W Sahara foes still at odds
US: Morocco and Western Sahara’s independence movement agreed on
Saturday to speed up talks next year on the disputed territory but
remained at odds over its future status, a UN mediator said.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony in northwest Africa, was
annexed by Morocco in 1975, sparking a rebellion by the Polisario Front.
The United Nations brokered a cease-fire in 1991, but no political
settlement has followed.
“Each party continues to reject the proposal of the other as a sole
basis for future negotiations,” mediator Christopher Ross said after
three days of talks near New York City between Moroccan and Polisario
officials — their eighth round since 2007.
Rabat is offering self-rule to Sahara as part of Morocco, but
Polisario demands a referendum with full independence as one option. UN
officials believe one of the two positions must be used as a basis for
the talks, but neither side has been willing to back down. Western
Sahara, a thinly populated desert tract about the size of Britain, has
rich fishing grounds off its coast and reserves of phosphates, used to
make fertilizer and detergent. It may also have oil and gas reserves.
Many Saharans live in refugee camps in neighboring Algeria, which
supports Polisario. Western countries complain that the Sahara dispute
is hindering cooperation against Islamic fundamentalist groups in North
Africa.
Ross said that despite the deadlock, the two sides were willing to
“create a new dynamic in the negotiating process” in 2011 on the basis
of regular meetings. Reuters |