Morocco informs European parliament on Sahara issue

A Moroccan delegation on Tuesday paid a visit to the European Parliament in Brussels where it conferred with European Mps from various parliamentary groups and held an information meeting on Morocco's territorial integrity.

The delegation, led by secretary of state for foreign affairs and cooperation, Taib fassi Fihri, included Morocco's ambassador to the European communities, Mrs Aicha Belarbi, and ambassador-coordinator with the MINURSO, Mohamed Loulichki.

The delegation expounded Morocco's constant stand regarding its territorial integrity, recalling that since it recovered its independence in 1956, the kingdom had been claiming the recovery of all its other territories that were still under foreign occupation.

The delegation members said that Morocco's moves have always been conform to international legality and that it recovered its southern provinces--that were occupied by Spain-after the International Court of Justice recognized the kingdom's historical rights over these provinces and after the bilateral negotiations with Spain that resulted in the 1975 Madrid accords.

After Morocco recovered its southern provinces, an Algerian-backed separatist group, the polisario, started claiming the independence of the territory. To settle the artificial conflict, Morocco proposed in the early eighties the holding of a referendum, under the UN aegis. The UN actually adopted a settlement plan on the Sahara and deployed in 1991 a mission, the MINURSO, in the territory to supervise the holding of the referendum.

The vote, which will give the population of the Sahara a choice between independence or integration with Morocco, has however been repeatedly delayed because of the maneuvers of the separatist polisario which seeks to shrink the voters list.

Taib Fassi fihri explained to his interlocutors the various phases of the UN plan implementation and the obstacles erected by the enemies of Morocco's territorial integrity to foil the settlement plan, laying a special emphasis on the delays recorded by the identification commission and the question of free return of the populations sequestered in the Tindouf camps, in south western Algeria.

The Moroccan official informed the European mps on the latest developments of the issue at the level of the UN, and the efforts made by James Baker, personal envoy of the UN secretary general for the Sahara to reach a quick and final settlement to the issue.

Morocco's move matches the international community's logic and is in line with the security council resolutions, he insisted renewing Morocco's attachment to a fair and credible referendum and keenness to reaching, the soonest possible, a solution conform to the legitimacy of its stance.

During the debate that followed the presentation, Fassi Fihri insisted on the humanitarian dimension and hard situation of the Moroccans sequestered in Tindouf expounding the dire living conditions in the camps and how the humanitarian assistance extended by some European countries and ngos is embezzled by the polisario chiefs. He also decried as unacceptable the situation of the 1685 members of the Moroccan Royal Armed forces that are held as war prisoners in the Algerian territory, calling the European Parliament to address this very sensitive issue.

Talks also covered Morocco's cooperation with the European Union and the progress scored by Morocco in the poltyical, economic and social fields.

Developments in the Maghreb and the Middle East and Euro-Mediterranean cooperation were also debated.