Spain remains the administrating power until Saharawi people exercise their right to self-determination (Mohamed Abdelaziz)

The President of the Republic, Mohamed Abdelaziz, called on Spain to "reconsider its position" on the conflict of Western Sahara so as to "contribute to peace and to the respect of law", taking into consideration that Spain remains "historically, politically, legally and morally accountable for the tragedy of the Saharawi people since its disordered withdrawal of Western Sahara in the eve of the Moroccan military invasion in 1975". "This responsibility remains until the Saharawi people exercise their right to self-determination", he said during a dinner he offered on the honour a delegation from the Balearic Islands (Spain), composed of members of the two houses of the Spanish Parliament, the regional parliament, and members of the regional government and mayors of the region of Balearic Islands. Mr. Abdelaziz hailed the movement of solidarity with the Saharawi people in Spain, unveiling POLISARIO Front’s deep concerns about the dramatic situation of the Saharawi people in the occupied zones of Western Sahara because of the Moroccan repression. On the other hand, he denounced the intransigence of Morocco that continues to hinder the process of negotiations and the nomination of the new personal envoy of the UN Secretary General to Western Sahara, condemning the systematic plundering of the natural resources by Morocco. Mr. Abdelaziz recalled that the signature of contracts between the European Union and Morocco in the field of fishing is a "violation to the international legality", as long as the decolonisation of the territory is not finished through a democratic and transparent referendum on self-determination, according to the Legal Opinion of the UN Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs, Hans Corell. Concerning to the silence exercised by the UN in front of the Moroccan repression against the Saharawi civilians in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, Mr. Abdelaziz recalled that the UN promised the Saharawis since 1991 to organise the referendum, and renewed the promised in 1997 after the arrival of Mr. James Baker.