UN Security Council to urge direct WSahara talks
United
Nations,
Apr
21:
The
UN
Security
Council
will
likely
call
next
week
for
talks
on
Western
Sahara
in
a
shift
that
could
boost
peace
efforts
between
Morocco
and
Sahara's
independence
movement,
diplomats
said.
The
council
didn't
support
negotiations
when
it
last
considered
the
issue
six
months
ago
despite
a
call
to
do
so
by
former
Secretary-General
Kofi
Annan.
Earlier
last
year,
the
Polisario
movement
had
rejected
direct
talks
with
Rabat.
But
this
month,
both
the
Polisario
and
Morocco
handed
the
United
Nations
proposals
for
the
future
of
the
resource-rich
territory
of
260,000
people,
annexed
by
Morocco
after
Spain
abandoned
its
colonial
occupation
in
1975.
Each
side
now
says
it
is
ready
in
principle
to
talk
to
the
other,
but
wide
differences
remain
on
the
basis
for
talks.
Diplomats
said
the
two
proposals
encouraged
the
Security
Council,
which
discussed
Sahara
yesterday,
to
throw
its
weight
behind
a
renewed
appeal
for
talks
this
week
by
the
current
secretary-general,
Ban
Ki-moon.
''Members
of
the
council
are
enthusiastic
there
should
be
negotiations
between
the
parties,''
said
current
council
president,
British
Ambassador
Emyr
Jones
Parry.
He
said
the
council
was
also
expected
to
renew
the
mandate
of
the
220-member
UN
peacekeeping
force
for
Western
Sahara,
which
expires
on
April
30.
The
Western
Sahara,
spanning
an
area
larger
than
Britain,
has
lucrative
phosphate
reserves
and
rich
fishing
grounds.
Many
thousands
of
Sahrawis
live
in
refugee
camps
across
the
border
in
Algeria.
Morocco
sees
talks
as
dealing
with
the
nuts
and
bolts
of
autonomy
under
Moroccan
sovereignty,
in
line
with
its
new
proposal.
The
Algeria-based
Polisario
wants
them
to
discuss
a
referendum
that
would
offer
independence
as
one
option.
Both
sides
say
they
have
made
concessions.
Morocco
says
it
has
broken
new
ground
in
its
self-rule
plan,
which
if
agreed
in
talks
would
be
put
to
the
vote
by
Sahrawis
in
what
Rabat
says
would
be
the
self-determination
Polisario
and
the
United
Nations
seek.
Polisario
says
that
for
the
first
time
it
is
prepared
to
offer
Sahrawis
a
choice
between
independence,
autonomy
or
integration
into
Morocco
rather
than
a
straight
yes-or-no
vote
on
independence.
Both
sides
have
their
supporters
in
the
Security
Council.
France
and
the
United
States
have
praised
the
Moroccan
proposal.
South
Africa
and
some
other
developing
countries
are
sympathetic
to
Polisario.
Diplomats
said
a
draft
resolution
renewing
the
mandate
of
the
UN
force,
to
be
circulated
on
Monday,
was
key.
''If
the
resolution
tries
to
equate
one
plan
being
better
than
the
other,
we
will
definitely
oppose
it,''
said
South
African
Ambassador
Dumisani
Kumalo.
Reuters