Youssoufi explains Islamists and Sahara issue in Morocco

Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi said in Budapest Monday that "some countries, which were not happy that Morocco was able to perfect its territorial integrity, had staged an international campaign based on a unilateral interpretation of a paragraph of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.

At a joint press conference with Hungarian peer, Victor Orban, Youssoufi, who is visiting Hungary, said the decolonization of the Sahara was completed in 1975, under an agreement with the former colonial authority, Spain. He explained that Morocco was partitioned in the beginning of this century by French and Spanish protectorate authorities, and that the kingdom recovered its territories gradually.

Regarding the UN-projected referendum in the Sahara to decide whether the southern provinces would remain part of Morocco or set up on their own, as claimed by the Algeria-backed guerilla movement, the Moroccan premier said the "complete list of voters" has not yet been drawn, expressing trust in the United Nations to settle all pending problems.

To a question on the reasons why Morocco is shielded against Islamic extremism, Youssoufi explained that Morocco has opted, since independence, for the multiparty system that brought about the emergence of a genuine opposition and trade unions.

"Therefore, he went on, Moroccans found channels to express their views and lead a normal political life." He went on that moderate Islamists have nine seats in the parliament and they are presently part of the parliament's majority.