Expulsion of Sahrawi republic from OAU, a position of principle for Senegal

Senegal's request that the self-proclaimed Sahrawi republic (Sadr) be expelled from the Organization of African Unity (OAU), is dictated by a position of principle, founded on the respect of international legality, Senegal's President Abdou Diouf said.

"We have always defended, with firmness and courtesy, this position, (...) in the name of the respect of international legality and the international law," President Diouf told the Moroccan news agency MAP, on the eve of a visit to Morocco (April 23-27).

Several countries have been pressing the pan-African body to exclude the Sahrawi entity, which it admitted within its fold in the early 1980's. This admission prompted founder Morocco to quit the Pan-African body.

During the 1998 OAU summit in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and during the OAU ministerial meeting held last March in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Senegal and several other nations requested the expulsion of the Sadr.

President Abdou Diouf insisted that his country backs the United Nations settlement plan that targets the resolution of the issue through holding a self-determination referendum to determine whether the Sahara is to set up on its own, as claimed by the Polisario, or remain within Morocco.

In his interview, President Diouf also dealt with bilateral relations, terming the alliance between his country and Morocco as "strong and permanent."

He said his country will back the future conclusion of an association accord between Morocco and the West African Economic and Monetary Union which gathers eight nations, including Senegal.

Within this union, Senegal and Morocco can play a key role in promoting African integration and in enhancing Arab-African cooperation, President Diouf said.