SPS SADR/SPAIN/VISITE The President of the Republic
calls Spain to defend the implementation of the Baker Plan
01.12.04
Madrid, 01/12/2004 (SPS) The
President of the Republic, M. Mohamed Abdelaziz, called Spain Tuesday
to defend international legality in Western Sahara, as incarnated in
the Baker Plan that expects the organisation of a referendum on
self-determination, reported Algerian Press Service, APS
"Spain must assume its responsibilities and deploy urgent and effective
efforts in the defence" of the Baker Plan II, declared Mr. Abdelaziz in
Valladolid (north-west of Spain), where he met with the President of
the Regional Government of the Autonomous Community of Castilla y Leon,
Juan Vicente Herrera.
Mohamed Abdelaziz indicated that he had underlined, during his meetings
with the President of the Spanish Government, Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero, and the President of the Popular Party (PP- opposition),
Mariano Rajoy, the necessity that Spain assumes the role of the
defender of the implementation of the Baker Plan.
In this respect, President Abdelaziz recalled that the plan,
unanimously approved in 2003 in the UN, represents "a compromise
solution which implicates concessions from the Moroccan Party as well
as from the Saharawi", and which was accepted by Polisario Front for
the sake of the establishment of peace.
Moroccan Government, on the contrary, responded negatively to Baker's
proposition and "worst, said Abdelaziz, categorically and definitively
rejected last April, the organisation of a referendum on
self-determination for the Saharawi people", arguing that any solution
must include the "recognition of the Moroccan sovereignty over Western
Sahara".
"This is an extremely dangerous position that may have negative
consequences", he warned.
It should be recalled that the Presidential delegation, which arrived
to Madrid last Friday, had attended Friday evening the opening session
of the International Conference of Coordination of support to Saharawi
People (EUCOCO). Before that the President of the Republic had had,
Friday morning, a meeting with the President of the Spanish Government,
José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, in Madrid that was qualified as
"constructive" and "warm".
Visits to different Spanish regions (Alicante, Castilla y Leon, Malaga
and Murcia), where demonstrations of support to the Saharawi cause
would be organised by officials of the autonomous authorities and
association of support to Saharawi people, are planed to the
presidential programme, besides meetings with presidents of Spanish
political parties.
In this respect the President of the Republic visited to Petrer
(Alicante), where he had had a warm reception from the population and
the authorities of the Council before being the guest of honour to a
dinner offered by the Mayor of Alicante, Jose Antonio Hidalgo, with the
presence of more than 30 political personalities, mainly Mr. Jose
Valera, President of the Association of the Friends of the Saharawi
People in Alicante.
The Head of the State had also met with the President of the Parliament
of Aragon, Mr. Francisco Pina, accompanied with his assistant, Mrs. Ana
Ferandez, after the closure of the works of the Eucoco Sunday.
Mr. Pina recalled in this occasion that the Parliament of Aragon had
recently unanimously adopted an institutional statement of support to
Saharawi people right to self-determination through the implementation
of Baker Plan, it was indicated (SPS)
SPS SADR/NATURAL
RESOURCES SADR hails TotalFinElf decision
to stop oil exploration in occupied territories
Bir Lehlou, 01/12/04 (SPS) The
Ministry for Foreign Affairs hailed Monday "the decision by TotalFinElf
to end" its oil exploration and exploitation activities in occupied
territories of Western Sahara, calling American company Kerr McGee by
the same occasion to do the same thing, so as to conform to the
international legality.
In a press release issued Monday. The Polisario Front and the Saharawi
Government hailed "the decision by TotalFinElf to end its involvement
in Western Sahara, by withdrawal from its illegal contract with the
Moroccan government to prospect for oil in the offshore territory of
the Saharawi Republic".
International companies should "avoid Morocco's attempts to implicate
them in its illegal occupation of Western Sahara" and should never
"deal with the Moroccan government with respect to Western Sahara as no
country or organisation recognises Morocco's sovereignty over the
territory", emphasised the communiqué.
"The UN Legal adviser Mr Hans Correll, reaffirmed on 29 January 2002,
that Morocco's presence in Western Sahara has no legal basis and that
if exploration and exploitation of the oil resources of the territory
"were to proceed in disregard of the interests and wishes of the people
of Western Sahara, they would be in violation of the international law
principles applicable to mineral resource activities in
Non-Self-Governing Territories", underlined the text.
In this respect, the communiqué called the American company,
Kerr McGee, "the only remaining oil company operating illegally in
Western Sahara to end its operations immediately", especially that "The
United States do not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western
Sahara".
Moreover, the American Administration, after it signed the US-Morocco
Free Trade Agreement last July, had clearly expressed through the voice
of its Trade Representative, Mr. Robert B. Zoellick, in a letter he
addressed to Congressman, Joseph R. Pitts, last July the 20, that this
accord " will cover trade and investment in the territory of Morocco as
recognized internationally, and will not include Western Sahara", added
the communiqué.
Finally the Polisario Front and SADR took "this opportunity to thank
our friends all over the world for their continued support in opposing
illegal oil and gas exploration activities" in occupied territories of
SADR. (SPS)
SPS SADR/SPAIN/VISIT Castilla y Leon reaffirms its
support to Saharawi people rights to self-determination and independence
Valladolid, 01/12/04 (SPS) The
President of the autonomous region of Castilla y Leon, Mr. José
Vicente Herera, reaffirmed Tuesday the position of his region and party
(PP) in favour of Saharawi people right to self-determination and
independence, during the reception he accorded to the President of the
Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz, at the seat of the autonomous Government.
President J. Vicente Herera, accompanied with his Counsellor Mrs Rosa
Valdeon and Senator Ignacio besides other assistants, reaffirmed "the
position of his region and party, Spanish Popular Party, in favour of
Saharawi people right to decide on their future conforming to the
international legality", declared a source from the Saharawi
presidential delegation to SPS.
Moreover, Mr. Herera underlined that the assistance and solidarity of
his region "in favour of Saharawis will continue in all fields",
stressing on the sanitary field and on the promotion of Spanish
language teaching in the refugees camps.
On another hand, the President of the Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz,
"thanked the people of Castilla y Leon for their solidarity with the
fair struggle of Saharawi people, hailing the perseverance and
commitment for many years so far of the friends of the Saharawis in
this region", during a dinner offered on his honour by the
representatives of the associations of solidarity with the Saharawi
people in the cities of Castilla y Leon as well as officials of the
autonomous administration underlined the same source
At the end of his visit, President Abdelaziz held a press conference
attended by all the Medias in Castilla y Leon, it was indicated (SPS)
SAHARA
PRESS SERVICE
