quarta-feira, 20 de maio de 2009

Polisario Front "will take up arms in case of failure of negotiations (prime minister)


the Saharawi Prime Minister, Abdelkader Taleb Omar affirmed that in case of the failure of the 5th round of negotiations with Morocco, under the auspices of the United Nations, Polisario Front "will have no other alternative but to take up arms again."

"Polisario Front leadership is feeling concerned about the current situation of the Saharawi conflict which is in stalemate. It wants to enter a new stage, and if the fifth round of negotiations fails, we will have no other alternative but to resume war," Abdelkader stressed recently in an interview with Spanish news agency EFE.

In this context, he recalled that at the last congress of Polisario Front, held in December 2007, the majority of the delegates expressed their disappointment about the UN mediation "which failed to organise the referendum of self-determination it promised the Saharawi people to hold in 1992".

"17 years have passed already and for some, this is more than sufficient to conclude that Morocco does not have the necessary will to move forward and that the Security Council does not impose its resolutions and to compel Morocco to respect them, "he noted.

The 12th congress of Polisario Front entrusted the Saharawi leadership to establish an objective assessment of the negotiations under the auspices of the UN within a maximum period of three years.

"A year and a half has passed already. If there is progress we prefer peaceful means, but if we reach the conclusion that there is no progress, then we must move on to the next step of military preparations to take up arms again, because we are ready for everything except to surrender or accept the fait accompli of Morocco," the head of the Government of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) warned.

He further explained that the leadership of Polisario Front is facing a "growing" pressure from the Saharawi people, especially youth, who "no longer support the deadlock of the situation and require the return to war,"

The head of the Government also stressed that despite the long waiting for justice to be done and despite of the harsh conditions of life, the Saharawi people are determined "more than ever" to fight for their right to self-determination and independence.

The Prime Minister criticized the French position which has prevented the creation of a mechanism for monitoring human rights in the occupied territories of Western Sahara in the last Security Council resolution.

"It is very worrying that a country that calls itself the defender of freedom and human rights does not condemn the repression and the crimes of Morocco in Western Sahara", he said, stressing that this mechanism could be a step towards building confidence in preparation for the fifth round of negotiations, whose date is yet to be determined.

Western Sahara is the last colony in Africa. It is considered non-autonomous territory in the United Nations lists since 1966.

Morocco and Polisario Front have begun in June 2007, direct talks, under UN auspices, four rounds have been held in Manhasset, near New York, didn’t lead to any progress.

The aim of these negotiations, as defined by the Security Council, is to achieve a political solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, which provides for the right to self-determination of the Saharawi people.

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