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
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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
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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