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Chahid El Hafed,
18/06/2007 (SPS) The Saharawi Coordinator with the MINURSO, Mhamed
Khaddad, affirmed in a statement to SPS, that the direct
negotiations between POLISARIO Front and Morocco, started on Monday
at 11.00 a.m in New York (15.00 GMT).
The first round of these negotiations was opened by speeches of the
Under Secretary General for Political Affairs, American diplomat,
Lynn Pascoe, and the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General,
Peter Van Waksum, in the presence of the delegations from POLISARIO
Front, Morocco, in addition to delegations from Algeria and
Mauritania as observers, as well as a group of high officials of the
UN.
Mr. Lynn underlined that these negotiations comes within the
framework of the resolutions 1754 of the UN Security Council with a
view to guarantee the right of the Saharawi people to
self-determination, the Saharawi diplomat said.
The intervention of the Moroccan delegation, chaired by the Minister
of Interior, was "characterised by the traditional intransigence of
Morocco and its denial of the international law, in an attempt to
legitimise its illegal occupation of Western Sahara trying to get
the benediction from the international community" Mr. Khaddad
stressed.
On his side, the President of the Saharawi delegation, Mahfoudh Ali
Beiba, stressed the importance of this event calling on Morocco to
"assume its responsibility in any possible failure of these
negotiations".
He also recalled of the memorandum presented last April by the
POLISARIO Front to the UN Secretary General, and which takes into
consideration all the concerns of the Moroccan brothers, he
stressed.
The second round of the negotiations will take place in the evening
(14.00 in Manhasset- 19.00 GMT), with the exclusive participation of
the delegations of the two parties of the conflict, POLISARIO Front
and Morocco, Mr. Khaddad indicated.
Contacted by the Algerian Radio Channel III, Mr. Khaddad, also
Member of the Saharawi delegation that negotiate with Morocco under
the aegis of the UN in New York, indicated that "the
self-determination belongs to the Saharawi people and no one has got
the competence to give concessions on this question, which is a
question of sovereignty. It is only the Saharawi people who can
decide over this issue".
Reiterating the "good will" of the Saharawi party in these direct
negotiations with a view to reach "a just solution to the
decolonisation conflict of Western Sahara", Mr. Kheddad indicated
that "we will save no effort so as these negotiations succeed
conforming to the international legality and to the appeals of the
UN Security Council".
He noted, however, that he sees, "unfortunately, no encouraging
signal of good will" from the Moroccan party. (SPS)
020/090/700 181935 Jun 07 SPS |
