moroccan Sahara issue reached new stage after withdrawal of confidence in Christopher Ross, official

Communication Minister and government spokesman, Mustapha El Khalfi, affirmed that the issue of the Moroccan Sahara has reached a new stage after Morocco’s decision to withdraw its confidence in UNSG personal envoy for the Sahara Christopher Ross.

In a program by TV channel “Al Jazeera”, El Khalfi called for serious and real talks based on the Moroccan initiative to grant broad autonomy to the southern provinces, as a political solution of “no winner, no loser”.

The minister said that Morocco took this decision after it made sure that the informal talks reached a dead end, under the aegis of Christopher Ross, following 9 sets of talks that spanned over three years without making any headway.

He urged the UNSG to appoint someone capable of supervising the negotiations which should be real, positive and fruitful, insisting on the fact that the talks cannot continue under the aegis of a biased person.

 He also recalled the statements by the UN official on the registration of Sahrawis which, according to Ross, does not fall within the prerogatives of UNHCR, and his stubbornness to overlook human rights’ positive developments in the Sahara.

 The minister said he was disappointed with how Ross managed the talks on the Sahara and how he marginalized the Moroccan autonomy initiative which enjoys a large international support.