Washington / Morocco Board News– The Western sahara separatist group, polisario, was blindsided during a conference, at the British Parliament in London, that was supposed to advocate for its position.
The keynote speaker, Paul Whiteway, of the “Independent Diplomat”, an outfit that lobbies for the polisario, attempted to present the “Arab Spring” as “godsend” for Western Sahara separatists to make their voice heard.
Halfway through his speech, Mr. Whiteway recognized Morocco’s achievements saying that the Kingdom successfully responded to the reform calls. Whiteway said “Morocco’s reforms- approved by referendum- were largely welcomed by the international community,” . He added that western countries including the US consider Morocco as a model in the region.
Another speaker, International law expert, Catriona Drew, deemed Morocco’s autonomy initiative for Western Sahara, as a form of self-determination. Drew, a professor at the London School of Oriental and African Studies, said that the UN Security Council described Morocco’s autonomy plan as “serious and credible”, adding that this option is an alternative to the referendum, which has proven to be unfeasible.
In this respect, she added her voice to Peter Van Walsum’s, former UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy, who said that “independence is not a realistic option”.
British MP Mark Pritchard raised the issue of Western Sahara Separatists mercenaries fighting for Gaddafi’s regime and against libyan rebels. MP Pritchard quoted NATO sources, which made clear that Polisario’s Western Sahara mercenaries fought alongside troops loyal to the deposed Gaddafi dictator. He said that NATO does make such announcements unless it has credible sources.
Other participants questioned the level of control that Algeria has over its western Sahara protege and Algeria’s strategic goals in North Africa, now that its ally Gaddafi has lost power.
Western Sahara: Support for Gaddafi Raised at British parliament
