissibility, means that there is little possibility of holding the referendum before 2002 or even later.

The Secretary General said he had instructed his Special Representative, William Eagleton, to continue his consultations with both sides to reconcile their "widely divergent" views on the appeals process, the repatriation of refugees and other crucial aspects of the UN Settlement Plan on the Sahara.

Previous Stories:
  Moroccan government renews resolve to move forward in rule of law consolidation   (12/10/1999)
  King Mohammed chairs Sahara follow-up committee meeting   (12/9/1999)
  Moroccan premier meets head of Spanish opposition   (12/8/1999)

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