Sahrawi Republic and Morocco: briefing by Deputy Foreign Minister

Meeting report

FOREIGN AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
19 February 2003
SAHRAWI REPUBLIC AND MOROCCO: BRIEFING BY DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER

Chairperson: Dr P Jordan

Documents:
Briefing Notes on Morocco and the Western Sahara (Parliamentary Research Unit)

Previous meeting
Wednesday 6 November 2002 South Africa's Foreign Policy Towards the SAHRAWI Republic

SUMMARY
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Aziz Pahad, addressed the committee on recent developments in the Western Sahara and Morocco. He sketched the history and background of the conflict and explained the South African and African Union stance on this matter.

MINUTES
The Chairperson introduced the topic by explaining that this was the last remaining incidence of colonialism on the continent. He pointed out that this case was unique however since the colonial power was a fellow African country, namely Morocco.

Mr Pahad began by sketching the background to the situation in North West Africa. In 1961 the disputed area became a Spanish possession. In 1963 the United Nations(UN) declared that the area was to be decolonised. In 1965 the UN declared that the people of the region had the right to self-determination. In 1973 the Polisario Front was established which resorted to armed action. In October 1975, the International Court of Justice ruled that neither Morocco or Mauritania had any ties to the area. Also in 1975, Morocco declared its sovereignty over the area and Spain started to evacuate the area. By November 1975, Spain had handed the northern area to Morocco and the south to Mauritania.. By February 1976, Spain had terminated its right to the territory. In the same year, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) accepted a constitution and declared itself a government-in-exile.

In 1979 Mauritania renounced its claim over the area and the UN encouraged Morocco to enter into discussions with the SADR. The SADR was accepted as a member of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1982. In 1990, the UN passed Resolutions 158 and 160 which formed a settlement plan for the region and proposed a referendum to be held in 1992. In 1992 the referendum was delayed because the identification of voters could not be decided on. In 1994, the identification of voters was halted and in 1996 the registration was suspended indefinitely. This stalemate was broken through efforts of the former US Secretary of State, James Baker, in September 1997 in an agreement between representatives of Morocco and the Polisario Front. In December 1998 the referendum was postponed again and in 2000 negotiations collapsed again.

In 2002 the UN Secretary General suggested four options for the region:-
· the resumption of UN attempts to sort out the problem, or
· partition of the region, or
· withdrawal of the UN, or
· renewal of the Baker Plan, which gave limited self rule to the region.

On 23 January 2003, the UN gave its latest report on the problem and asked the parties to respond within the next three months. The details of the new proposal have not been made public. However, Mr Pahad said that from rumours, it seems as if it is a redraft of the Baker Plan. It is also rumoured that the plan suggests that Morocco has control for the first five years and that a referendum be held for residents who have been staying in the region for more than 25 years.

Mr Pahad said that the UN felt that this problem had taken up too much time and was eager to see the problem resolved. It was also rumoured that the Polisario Front had made no comment on the new plan, but it seemed as if they were skeptical. Morocco was said to be in favour of the plan while Algeria was not in favour. There was also a strong feeling that the UN should pull out of the region. Mr Pahad explained that the Arab Magreb Union (AMU) had not taken off because of this problem. He explained that Morocco and the Western Sahara had not attended the planned launch of the AMU. He added that this was critical for the success of NEPAD as it depended on the functioning of regional groupings. He added that the Polisario Front had released 100 prisoners of war in 2002 and it was hoped that this would help to resolve the problem.

Mr Pahad also added that President Mbeki had met with Morocco's King Mohammed during the World Summit on Sustainable development in 2002 in Johannesburg and stressed that there should be movement on the issue. He explained that South Africa would support the UN in the working out of the problem before it would get involved directly. He admitted that due to other essential and burning issues in Africa, this problem had not been given enough attention.

Discussion
Ms. F Hajaij (ANC) referred to a recent rapprochement between Algeria and Morocco and wanted to know whether this would bring any movement in the region. She also wanted to know what the Polisario Front thought at the moment about the situation and what the AU could do once the Peace and Security Council was set up. Mr Pahad replied that the rapprochement was recent and that he did not know all the details. He added that the AU seemed to have other burning issues to attend to and had neglected this one.

Ms. F Mohamed referred to the fact that the US was supporting Morocco and wondered whether this would put multilateralism in jeopardy. Mr Pahad responded that he was not sure about the role of the US and that it was a very difficult issue. In his personal view he believed that the Moroccans felt that the tide was turning in their favour.

Mr O Bapela (ANC) felt that South Africa was not engaging enough with all three parties and added that all three parties felt this way. He believed that a team should be established to focus on this matter. Mr Pahad agreed that it was a weakness not to have contact. He also felt that there were changes taking place in Morocco as they seemed to be moving more to democracy and allegiances were constantly shifting.

Mr B Geldenhuys (NNP) referred to the fact that the region's population was less that 250 000 and wanted to know whether self-determination was viable or sustainable. Mr Pahad replied that the issue revolved around the fact that the people had a right to self determination and would have to come to grip with problems facing them.

Mr M Ramgobin (ANC) said that he felt that the AU was abdicating its responsibility by waiting for the UN to resolve the problem. He also wondered whether the issue was on the Paris agenda where African leaders were meeting with France. Mr Pahad replied that he did not think the AU was abdicating its role. The AU however was dealing with other issues such as the Ivory Coast, Burundi and the DRC and it was being stretched in the process.

Mr O Bapela (ANC) felt that as South Africa had done with the different parties in the DRC, it should do likewise with this issue, that is, bring them together to resolve the issue. He also wondered whether South Africa should not change the status of the representatives of the Western Sahara and felt that this might accelerate the process. Mr Pahad replied that there should first be interaction with the different parties to reassess the situation. He also felt that if the status of the representatives change, South Africa would alienate Morocco.

Mr W Makanda (UDM) asked if the OAU had known the history of the area when it had recognised the SADR in 1982. He said that Morocco claimed that it was part of it when it was a Spanish colony. He also wanted to know what Algeria's interest was in the area. Mr Pahad asked the Chairperson to respond to this question. Mr Jordan said that the issues of colonialism were the cause of the problem. He said that the OAU was aware of the history, but had decided to recognise the old colonial boundaries. He added that perhaps this was not the best decision. Mr Pahad added that there were refugees from the area in Algeria.

Mr J Sithole (ANC) noted that South Africa's trade with Morocco had increased since 1994 and wanted to know whether this was the motivation for not supporting the SADR struggle. Mr Pahad stated that the trade figures were not high and that the EU was Morocco's major trade partner.

The Chairperson thanked the Deputy Minister for coming and adjourned the meeting.