Morocco renews adherence to UN settlement plan on Sahara

Morocco was, and still is, attached to the United Nation settlement plan to resolve the Sahara issue, provided that all Moroccans of Sahrawi descent are allowed to take part in the referendum, Moroccan minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Mohamed Benaissa, told a Jordanian daily.

In an interview published Saturday by "Addoustour" daily, Benaissa regretted that 130,000 citizens are denied the right to take part in the referendum by the initial identification rolls, adding this group has lodged appeals to have the situation re-examined by the UN identification commission.

The security council has asked the UN secretary general's special envoy, James Baker, to examine with parties a political settlement to end the conflict, said the head of the Moroccan diplomacy insisting that Morocco has always cooperated to reach a solution to the artificial problem.

Last September, Morocco voiced readiness to start a frank and earnest dialogue with the other side with a view to reaching a final political solution that takes into account Morocco's supreme interest and territorial integrity and the southern provinces' specificities as part of a decentralized democracy, Benaissa explained.