NEA/MAG DIRECTOR'S MEETING WITH POLISARIO

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 000252 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2017 TAGS: PREL PBTS PHUM PREF WI AG SUBJECT: NEA/MAG DIRECTOR'S MEETING WITH POLISARIO AMBASSADOR TO ALGERIA BEISSAT Classified By: DCM Thomas F. Daughton, reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) NEA/MAG Director Elizabeth Hopkins, accompanied by DCM and PolEc Chief, met February 24 with Polisario Ambassador to Algeria Mohamed Beissat. Beissat opened by expressing the Polisario's disappointment that it had not see any momentum generated out of its release of Moroccan prisoners as part of Senator Lugar's August 2005 mission. It was important to end Sahrawi "injustice and suffering," Beissat said, and the Polisario looked to the U.S. for help. AUTONOMY PLAN -------------- ¶2. (C) Beissat asked for the U.S. view of the reported Moroccan autonomy plan for the Western Sahara. Hopkins noted that two Moroccan delegations had separately traveled to Washington in recent months to express the Moroccan commitment to crafting an autonomy plan. U.S. officials, said Hopkins, had impressed on the Moroccans the need to develop the plan in consultation with all parties, including the Polisario. We had also underscored the importance the U.S. attached to self-determination and UN principles. Hopkins noted that the U.S. had not seen a Moroccan plan in writing and would wait to see if the elements the plan contained were sufficiently credible. She urged the Polisario to be open to talk with the Moroccans, and said the U.S. would be prepared to facilitate the process. ¶3. (C) Beissat underscored that the nature of the conflict was one of decolonization in the aftermath of Spain's departure from the Western Sahara. He strongly urged the U.S. not to "denaturalize" the conflict by supporting Moroccan efforts to talk about autonomy. The Sahrawi people had the right to self-determination, he stressed. Neither Spain, Morocco, Mauritania nor Algeria spoke for them. The Sahrawis alone had the authority and legal right to decide their future. Beissat dismissed CORCAS, which had met with U.S. officials. Its leader was a creature of the Franco regime, he claimed, and it was ironic that he had been rehabilitated and was now perceived in some circles as speaking for the Sahrawi people. REFUGEES: NO CENSUS -------------- ¶4. (C) Hopkins said she was disturbed by recent reports of anemia and malnutrition among Sahrawis in the camps and urged the Polisario to work with the donor community to find a practical means to count the refugee population for food distribution purposes. Hopkins stressed that the desire for a census was not intended in any way to jeopardize an eventual political settlement. Beissat asserted in response that Morocco would exploit any attempt to count refugees; therefore a formal census could not be permitted. He added, however, that the donors were always welcome to visit the camps and make their own observations on food aid. ¶5. (C) Beissat told Hopkins that it was the Sahrawis who had the most to lose from maintenance of the status quo in the relationship with Morocco. He argued that Morocco was systematically stealing Sahrawi natural resources and fish stocks. The Sahrawis were ready, in an independent Western Sahara, to be peaceful and productive members of a larger, integrated Maghreb community. Beissat reiterated that the Sahrawis must be given the right of self-determination. Only through a vote could the Sahrawis express their wishes. The UN had long supported a referendum, and it was a key component of the Baker Plan, added Beissat. The bottom line, he said, was that the Polisario looked to the U.S. to be faithful to its values in pursuing a solution to the conflict. ¶6. (U) NEA/MAG Director Hopkins has cleared this message. FORD