SAHARA PRESS SERVICE

Madrid, 17/04/2004 (SPS) Many Spanish political parties reminded Zapatero of the historical debt of Spain towards Saharawi people's right to self-determination, calling the new Head of the government to the obligation of his country regarding the decolonisation of the Saharawi territory still militarily occupied by Morocco.

Intervening during the investiture, on Friday, of Mr. José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the representative of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), José Erkoreka, called the new Head of the Spanish executive to «get implicated with the settlement of a conflict which is affecting us directly, the Saharawi conflict», which, according to him, «is apparently ignored, if the indifference of international bodies is considered, while thousands of persons suffer from marginalisation that is humiliating them as human beings and underestimating them as a people».

He also called for the fulfilment of the Spanish duty towards Saharawis, Spain having been the former colonial power of Western Sahara.
 
«Within the Spanish State, all of us, without exception, we have an ongoing debt towards Saharawi people, and we hope that you will deal with it as it should during your new mandate».

On another hand, the Bloque Nationalista Galego (BNG) expressed its conviction that «globalisation will not put an end to the right of the peoples to self-determination», wondering thus «when will Saharawi people be able to get that right?».

The Canaria Coalition (CC) insisted, on its part, on the closeness of Africa to the Canaries archipelago, especially the conflict that opposes Morocco to Saharawis. It supported the right of the latters to self-determination and called Mr. Zapatero to define his position regarding the conflict.

«To us it is an important theme and we would like now to know the criterion of Rodriguez Zapatero», stressed the representative of CC, Mr. Paulino Rivero Baute.

On its part, the Esquerra Republicana de Catalonia, party (ERC) exhorted the new Head of government to never forget Western Sahara. «An abandoned people, who demand justice, their right to self-determination», underlined the representative of this party, Puigceros I Boixassa.

Regarding the Unified Left (Izquierda Unida - IU) its declared itself confident in that the coming stage will «reinforce the Spanish traditional support to the referendum of self-determination for Saharawi people, keeping its rights within the framework of UN's resolutions and based on the Baker Plan».
 
Mr. Zapatero came to the highest office of the Spanish executive during the legislative elections of the last 14th March, by 183 votes, 148 against and 19 abstentions in the first stage. A relative majority of 164 (of 350), that force him to compose his government with the political parties of the left which are backing him during the investiture. (SPS)

010/090/666/TRD 171615 Apr 04 SPS

SPS
USA/SADR/MOROCCO/UN
''We support the Baker Plan'', asserts an American diplomat

Alger, 17/04/2004 (SPS) Dr. Walter Russel Mead, the American expert of international relations in the Council of Foreign Relations, recently declared that his country supports the Baker's Plan for the self-determination of Saharawi people, without imposing, however, any solution to the parties to the conflict.

Mr. Mead, who was speaking during a press conference, held last Monday at the offices of the Foundation Freiderich-Ebert, in Algiers and co-organised by United States' Embassy and El Khabar newspaper's Centre of International Studies, has asserted that «the American administration supports the Baker's Plan for the settlement of the Saharawi question».

To Mr. Mead, the United States is not ready, apparently, to cooperate with a Maghreb which is mined by the « problem » of Western Sahara, emphasising, however, that «no solution can be imposed on the parties». (SPS)

010/090/666/TRD 171059 Apr 04 SPS