Former Polisario official says adequate solution to Sahara issue lies in Moroccan kingty
A former official of the separatist movement "Polisario" has insisted that Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara must be taken into account in any search of a solution to this dispute.
"The only adequate solution that is conform to international politics logic lies in Morocco's national sovereignty" over this territory, said Sidati Mohamed Abdelali El Ghellaoui, in an interview published Thursday by Moroccan daily "Aujourd'hui Le Maroc."
Sidati who used to represent the Polisario in Rome, the Vatican, Greece and Malta before choosing to return to his homeland, Morocco, said that another microscopic state in Africa is not viable because such an entity is short of elements of economic survival and subsistence and runs counter to the logic of large blocs prevailing in the world.
The former Polisario member also argued that when the United Nations Organization speaks of the self-determination principle, it does not necessarily refer to separation from Morocco, since each individual will be entitled to choose a settlement. "As Moroccan Sahrawis, we have already made up our mind," he went.
He further insisted that the word "Sahrawis" does not only refer to those living in the camps of Tindouf (southwestern Algeria), but encompass also populations in Laayoune, Dakhla, Boujdour, Smara and other Moroccan southern cities and towns, where the majority of Sahrawis are settled, including those who were covered by the census conducted by the former Spanish colonial authorities in 1975.
The latest remarks reckoning that no solution should be imposed on the parties made in New York and Mexico, following the meetings held by HM King Mohammed VI, especially US president's statements, confirm that the issue should be settled within Moroccan sovereignty, he went on.
The former Polisario diplomat also deplored the deplorable living conditions in the Tindouf camps where populations are deprived of everything and are only longing to join their relatives in the homeland.
