Rabat – The withdrawal by Morocco of confidence in the personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Sahara, Christopher Ross, is not something new since there was the precedent of Yacoub Khan and Van Walsum, who both wer challenged by Algeria and the Polisario, said Erik Jensen, a former UN Representative for the Sahara.
Mr. Jensen said, in an interview with “Asharq Alawsat,” published Saturday, that “in the handling of this issue (the Sahara), the confidence of the parties is the rule and the sine qua non for any UN official whose sole role is that of facilitator, the frame of reference being the relevant Security Council resolutions.”
Mr. Jensen, author of a new book on the Sahara conflict, said autonomy was mentioned during a secret meeting he had organized in August 1996 in Geneva between the Polisario and Moroccan officials.
The Polisario, which was willing to discuss a political solution based on autonomy, “cannot take any decision that goes against the interests of Algeria,” he said.
He pointed out that former personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General, James Baker, was also convinced that autonomy is the only realistic solution.
