Morocco does not want referendum delay, says government spokesman

Morocco does not want the referendum projected by the United Nations in the Sahara to be postponed, said the spokesman of the Moroccan government, Khalid Alioua, on Thursday.

The spokesman, who is also minister of social development, solidarity, employment and vocational training, told reporters after the Cabinet's weekly meeting that setting the referendum date depends on the implementation of the UN settlement process in the Sahara.

He added that Moroccan citizens sequestered by the Polisario, a movement claiming the independence of the former Spanish colony liberated by Morocco in 1975, are the ones suffering the most from any delay in holding the vote.

Another member of the Moroccan government, Minister of the Interior Driss Basri, said the referendum will be held in March 2000 and insisted that "Morocco will go to the referendum at any cost."

Basri told the London-based Arabic language daily Al-Hayat, "There is no other solution to the Sahara issue" (other than the referendum), and this is why Morocco is concentrating efforts and action on holding the consultation.

Basri renewed the need to entitle all Saharan-born citizens to participate in the referendum. "This problem will not prevent us from going to the referendum, and the unanimity of the Moroccan people and its mobilization behind King Hassan II, consolidate and back Morocco's position in this regard," Basri said.

The vote, proposed by Morocco in the early 1980's, seeks to determine whether the Sahara, a former Spanish colony, sets up on its own as claimed by the Polisario or remains within its homeland, Morocco.

The vote was repeatedly postponed in view of problems between Morocco and the Polisario over voter lists.