Round-up of news for January 1996.
3.1.96: A French competitor in the Granada/Dakar rally is killed by a suspected mine in the desert of Western Sahara.
3.1.96: Chinmaya Gharekhan, the UN Special Envoy arrives in Morocco to meet Prime Minister Filali, who tells Gharekhan that Morocco is concerned about the delay in holding the Western Saharan referendum.
4.1.96: The European Commission releases US$ 1.3 million in food aid to Saharawi refugees based in Algeria.
4.1.96: Jeune Afrique reports that US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Pelletreau told Moroccan opposition parties at a meeting the previous month that the Western Saharan referendum must be 'transparent'.
4.1.96: Gharekhan arrives with acting UN Special Representative Erik Jensen in the Saharawi refugee camps. The visitors are told by the Polisario leadership that there can be no more concessions on voter identification.
8.1.96: At a meeting in Tunis between Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, it is agreed to confirm Tunisian and Libyan support for the Arab Mahgreb Union (AMU). This is in response to earlier demands form Morocco to 'freeze' the activities of the AMU because of the Algerian position on Western Sahara.
8.1.96: Gharekhan arrives in Algiers.
8.1.96: In an interview with Associated Press, Moroccan Premier Filali says that Morocco wants to proceed with the Western Sahara referendum, but echoes King Hassan's position that Western Sahara is Moroccan. Filali says"We want international recognition that the territory is Moroccan", and in response to a question about Morocco's position should the referendum favour Western Saharan independence says "I think Morocco won't let itself be taken advantage of. Not only are there Moroccans there, but there are Moroccan interests there".
9.1.96: In a wide-ranging interview with Le Matin (Algerian newspaper), Mohamed Abdelaziz, leader of Polisario says that he made three key points to UN Envoy Gharekhan at their recent meeting. First, the Polisario remains attached to the original UN Settlement Plan which uses the 1974 Spanish Census as the basis of voter identification; second, the Saharawi people consider that the UN alone is responsible for the decolonisation of Western Sahara; and third, the Polisario believes that it is now necessary for the UN to exert pressure to bring Morocco to the negotiating table. On the possibility of UN withdrawal from Western Sahara, Abdelaziz says that the UN's departure would leave "war, instability, injustice and a policy of genocide against a minority people whose only crime has been to demand rights of self-determination and freedom".
16.1.96: Moroccan Premier Filali meets Polish government leaders in Warsaw where it is agreed that Morocco and Poland will give support to each other’s efforts to join the European Union. Polish Foreign Minister Dariusz Rosetti is reported as promising to support Morocco's proposals on the Western Saharan referendum.
18.1.96: Tunisian and Libyan envoys confer with King Hassan in Rabat to ask Morocco to relent on its demands to 'freeze' the Arab Mahgreb Union.
19.1.96: It is announced by Moroccan government sources that 1,200 troops will be sent to join the multinational force in Bosnia. The troops have been chosen from amongst the ranks of units based in Western Sahara.
19.1.96: Secretary general Boutros Ghali presents his report on the situation in Western Sahara.
20.1.96: In Casablanca, US Ambassador to Morocco, Marc Ginsberg expresses his government's support for King Hassan's aim to hold the Western Saharan referendum in 1996. Ginsberg adds, "The American people understand very well the attachment of the Moroccan people to the Sahara" and "You can count on the help and support of the American government for the holding of this referendum."
20.1.96: Libyan and Tunisian envoys confer with Algerian President Zeroual on Morocco's demand to 'freeze' the AMU.
23.1.96: The European Commission decides to co-fund a para-medical training programme in the Saharawi refugee camps. It is the first co-financed project approved by the EC.
25.1.96: The Reuter news agency speculates about the future of King Hassan after his recent illness (pneumonia). Apparently there has been talk that power will be slowly transferred to the King's son, Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed.
26.1.96: It is announced that Britain's Prince Charles will make an official visit to Morocco at the end of February, the second in twelve months. According to the Reuter agency, the trip has been organised as part of a concerted effort to double British trade with Morocco by the year 2000. Currently, it is estimated that Britain has 3.6% of the Moroccan market, although it is the second biggest investor in Morocco after France.
27.1.96: In a leading article, Britain's Economist magazine denounces the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara as "an ugly little theft". The magazine also says that "The world cannot go to war every time a despot grabs a piece of land. But if principles are to be invoked on those occasions when the seizure is resisted - in Kuwait or the Falklands - then they should not be forgotten on the other occasions".
29.1.96: South African Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo announces a visit to Morocco and Algeria and says he hopes to meet with Polisario leaders. Nzo adds that South African President Mandela was about to give recognition to the Western Saharan state-in-waiting (the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic) last year, but was asked to put off recognition by the UN because of the delicate state of the Western Saharan referendum arrangements. Nzo says that recognition of the SADR might follow if the referendum is further delayed.
30.1.96: The UN Security Council postpones its vote on a new resolution on Western Sahara after the US says that it needs more time to consult US Congress.
31.1.96: The UN Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1042 on Western Sahara.
This edition of Western Sahara News Digest was compiled by Martin Hughes on behalf of the Western Sahara Campaign.
For further information please contact him on 01280 821184 (+44 1280 821184).
This page uploaded 9th February 1996, and updated on 14 October, 1996.