WESTERN SAHARA WEEKLY NEWS

WEEK 34

16.-22.08.1998

16.08.98
Balance of the identification

Applicants convoked since Dec. 1997: 115.402

Applicants identified since Dec. 1997: 85.816

Applicants identified since Aug. 1994: 145.928

16.08.98
USA-Morocco
The Saharawi Ministry of Information published a communique concerning the letter addressed to President Clinton by 92 US Congressmen. It remembers that the Congressmen urged Mr. William Clinton to use his influence to bring the Moroccan government to remove the hurdles standing in the way of the implementaion of the Houston agreements. They also asked the American president to take all necessary measures in order to bring the two parties to apply their commitments so that the selfdetermination referendum can take place in full liberty.
In his statement, the assistant spokesman for the State Department underlined that the US government continues urging Morocco to cooperate with the UN in order to resolve the Western Sahara conflict. He also affirmed the long-standing friendship and good cooperation between the two countries (El Hayat 14.08.98).

16.08.98
Two identification centers open in Rabat, Morocco.

17.08.98
The United Nations shut down one of the two offices in the Moroccan capital registering voters for a referendum over the future of the disputed Western Sahara, a U.N. spokesman said. The second center will close shortly.

18.08.98
Council of Europe
Mrs Leni Fischer, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will visit Morocco this month with a parliamentary delegation.

18.08.98
Progress Report of the Secretary General, S/1998/775
Concerning identification Mr Annan gives the balance and announces the end of the operation in Sidi Kacem and Kelaa of Sraghna in Morocco. On August 31 all persons which desired participate to the referendum will have been convoked excepted some hundreds living abroad and the members of the contested tribal groupings H41, H61 and J51/52.
Since the last report the same problems remain:

• No solution has been found for the question of the contested tribal groups.
• The demining is still delayed: an agreement concerning the weapons, ammunition, and explosives of the MINURSO engineering support and demining units could be found, but MINURSO's communications equipment has been held up for the past two months at El Ayoune airport, in contradiction of the privileges and immunities traditionally granted by host countries to all United Nations peacekeeping operations. The Swedish contingent will be unable to start its actual demining activities on time, and is therefore unlikely to complete its tasks by early October 1998, as initially planned.
• The agreement about the status of forces was not signed: Morocco's response to the draft status-of-forces agreement is still awaited, despite repeated assurances that it would be promptly provided.
• The repatriation of the refugees is still on the same point: UNHCR continued with its preparatory work. Pre-registration of refugees and their immediate family members continued in northern Mauritania and in the Tindouf area of Algeria, but Morocco has not yet confirmed the formalization of the presence of UNHCR and its preparatory work in the Territory.
• The use of MINURSO aircraft by visiting diplomats and journalists is prohibited by the Moroccans.

In conclusion the SG declares there are excellent prospects for completing, in August 1998, the identification of applicants from all tribal groups and sub-fractions, with the exception of groupings H41, H61 and J51/52. He had asked his Personal Envoy to consider engaging the parties in seeking a solution to the problem of the three tribal groupings and to other issues bearing upon the implementation of the Settlement Plan. Mr Baker is considering contacts with the parties in early September 1998, following which he will assess the implementability of the Plan in its present form and examine whether there are any adjustments to the Plan, acceptable to the Parties, which would significantly improve the chances of implementing it. The next report will be published on September 15, before the expiration of the mandate of MINURSO on September 21.

21.08.98
UN-Subcommittee on Human Rights, Geneva, 3-28.08.98
Haissan Abba Salek, member of the Saharawi Lawyers, speaking in the name of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, said that the right to movement was being ignored by many countries, notably Morocco. In Western Sahara, the Moroccan authorities had prohibited UN aircraft from carrying anyone other than personnel from the MINURSO. Restrictions imposed on freedom of movement were prejudicial to the results of the referendum. The Moroccan authorities were practising a policy of settlement of Moroccans in Western Sahara to change the demography of the area. The Sahrawis were not allowed to leave the occupied territories, even to visit their relatives in refugee camps and vice-versa. The Moroccan government refused to hand over to the UN Mission information that would enable the safe return of refugees. The international community had to act to ensure that everyone had free access to the territory. The UN should declare the start of the transition period, and demand the suspension of those laws which could impede the referendum.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

• Western Sahara, the Un and India's Stand: An Overview, Choudhary Deepak, Indian Africanist, April-June 1998, pp. 27-30.
• Washington appelas Morocco to work for a solution of the Sahara conflict, El Hayat, 14.08.98.
• Courrier de France, N° 5, Juillet-Août 1998, publication de la représentation du Front Polisario en France.
• Des congressistes américains interpellent Clinton, El Watan, Alger, 17.08.98.
• Progress Report of the Secretary-Genral on the situation concerning Western Sahara S/1998/775, 18.08.98
• Rapport intérimaire du Secrétaire général sur la situation concernant le Sahara occidental S/1998/775, 18.08.98
• Qatar: Al Jazira, la TV qui dérange les autres, Confidentiel, Jeune Afrique, Paris, No 1962-3, 18.08.98, p. 7.
• Etats-Unis: fructueux lobbying marocain, ibidem, p. 8.
• Une solution pour le Sahara, une solution pour le Maghreb, Point de vue de Guen Moncef, Président de l'association du Grand Maghreb, ibidem, p. 159.
• Intervention de l'Association Internationale des Juristes Démocrates devant la Sous-commission des droits humains, 50ème session, 21.08.98, point 10: liberté de circulation.

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