ALGERIA: Mohamed Salem Ould Salek, foreign minister of self-proclaimed government in exile stressed the importance of the upcoming French elections in regards to Chirac's successor's stance on Western Sahara

Western Sahara's independence movement said on Monday (February 5) it hoped the next French president would help resolve Africa's oldest territorial dispute by ending what it called France's pro-Moroccan stance. Mohamed Salem Ould Salek, foreign minister of the self-proclaimed government in exile and a senior member of the Polisario Front independence movement, told a news conference France's role was of fundamental importance because of its close ties to north Africa. "We hope that the successor to (President Jacques) Chirac better understands that stability in the Maghreb depends on the satisfaction of the right of the Saharan people to self-determination and that France can contribute to that," he said. "It's in its (France's) interest and in the interest of peace and of regional cooperation." France is a close ally of Morocco but denies any partiality in Morocco's dispute with the Algerian-based Polisario Front over the northwest African territory of some 260,000 people. Morocco, claiming centuries-old rights over a territory rich in phosphates, fisheries and possibly offshore oil, annexed Western Sahara when Spain withdrew in 1975. That triggered a guerrilla war that ended in 1991, when the United Nations brokered a truce and sent in peacekeepers in anticipation of a self-determination referendum. The vote never happened and Morocco now insists the most it will offer is regional autonomy. Morocco sees France as the main supporter for an autonomy proposal drafted by a Moroccan advisory council in December. Diplomats say King Mohammed dispatched an official delegation to brief Chirac on Monday on the autonomy blueprint. France goes to the polls in a first round on April 22 with a second round run-off set for May 6 between the two top candidates. The main candidates are Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royale. Ould Salek reiterated his administration's objection to the autonomy blueprint. Once King Mohammed endorses the plan, Rabat is expected to launch a diplomatic campaign to drum up support for autonomy at home and abroad. The U.N. Security Council voted in October to keep peacekeepers in Western Sahara for six more months but shunned a plea that Morocco do more to safeguard human rights in the territory after France objected.

ITN Source | February 6, 2007

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