King Hassan receives visiting UN secretary general

King Hassan II received here Monday United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, on the second day of his visit to Morocco, part of a tour in the North African region that already led him to Mauritania.

The king held talks with the UN chief before hosting a dinner in his honor.

Before leaving Laayoune, Southern Morocco, for Marrakesh, Annan stressed in a press conference that the identification of "contested" tribes (H41, H61, J51/52) to whom the Polisario is denying the right to be included in the voters' lists is the only means to make the Sahara settlement process move forward. He added that the other side "will accept" that these tribes be identified.

Annan, however, declined to draw a balance sheet of talks he held in Mauritania and in Laayoun before the end of his trip in the region.

Asked to comment on the Algerian authorities' refusal to give entry visas to Moroccan journalists to cover his visit in Algeria, Annan said he is "disappointed," adding he will bring up the issue with Algerian authorities.

In Laayoun (Moroccan Sahara), the UN secretary general met with members of the MINURSO (UN mission for the referendum in the Sahara), heads of Sahrawi tribes, notables and local elected representatives.

In the meeting with the MINURSO members at the UN mission headquarters in Laayoun, Annan expressed hope that the referendum will be held in December 1999 and that the transition period will start in June or July 1999. He also called for more efforts to settle the "long lasting conflict", adding that the parties need to show political will to make peace. "We cannot impose from abroad the necessary will, nor the courage to make the hard choices, nor the critical recognition among the parties that a common fate obliges them to make a real peace."

Annan also met with heads of tribes and notables, in the presence of Moroccan Interior Minister, Driss Basri, and local officials. He expressed at this meeting the will of the world body to complete the identification operation of all persons entitled to vote in the referendum and said he is confident that Morocco will continue to support the MINURSO.

Several heads of tribes and notables took the floor to renew their attachment to their Moroccan citizenship and their allegiance to the king. They likewise insisted that the Sahara is Moroccan and that all persons of Sahara descent should be allowed to vote.

They added that actually, the Sahrawi population has already expressed its attachment to its Moroccan citizenship by taking part, like the rest of Moroccans, in the struggle against the French and Spanish colonization, by voting in the various constitutional referenda and elections held in Morocco and through the renewal of the allegiance oath. They also warned that they will not participate in the UN referendum if one single applicant is excluded, in conformity with the agreements concluded and the Sahrawis' right to express their say in a free and honest referendum.

They also refused that the United Nations publishes the provisional and partial voters' lists before the identification operation is completed.

Annan who arrived Sunday in Laayoun was given a warm welcome by more than 100,000 citizens who were chanting "the Sahara is Moroccan" and claiming the right of all populations of Sahrawi descent to be entitled to vote in the UN-projected referendum.

Annan's tour in the region is destined to get firsthand information on progress achieved in preparations for a referendum in which local populations will vote whether they want to be part of Morocco or set up an independent state as claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario guerrilla movement.

Morocco retrieved this former Spanish colony in 1975 under the Madrid accords, but as the territory sovereignty was claimed by the Polisario, Morocco proposed the holding of a referendum to settle the dossier once and for all and the matter was referred to the United nations which adopted a settlement plan on the Sahara.

Before Morocco, Annan was in Mauritania where he said he came to the region with no "particular project" regarding the Sahara issue, adding that his talks with governments of the countries in the region will focus on the report he submitted recently to the Security Council. He said he would discuss with his interlocutors means to move forward the UN settlement plan for the Sahara.

Annan met on Saturday with Mauritanian president Mouaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya.

After Morocco, the UN chief will visit Algeria and Tunisia.