Returning accusation, Moroccan diplomat says Polisario violates freedom of movement
It is the Sahrawi population sequestered by the Polisario separatist movement who are prevented from moving freely and visiting their families, said a Moroccan diplomat.
Answering allegations by a representative of the Polisario, a movement claiming the independence of the Western Sahara, the Moroccan diplomat lashed out at this representative who "under the cover of the freedom of movement, is deliberately sowing confusion on issues which are totally separate and have no relation with the topic under discussion."
Morocco's ambassador to the UN offices in Geneva, Nacer Benjelloun-Touimi, deplored the use by the said speaker, who is also a member of the Polisario, under the cover of a non-governmental organization, "The International Association of Independent Jurists" to express against Morocco grievances which have "no relation whatsoever with the freedom of movement."
Brushing aside these allegations as "pernicious and unacceptable," the diplomat said accusations that Morocco is restricting the movement of diplomats and journalists are totally false. Regarding the so-called "massive transfer of Moroccan settlers," he also recalled how he repeatedly explained at various UN bodies that for various historical reasons, these persons cannot be called settlers.
He insisted that "only persons identified as voters by the MINURSO's identification commission will take part in the referendum that will be held and supervised by the United Nations."
He added that by virtue of this very freedom of movement, all the other citizens cannot be denied access to the region to handle their affairs, mainly private ones, as they wish. If public or private executives are posted in the Sahara, it is generally to manage the considerable facilities built since 1975, pending the training of local executives in conformity with the regionalization policy adopted by Morocco.
Regarding accusations that Morocco is refusing to formalize the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' presence in the Sahara, he said the Polisario representative has not mentioned the latest UN secretary-general's report in which he welcomes the formalization of the UNHCR presence in Morocco.
Denying the accusations that Morocco is limiting the movement of the Sahara's inhabitants to visit their relatives in the refugee camps, he said it is the contrary, citing as evidence a recent interview by the Polisario's delegate to Canada who defected from the separatists' ranks. The defector described the Polisario camps in Tindouf (stronghold of the Polisario, located southwestern Algeria) as prisons where the defection of Sahrawis is taking huge proportions.
He added that successive groups of Sahrawis are risking their lives and that of their families to flee the camps and testify on the inhuman and degrading living conditions.
The Moroccan diplomat concluded by casting doubts on the credibility of the non-governmental organization which let a Polisario representative use its name to take the floor, knowing that he is a party in a conflict that is being handled by the United Nations and without even checking the veracity of his allegations.