U.S. backs autonomy for Western Sahara but other U.N. Security Council members say independence must remain an option
The Associated Press
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
UNITED NATIONS: The United States on Wednesday backed Morocco's offer of autonomy for the disputed Western Sahara as the best way forward but other U.N. Security Council members said independence must remain an option.
The U.S. statement heightened differences over the Western Sahara in the U.N.'s most powerful body at a sensitive time when Morocco and Polisario Front rebels seeking independence have just resumed their first direct talks in seven years.
The two sides met on June 18-19 but made no headway in resolving their 32-year dispute.
They agreed to meet again on Aug. 10, a move welcomed by the Security Council in a statement after a closed-door briefing by the U.N. envoy for the Western Sahara, Peter Van Walsum.
The council expressed hope that "the parties will use the next round of negotiations to engage in good faith in substantial negotiations on the way forward."
During the June talks, Morocco, whose occupation of the former Spanish colony in 1975 sparked a 16-year war with Polisario Front guerrillas, stuck to its proposal for limited autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty for Western Sahara.
The Polisario Front, an independence movement backed by Algeria, maintained its demand for a referendum with a choice of autonomy or independence.
The Security Council statement made no mention of autonomy or independence, but it reaffirmed its resolution adopted on April 30 calling on the parties to negotiate "with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara."
Morocco and Mauritania split Western Sahara after its Spanish colonizers left the territory in 1975. Full-scale war broke out, and Morocco took over the whole territory after Mauritania pulled out in 1979.
The fighting, which pitted 15,000 Polisario guerrillas against Morocco's U.S.-equipped army, ended in 1991 with a U.N.-negotiated cease-fire that called for a referendum on the region's future. But after 15 years and the expenditure of more than $600 million (€436 million), the U.N. has been unable to resolve the standoff or hold the referendum.
In early April, Morocco presented the U.N. an autonomy plan that would permit the election of a parliament and create a regional government in Western Sahara to oversee day-to-day affairs, with sovereignty over the territory to remain with Morocco.
After the council meeting, U.S. deputy ambassador Jackie Sanders read the statement she made in the council which noted Morocco's "serious and credible" initiative, making no mention of the Polisario proposal.
"We believe a promising and realistic way forward on the Western Sahara is meaningful autonomy," she said. "Morocco's initiative could provide a realistic framework to begin negotiations on a plan that would provide for real autonomy contingent on the approval of the local populations."
"We note that the Moroccan initiative is flexible, and provides for a referendum in keeping with the principle of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara," Sanders said.
She stressed that the U.S. supports direct negotiations to move away from "the status quo."
South Africa's U.N. Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo countered that "the overwhelming number of council members" who spoke at the closed meeting "spoke about the need for treating both plans equally."
"It's no secret that Morocco is supported by very powerful countries," he said. "It doesn't mean that they don't deserve their self-determination," with independence as an option.
The Associated Press
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
UNITED NATIONS: The United States on Wednesday backed Morocco's offer of autonomy for the disputed Western Sahara as the best way forward but other U.N. Security Council members said independence must remain an option.
The U.S. statement heightened differences over the Western Sahara in the U.N.'s most powerful body at a sensitive time when Morocco and Polisario Front rebels seeking independence have just resumed their first direct talks in seven years.
The two sides met on June 18-19 but made no headway in resolving their 32-year dispute.
They agreed to meet again on Aug. 10, a move welcomed by the Security Council in a statement after a closed-door briefing by the U.N. envoy for the Western Sahara, Peter Van Walsum.
The council expressed hope that "the parties will use the next round of negotiations to engage in good faith in substantial negotiations on the way forward."
During the June talks, Morocco, whose occupation of the former Spanish colony in 1975 sparked a 16-year war with Polisario Front guerrillas, stuck to its proposal for limited autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty for Western Sahara.
The Polisario Front, an independence movement backed by Algeria, maintained its demand for a referendum with a choice of autonomy or independence.
The Security Council statement made no mention of autonomy or independence, but it reaffirmed its resolution adopted on April 30 calling on the parties to negotiate "with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara."
Morocco and Mauritania split Western Sahara after its Spanish colonizers left the territory in 1975. Full-scale war broke out, and Morocco took over the whole territory after Mauritania pulled out in 1979.
The fighting, which pitted 15,000 Polisario guerrillas against Morocco's U.S.-equipped army, ended in 1991 with a U.N.-negotiated cease-fire that called for a referendum on the region's future. But after 15 years and the expenditure of more than $600 million (€436 million), the U.N. has been unable to resolve the standoff or hold the referendum.
In early April, Morocco presented the U.N. an autonomy plan that would permit the election of a parliament and create a regional government in Western Sahara to oversee day-to-day affairs, with sovereignty over the territory to remain with Morocco.
After the council meeting, U.S. deputy ambassador Jackie Sanders read the statement she made in the council which noted Morocco's "serious and credible" initiative, making no mention of the Polisario proposal.
"We believe a promising and realistic way forward on the Western Sahara is meaningful autonomy," she said. "Morocco's initiative could provide a realistic framework to begin negotiations on a plan that would provide for real autonomy contingent on the approval of the local populations."
"We note that the Moroccan initiative is flexible, and provides for a referendum in keeping with the principle of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara," Sanders said.
She stressed that the U.S. supports direct negotiations to move away from "the status quo."
South Africa's U.N. Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo countered that "the overwhelming number of council members" who spoke at the closed meeting "spoke about the need for treating both plans equally."
"It's no secret that Morocco is supported by very powerful countries," he said. "It doesn't mean that they don't deserve their self-determination," with independence as an option.
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