Mr. Sidati: "It is up to the Saharawi people, alone, to decide over their future"
19/06/2007- Sahara Press Service

The member of the POLISARIO Front National Secretariat and Minister delegated to Europe, Mohamed Sidati, underlined that "It is up to the Saharawi people, alone, to decide over their future", at a moment when POLISARIO Front and Morocco start direct negotiations on Monday in New York under the auspices of the UN.

In an interview recently published in the French newspaper "Le Monde", Mr. Sidati estimates that the negotiations in New York "on the first hand, bring the parties back to the trail of the peace process, which was blocked these last years. It is the occasion to get out of the impasse and it is necessary especially that the impasse is a bearer of dangerous sliding".

"On the ground, their is a real daily and peaceful uprising of the population in the territories of Western Sahara under Moroccan occupation. Rabat resorts to an increasing repression to strangle this movement", he denounced.

Asked about the autonomy proposed by Morocco, Mr. Sidati considered that this "plan is null and void". "It is unacceptable because it starts from the following assumption: «the Sahara is Moroccan», so I offer it autonomy".

"Now, the Sahara is not Moroccan as far as the international law is concerned, and it is up to the Saharawi people, and to Saharawi people alone, to decide over its future. Rabat is trying again to make the international community legitimise an illegal occupation", he said.

On the other hand, he added that "to negotiate, you need two parties", affirming that "the Saharawis had already given big concessions because of the blockage of Morocco, especially with the Baker Plan, when the lists of voters were established. Rabat understood then that it will loose the referendum".

In relation to the Moroccan Royal Consultative Council for the Saharawi Affairs (CORCAS), the Saharawi official considered that "it is an invention of Morocco to sell its autonomy plan". "The goal is clear: to question the representation of POLISARIO Front to the Saharawi people".

This strategy fails pitifully. It is not up to Morocco, nor do we have the competence to elaborate «the road map» of these negotiations in New York, it is the duty of the UN.

The UN called for direct negotiations keeping the principle of self-determination as a basis. The Moroccan plan is in no way the basis for these meetings", he said.

"I do not want to prejudge these negotiations, but I do not see any encouraging signals from Morocco. In the contrary, the repression in the occupied territories increase and Morocco included members of the CORCAS in its delegation, which can only be seen as a provocation to us", Mr. Sidati deplored. (SPS)