Morocco adheres to pan-African position on Sahara referendum

Morocco adheres to the statement of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), backing the holding the soonest possible of a referendum in the Sahara, Moroccan Interior Minister, Driss Basri, said on Thursday.

Basri made the statement during a meeting with the representatives of the national and foreign press accredited in Rabat, following the publishing by the Identification Commission of provisional lists, covering the two first identification stages carried out from August 28, 1994 to December 22, 1995 and from December 3, 1997 to September 3, 1998.

Basri underlined that Morocco endeavors for the holding of the referendum as scheduled in July, 2000.

The much-delayed vote will seek to determine whether the Sahara --a former Spanish colony retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid Accords-- sets up on its own or remains part of Morocco.

The 35th summit conference of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which wound up Wednesday in Algiers, voiced "backing to a rapid implementation" of the United Nations settlement plan for the Sahara.