MOROCCO COMMITTED TO NEXT ROUND OF SAHARA TALKS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RABAT 001688

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/01/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV MO WS
SUBJECT: MOROCCO COMMITTED TO NEXT ROUND OF SAHARA TALKS,
BUT NOT YET READY TO FIX A DATE

REF: RABAT 1671

Classified by DCM Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).


1. (C) Summary: MFA Chief of Staff and I/O Chief Nasser
Bourita confirmed PolCouns November 1 Morocco's determination
to pursue UN-sponsored negotiations with the POLISARIO Front,
and to clarify the issue of time and place for the next
round. He said this can only begin when Morocco's new
government is fully in place, a process he claimed was not
yet complete. Bourita affirmed that Morocco recognized the
POLISARIO as its negotiating partner and was not trying to
undermine it by sending pro-Moroccan Sahrawis to the
negotiations, but it would never accept that the POLISARIO is
the sole representative of the Sahrawis. End summary.

TIME AND PLACE
--------------


2. (C) MFA Chief of Staff and I/O Chief Nasser Bourita
summoned PolCouns to the Ministry on the morning of November

1. Brandishing copies of correspondence to and from Van
Walsum, Bourita insisted that previous discussion of time and
place for the next round of talks between Morocco and the
POLISARIO had only been a question posed by Van Walsum, not a
proposition, which required consultations. As noted in the
Manhasset communique, the parties had agreed to consult on a
time and place. Morocco did not have those consultations
yet, said Bourita.


3. (C) Bourita indicated that when Van Walsum met with
then-minister Benaissa in New York on September 24, the
UNSYG's Personal Representative he had posed "questions"
about the timing and location asking Moroccan views about
Switzerland. Two days later then-Minister-delegate Fassi
Fihri spoke on the phone with Van Walsum to provide a
preliminary response confirmed by a letter from the MFA on
October 9. The Moroccans laid out in the letter their formal
process of government formations, which depended on a vote of
confidence held only on October 31, but which still has not
fully run its course, he said, declining to specify an end
date. The GOM and MFA would only then be able to begin
consultations, and would very soon be ready to initiate that
process. He hoped Van Walsum would at that point move to
pursue formal consultations.


4. (C) On locations, Bourita allowed that Switzerland was
mentioned but emphasized that no formal invitation had been
received. Morocco had received, as had the UN, an offer from
Austria to host the talks as well as from a third country,
perhaps Portugal. Morocco is not in principle opposed to
Switzerland but has not agreed. Morocco had requested
consultations with Van Walsum to resolve the question of
place and date of the meeting.


5. (C) Bourita noted that Van Walsum himself had limited his
offer of timing to December 8, citing personal commitments.
While the POLISARIO has announced publicly its agreement to
November in Geneva, in September their negotiator Bieissat
had said they would go to Geneva in January. Bourita said
Morocco wanted to make sure that consultations were going on
with both sides, and refused to negotiate or be pressured
through POLISARIO press statements.

AND SUBSTANCE
--------------


6. (C) On substance, Bourita said Van Walsum should look
closely at the October 31 UNSC resolution, and particularly
its new elements. He also wanted Van Walsum to take account
of the nonsymmetrical treatment of the two efforts and to
focus the talks, as the USG had originally proposed, on the
Moroccan autonomy plan. Van Walsum should not pretend as he
seems to do that the proposals are equal.


7. (C) Bourita believed the resolution's mention of events
since June 2006 was a specific reference to the Moroccan
initiative, the King's formation of the CORCAS, and the
autonomy plan. This could hardly be a reference to the
POLISARIO proposal, which was put together in four hours.


8. (C) On representation, Bourita stated Morocco seeks not to
undercut the POLISARIO; it has agreed to negotiate with it
and that the POLISARIO is the party with which a political
agreement will be concluded. What Morocco does not agree to,

RABAT 00001688 002 OF 002


he said, is the POLISARIO claim to exclusivity of
representation of the Sahrawi people. The existence of the
CORCAS reflects the fact that many Sahrawis support and even
hold positions in the Government of Morocco, which is why
they are an essential part of the Moroccan delegation.
Although formally in the UN process, their existence is not
to be denied, he underscored.

COMMENT
--------------


9. (C) The formal installation of the Moroccan government
indeed has taken some time, but appears to us to be
essentially complete. The PM's office has informed us that
since the vote of confidence has been held (septel),formal
meetings with him and his cabinet could begin next week.


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Riley