Polisario Front leader Mohamed Abdelaziz was quoted on Sunday as urging Morocco to respect an accord on a referendum to seal the fate of the disputed Western Sahara.

Abdelaziz, addressing a meeting of Polisario's foreign supporters gathered in the southwestern Algerian town of Tindouf where the Front has its headquarters, said the referendum would usher in more peace and stability in the region.

``The decolonisation of the Western Sahara is evolving towards allowing the Saharan people to exercise a free self-determination right without constraint provided Morocco shows a genuine political goodwill,'' he said.

The Polisario Front seeks the independence of the Western Sahara from Morocco which controls most of the former Spanish colony and claims it as part of its territory. The referendum is to give Saharans the choice between independence or integration with Morocco.

Abdelaziz was also quoted by APS as adding: ``The referendum in the Western Sahara will help strengthen peace and stability in North Africa.''

The Polisario and Morocco early this month reached an agreement on a code
of conduct to hold a referendum in the Western Sahara. The agreement was
reached under the mediation of former U.S. secretary of state James Baker.

The referendum is the cornerstone of a six-year-long effort to implement a
settlement plan for the 100,000 square mile (250,000 square km) area.

The vote was originally slated for January 1992 under a U.N. peace plan
that ended a 15-year conflict between the Polisario Front and Morocco. But
it stumbled on disputes over who should be allowed to participate in the
ballot.

PARIS 28 September 1997

Reuters