BIR LEHLOU (Sahrawi Republic) 01 November 2019 (SPS) – Sahrawi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Salem Uld Salek, made a statement to the Sahrawi Press Service (SPS) in reaction to the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2494 adopted last October 30th on Western Sahara.
In his statement on the positions of the Sahrawi Republic and the Polisario Front on various aspects of past engagement with the United Nations, the Saharawi Minister recalled that the complicity of France reached its peak recently in the Security Council, and the degree of its attempt to change the mission and nature of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is beyond tolerance.
Here is the full text of the statement SPS received:
Statement by Mr. Mohamed Salem Ould Salek
Minister of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic
Following the adoption by the UN Security Council of its Resolution 2494 two days ago, the Moroccan occupier attempted as usual to use make use of the opportunity to propagate its readings of the text and to renew its claims and illusions.
It is therefore essential to present to the national and international public opinion the following:
1. Since Morocco’s disclosure of its intention to evade its obligations under the Settlement Plan we concluded with it under the auspices of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity in 1991 after 16 years of war, we emphasized that Morocco’s retreat from the implementation of the provisions of this bilateral agreement may take the whole region back to square one.
2. Despite the complicity and bias towards the occupier within the Security Council, we have tried hard to assist the United Nations to carry on its efforts to decolonize Western Sahara by the implementation of MINURSO’s mandate in organizing a self-determination referendum, but France, as a permanent member of the Security Council with the right of Veto, aborted all steps and efforts of the United Nations and jeopardized all processes of cooperation, restraint and goodwill adopted by the Sahrawi party to deal with the situation for almost three decades.
3. The unashamed complicity with the illegal Moroccan occupation, from within the Security Council, culminated in recent attempts to change MINURSO’s mission by introducing new formulations and terminology that are totally contrary to the letter and spirit of the agreement between the two parties, contrary to the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, and contrary to the decisions and provisions of the African Union and the International Court of Justice. .
4. We clearly and responsibly affirm that neither France nor Morocco, nor any other party, can confiscate the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence.
We affirm that the exercise by the Sahrawi people of their entrenched and inalienable right to self-determination and independence is a compromise solution that is realistic and consensual. It was agreed upon by both parties and received unanimous support at the level of the United Nations and the African Union.
5. France must realize that it is in its interest to help the Kingdom of Morocco understand that coexistence with the Sahrawi Republic, its eternal neighbor, is the only just, peaceful and lasting option and that respecting the borders of all its neighbors and engaging in a policy of cooperation for sustainable development, combating terrorism and organized crime is the best way to ensure stability and peace.
6. The attempt to use the authority of the Security Council against the resolutions and provisions of international legality concerning the question of Western Sahara is a desperate and deliberate attempt aimed at igniting war in the region to impose selfish and colonial interests through illegal occupation and the imposition of a fait accompli by force of arms.
7. There shall be no tolerance with the use of MINURSO to protect the occupation. The United Nations Mission must enjoy all its prerogatives and be completely freed from the grip and control of the authority of occupation. And there will be no tolerance with any attempt to change its mission consisted of the organization of the referendum.
8. Commitment to the cease-fire is linked and subject to the commitment to the organization of the referendum because they together constitute the agreement that led to the establishment of MINURSO as an implementation mechanism.
9. Anyone who dreams that, over time, the Saharawi people can be prevented from their rights and full sovereignty on their land commits a folly with serious consequences.
10. Three decades of delays and of buying off accomplices have not been useful in anything, and rather deepened poverty and deprivation in Morocco, postponed democracy and impeded the Maghreb region’s integration.
11. After 44 years of attempts to exterminate the Saharawi people by all means and to eliminate all forms of resistance, it must be recognized that the Saharawi State cannot be overlooked or denied the right to exist nor can it be reduced through half-solutions. The fact that the Kingdom of Morocco is sitting along with the Sahrawi Republic in continental and international conferences and forums is a clear proof that the course of the Sahrawi state to take its place in the United Nations is irreversible.
Moreover, the international community’s adherence to the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence and its rejection of any Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara are further evidence that the era of colonialism, expansionist illusions and the acquisition of the territory of neighbors by the use of force is now over and affirms that the Moroccan State of occupation is going against the contemporary international trend.
12. We declare to those who want to play with fire consciously or out of recklessness or lack of ability to rightly appreciate the situation that there are red lines marked with the blood of martyrs that cannot be crossed by anyone. And who ever dare to do so will find the Sahrawi people in front of them as always.
Bir Lehlou 1 November 2019″. (SPS)