THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF SAHRAWI REPUBLIC OBSERVED

UNCLAS ALGIERS 000342 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PBTS PHUM AG MO WI SUBJECT: THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF SAHRAWI REPUBLIC OBSERVED REF: A. RABAT 344 ¶B. RABAT 355 POLISARIO "AMBASSADOR" POSITIVE ABOUT U.S. -------------- ¶1. According to Algerian press reports confirmed by Embassy Rabat (reftels),the Polisario peacefully marked February 27 the 30th anniversary of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Unlike May 2005 statements from Polisario leader Abdelaziz and President Bouteflika, the statements this year avoided provocative language about the "right to self-determination and independence." ¶2. In an interview before the anniversary with Arabic-language daily newspaper Ech-Chorouk El Youmi that appeared in print February 27, Polisario Ambassador to Algeria Beissat praised the U.S. for sending NEA/MAG Director William Jordan to see the conditions in the Tindouf camps first-hand following recent floods. While acknowledging the humanitarian support of several nations and organizations after the floods, Beissat singled out for praise the $50,000 U.S. contribution to the World Food Program. ALGERIA SUPPORTS SELF-DETERMINATION -------------- ¶3. In a written message to Polisario leader Abdelaziz on the occasion of the SADR's 30th anniversary, President Bouteflika affirmed that his country would continue to support the Sahrawi people. "As a country bordering the two parties to the conflict (Morocco and the Polisario Algeria will continue to assume its responsibilities" so that a settlement in accordance with international law can be reached that protects the right of self-determination for the people of the Western Sahara. Bouteflika added that this was the "last problem of its kind on the African continent," a reference to decolonization. POLISARIO LEADER MAKES NO MENTION OF INDEPENDENCE -------------- -------------- ¶4. Polisario leader Abdelaziz also notably avoided any mention of independence in his February 27 speech on the 30th anniversary, but firmly rejected "the Moroccan autonomy plan" for the Western Sahara as contrary to the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions and as a "new maneuver" to impose a colonial solution. This Moroccan plan, he warned, would ineluctably lead the region toward a "dangerous skidding out of control" (derapage). Noting the Polisario's acceptance of the Baker Plan, he affirmed that the principle of self-determination for the Sahrawi people was sacred and declared that "any solution to the conflict of the Western Sahara must respect the Sahrawis' ... right to self-determination." He also called on the international community to encourage Morocco to put an end to the "looting and sale" of the Sahrawis' natural resources. Abdelaziz paid tribute to "the Sahrawi resistance in the territories under Moroccan occupation and to the courageous and historical position of Algeria and its unfailing support for the decolonization process, as well as the role of Africa in the defense of the Sahrawi cause." ERDMAN