Mauritanian president meets UN special representative for Sahara

Special representative of the UN secretary general for the Sahara, William Eagleton, informed on Sunday Mauritanian president, Mouaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya, of the postponement of the UN-referendum in the Sahara.

A source at the Mauritanian foreign ministry said the UN official informed Taya of the UN secretary general Kofi Annan's decision to delay to an ulterior date the referendum slated for next July.

Mauritanian authorities said they support UN efforts for a fair and free referendum.

The world body is trying to organize a referendum in which the population of the Sahara would say whether they want this former Spanish colony retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid accords to remain Moroccan territory or stand up on its own as claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario secessionists.

Repeatedly postponed, the voting, supervised by a UN mission deployed in the territory in 1991 was tentatively set for July 2000 but was once again delayed as the handling of 79,000 appeals by persons of Sahrawi descent who were not included in the UN voter lists will be a lengthy process.