Sahara News
by Ali Haidar
The polisario and Algeria are having hard time at the UN Committee of 24, as representatives of fifteen countries have pinpointed the responsibility of the Algerian regime in perpetuating the dispute over the Sahara because of its support of the separatist front and its independence claims.
Omar Hilale, Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the UN, expounded the various facets of Algeria’s backing, which is not limited to mobilizing Algerian diplomatic apparatus to defend the front, but also extends to providing the separatists with armaments and financing in addition to hosting them on Algerian soil, in Tindouf.
It is inside the camps erected in Tindouf that the polisario has been sequestering for more than 40 years, in inhuman conditions, civilians coming from the Moroccan Sahara region, recalled Omar Hilale.
The Moroccan diplomat has even unveiled the culture of hatred of Morocco nurtured by the Algerian regime, which does not hesitate to inculcate separatism to Algerian primary school pupils.
In schoolbooks, it is stated that the Arab Maghreb Union will only be effective “when Western Sahara is independent”. A question on the topic is posed to pupils in year-end exams.
The Moroccan diplomat’s sound arguments have embarrassed the Algerian representative at the session of the Committee of 24 on the Sahara issue. All the more so, as this session was marked by large support to Morocco’s territorial integrity and to the autonomy initiative to achieve a lasting solution to the Sahara issue.
This support was voiced by many participating delegates, including those of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, several African states and Caribbean countries.
Algeria, Arab Maghreb Union, autonomy initiative, C-24, Morocco, Omar Hilale, Polisario, Tindouf, UN, Western Sahara
