The Algerian delegation in New York reiterated yesterday, Thursday, that the formula of “round tables” to resume negotiations on Western Sahara, to which a draft resolution on extending the MINURSO mandate, is “useless.”
In a letter to the President of the Security Council, Martin Kimani, a copy of which was received by the chairman of the United Nations, the Algerian delegation responded strongly to the negotiation formula called “round tables” proposed in the project.
The delegation wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by the mission, that “on the instructions of our government, we are writing to you to reaffirm our country’s position on what is referred to in the draft resolution about the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Organization of the Referendum in the Western Sahara (MINURSO), through the so-called “round tables”.
The Algerian delegation indicated that “Algeria has never considered these “round tables” as a final formula for the conduct of the political process in Western Sahara, but rather as a transitional stage towards negotiations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front.”
The delegation stressed that “these (round tables) have proven ineffective and useless given that they are being exploited by the Moroccan authorities to avoid their responsibilities and distort the reality of the conflict in Western Sahara, as a decolonization issue.”
The Algerian mission warns that Algeria will not, in any way, participate in these “round tables”, reiterating its commitment to support the efforts of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to revive direct negotiations between the two parties to the conflict namely, the Polisario Front and Morocco.
The mission stressed that “Algeria strongly rejects any indication of a commitment on its behalf to participate in such (round tables), but it remains “firm in supporting the efforts of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and his call to the Security Council members to encourage Morocco and the Polisario Front to engage in good faith and without preconditions in the political process.
Finally, the mission requested Mr. Martin Kimani to present this letter to the members of the Security Council to inform them Algeria’s position.
On October 12, the Special Envoy in charge of the issue of Western Sahara and the countries of the Maghreb, Ammar Belani, made it clear in a statement that the (round tables) formula is no longer useful, considering that “this option is outdated as a result of the Moroccan party’s exploitation of the Algerian participation in the previous tables to propagate the allegation that our country is a party to a regional conflict.”
He stated that “all Security Council resolutions have clearly identified the parties to the conflict. Algeria, like Mauritania, has the status of a neighbor and observer country in the process of settling the conflict, a status recognized by the United Nations.
