Autonomy within Morocco 'realistic solution' to Sahara conflict, Erik Jensen

A large autonomy of the Sahara within Morocco would be "the most realistic solution to the Sahara conflict," said in Madrid Saturday, Erik Jensen, former special representative of the UN Secretary general for the Sahara.

In a statement to MAP agency on the fringes of a seminar held in Madrid on Solutions for the Sahara, the diplomat noted that all peace proposals made so far to solve the dispute are inapplicable.

The Sahara dispute opposes Morocco to the Polisario Front that has been laying claim to Morocco's southern provinces (Sahara) since 1976. The former Spanish colony was retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under Madrid Accords signed with Mauritania and Spain.

"I don't see how the proposals made so far by the UN chief may be applied, because the Security Council clearly supports a solution that is accepted by all parties," he pointed out.

Jensen believes that "the most realistic solution would be a large autonomy that meets the aspirations of the populations in the territory and that is accepted by Morocco."

The diplomat underscored the role that "superpowers can play" to help solve the conflict, highlighting the importance of actions led by Spain to find a negotiated solution to the conflict.

Jensen gave at the seminar an overview on the Sahara conflict, recalling that the "Security Council has never wanted to impose a solution on parties."

Morocco, he pointed out, has made in the recent years important democratic strides, which makes autonomy under Morocco's sovereignty a practical solution to the conflict.

For Jensen, micro-States have no chance of survival at the time of globalization that represents a challenge which only regional groupings can take up.

Over 30 experts convened Saturday in the Spanish capital at the invitation of the European Institute of the Mediterranean to debate possible solution to the Sahara dispute.