DATE=6/28/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=WESTERN SAHARA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-263845
BYLINE=LOURDES NAVARRO
DATELINE=LONDON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations is overseeing a second
round of talks in London between the Moroccan
government and the Polisario independence movement
over the future of Western Sahara. The U-N is trying
to resolve the dispute on who is entitled to vote in a
referendum to decide the status of the area. Lourdes
Navarro reports from London that there is not much
hope of a breakthrough on the issue and diplomats say
the U-N is pushing a different solution to one of
Africa's longest conflicts.
TEXT: Diplomats say former U-S Secretary of State
James Baker, now the U-N Special Envoy to Western
Sahara, has concluded there is little hope of holding
a U-N mandated referendum in the near future and is
pressing both sides to discuss alternatives.
Morocco annexed Western Sahara in 1976 after colonial
power Spain withdrew. The Algerian backed Polisario
Front launched a 15-year guerrilla war for
independence. Both sides accepted a 1998 U-N peace
plan for a referendum. The first referendum was set
for 1992. This has been postponed several times
because of disputes on who is entitled to vote on the
issue.
International pressure is growing to resolve the
dispute, which has long disrupted trade and
communication links across Northern Africa. One
suggestion has been a form of limited autonomy for
Western Saharans under Moroccan sovereignty. The
Moroccan government is believed to be in favor of this
option.
But the Polisario Front has already rejected that
alternative and has reportedly begun military
preparations for a possible return to war.
Morocco and the Front ended fighting in 1991.
This is the second meeting in less than two months on
the issue. The last meeting, held in mid-May, lasted
only a few hours. (Signed)
NEB/LN/GE/KL
28-Jun-2000 11:00 AM EDT (28-Jun-2000 1500 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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