Algerian Radio
The President of the Algerian Committee for Support of the Sahrawi People, Saïd Ayachi, reiterated on Sunday the sine qua non condition for resolving the conflict in Western Sahara: the consultation of the Sahrawi people to define their own future through a referendum.
Speaking on the program "L’invité du jour" (The Guest of the Day) on Algerian Radio's Channel 3, Mr. Ayachi indicated that the Sahrawi people must be consulted regardless of the solution proposed to them. "The opinion of the Sahrawis must be sought to remain within the moral and legal framework of decolonization, because every colonized people has the right to freely choose its destiny," he affirmed.
When asked about the negotiations between the Polisario Front and Morocco, the latest round of which took place on February 23 and 24 in Washington (United States), the speaker indicated that the negotiations are intense.
According to him, there are two major stumbling blocks. Elaborating on the first point, he explained that if negotiations are to focus on the autonomy plan, details must be addressed. "The Sahrawis say that certain officials placed at the head of the autonomous government structures should be elected and not appointed by the King, while the Moroccan side insists that the King must appoint them," he indicated.
Regarding the second stumbling block—the most important in his view—it concerns the obligation for the Sahrawi people to validate the autonomy plan.
"The Sahrawi people must be consulted on the validity of this autonomy plan; that is to say, there must be a referendum to validate, in accordance with international law, this option currently on the table," he added.
Furthermore, Mr. Ayachi does not rule out that other conflict resolution plans could be discussed subsequently, but always within the framework of a referendum.
