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Bir Lehlou, 06/09/2008 (SPS) The President of the republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz, seized the opportunity of the visit carried out this week by the Us Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, to the Maghreb and asked her to convince Morocco respect the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination.
In an open letter to the American official, the Head of the Saharawi State expressed the hope to see Ms. Rice seize the opportunity of her presence in the region "to intervene vis-à-vis the Moroccan officials so as to convince them return to the international legality and thus give to the current negotiations the possibility to succeed and enable the organisation of a referendum on self-determination for the Saharawi people".
He affirmed that POLISARIO Front had paid all necessary demarches and efforts to reach, with Morocco, a "just and lasting solution that is not based on the exclusion of the Saharawi people, but on the respect of their choices".
Within this spirit, the text adds, POLISARIO Front "presented to the UN, last April 10, 2007, an important proposition of solution based on the referendum of self-determination that includes, in addition to the option of independence, the two other Moroccan options, mainly autonomy and integration".
To Mohamed Abdelaziz, the Saharawi proposition does not only respect the Saharawi people’s legitimate rights, but also, "takes into consideration the Moroccan concerns in case of independence, and offers to Morocco some interesting advantages in the economical, cultural, human and security levels, including in the domains of the Moroccan settlers and soldiers stationed in Western Sahara".
On the other hand, the President of the Republic recalled of the fact of the existence of the Saharawi Republic, which "proved that it is a responsible State that respects its commitments and is a factor of stability in the region of the Maghreb and in Africa".
This State, as well as POLISARIO Front, aspires, according to the letter "to build constructive relations", to the "service of the interests of the two parties and to the benefit of the American and Magreb’s peoples", the Saharawi President concluded.
It should be recalled that the US Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is undertaking, this week, a visit to the countries of the Maghreb. She started her tour from Libya, and will visit Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
Here is the complete text of the open letter addressed by the President of the republic to Condoleeza Rice, unofficially translated by SPS from the original text in French:
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Open Letter from M. Mohamed Abdelaziz, POLISARIO Front’s Secretary General to Her Excellency, Ms. Condoleeza Rice, US Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Madame Secretary of State,
As you may well know, Morocco illegally occupied Western Sahara in spite of the UN Security Council’s resolutions and despite of the rule f the International Court of Justice. The later having clearly affirmed that there are no ties of sovereignty between Western Sahara and morocco and recommended the implementation of the right to self-determination. Unfortunately, the Moroccan military invasion precipitated the Maghreb in a cycle of instability and doubts. It is similar to the invasion of Iraq to Kuwait and Indonesia to Timor Leste. POLISARIO Front, who was at the time resisting the Spanish colonialism, was forced to continue the resistance on behalf of the Saharawi people, for the sake of the international legality and the Law.
After 16 years of dreadful war, we reached with Morocco, in 1991, a global Plan that commits the UN to organise a referendum on self-determination for the Saharawi people so as to enable them to choose between the integration with Morocco or independence. To hold this referendum and reach a peaceful, just and definitive peace, the UN deployed important efforts and the remarkable work of Mr. James Baker, UN Secretary General Personal Envoy, enabled especially the signature of the 1997 Houston Accords. But, each time that we come close to a solution, the Moroccan government puts the most insurmountable obstacles and thus pushes everyone backwards again and again.
Madame Secretary of State,
While you are undertaking a visit to the countries of the Maghreb, including Morocco, please allow me to say that the main problem that still hinders the materialization of a unified Maghreb is simply the illegal and strange annexation by morocco of Western Sahara. We hope that your presence in the region will enable you to intervene vis-à-vis the Moroccan officials so as to convince them return to the international legality and thus give to the current negotiations the possibility to succeed and enable the organisation of a referendum on self-determination for the Saharawi people. POLISARIO Front, the democratic national movement of liberation, has always given proof that it is ready to reach a just and lasting solution that is not based on the exclusion of the Saharawi people, but on the respect of their choices.
In this spirit, POLISARIO Front presented to the UN, last April 10, 2007, an important proposition of solution based on the referendum of self-determination that includes, in addition to the option of independence, the two other Moroccan options, mainly autonomy and integration. Moreover, our proposition takes into consideration the Moroccan concerns in case of independence, and offers to Morocco some interesting advantages in the economical, cultural, human and security levels, including in the domains of the Moroccan settlers and soldiers stationed in Western Sahara. It is thus a complete, global and objective proposition.
We are, however, deeply concerned about what is happening in the zones of Western Sahara occupied by Morocco, where serious human rights violations are committed. To this day, Morocco still maintains in secret detention more than 500 Saharawi civilians and 151 Saharawi prisoners of war. It is urgent to inform us about their fate and to release them. On the other hand, the Saharawi peaceful demonstrations are frequent since May 21st 2005, and so are the daily and systematic human rights violations perpetrated by the Moroccan authorities. There have been persons killed, many injured and many militants unfairly detained and systematically submitted to the most atrocious methods of torture. All of these acts are taking place while the UN mission, MINURSO, is present on the ground.
With regards to the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, which is recognized by more than 80 countries in the world and is a founding member of the African Union, it proved that it is a responsible State that respects its commitments and is a factor of stability in the region of the Maghreb and in Africa.
With regards to the United States of America, the POLISARIO Front and the Saharawi Republic aspire to build constructive relations with the US, to the service of the interests of the two parties to the conflict, Morocco and POLISARIO Front, and to the benefit of the American and Magreb’s peoples.
Finally, Madame Secretary General, we hope you success in your visit to the region, and please accept my best regards.
Mohamed Abdelaziz
POLISARIO Front’s Secretary General
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