POLISARIO AMBASSADOR SAYS RECENT MOROCCAN RHETORIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 001041

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2019
TAGS: PREL PBTS MARR PTER AG MO UN
SUBJECT: POLISARIO AMBASSADOR SAYS RECENT MOROCCAN RHETORIC
UNDERMINES UN MEDIATION

REF: 08 ALGIERS 1269

Classified By: DCM William Jordan; reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
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1. (C) Polisario Front "Ambassador" in Algiers on November
17 portrayed the Moroccan government's tougher position on
Western Sahara and its mistreatment of Sahrawi rights
activists as a provocation designed to undermine UN Special
Envoy Christopher Ross' efforts to restart talks, and he
stated that Polisario would find it difficult to negotiate
with Morocco under these conditions. End summary.

Moroccan King's Speech a Provocation
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2. (C) Pol-Econ Chief and poloff paid a courtesy call
November 17 on Polisario Front "Ambassador" to Algiers Brahim
Ghali to discuss the status of UN-led talks between the
Polisario and Morocco as well as the DCM's November 21 trip
to Tindouf (reported septel). Over more than an hour, Ghali
argued that Moroccan King Mohammed VI's speech on November 6,
marking the 34th anniversary of the Green March, represented
a hardening of Morocco's position designed to undermine the
UN-led negotiations. (Note: Algerian press spotlighted the
portions of the King's speech stating that one is either a
patriot or a traitor with respect to the Western Sahara
conflict. End note) The Polisario official asserted that
the King has promoted an image of Morocco as a country
concerned with human rights and democratization, but the
speech showed that King Mohammed is continuing the
expansionist and totalitarian traditions of his father.
Ghali argued that despite recent Moroccan provocations, the
Polisario has approached the negotiations in good faith
without preconditions on the basis of UN Security Council
Resolution 1754, which supports the Sahrawis' right to
self-determination. He accused Morocco of demanding that the
Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara be the sole basis
for negotiation in renewed talks.

Polisario Expresses Skepticism over U.S. Statements
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3. (C) Ghali said that Polisario's hopes for a fair solution
had soared with the election of the President Obama, but
Polisario was dismayed by the Secretary's recent statements
calling the Moroccan autonomy proposal serious and credible.
He claimed this gave more weight to the Moroccan plan, would
negatively influence the atmosphere of negotiations, and
would undermine UN Personal Envoy Christopher Ross' efforts.
Ghali expressed skepticism toward Pol-Econ Chief's
explanation that the Secretary's statement expressed the USG
view of the Moroccan plan as a serious proposal among others,
as A/S Feltman previously stated during his late October
visit to Algiers.


4. (C) When Pol-Econ Chief noted that the U.S. is the
largest donor to the World Food Program's efforts in the
Tindouf refugee camps, Ghali responded that the Sahrawi would
not exchange their dignity for a piece of bread. He stated
that the Sahrawi are simply asking for the right to choose
their status. The Sahrawi people want to determine their
fate freely through a referendum. He insisted that the
Polisario leadership would support whichever outcome,
including integration with Morocco, that the Sahrawi people
choose.

Deportation of Sahrawi Activist Aminatou Haidar
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5. (C) Ghali outlined the events related to the deportation
of Aminatou Haidar, a prominent Sahrawi human rights activist
and recipient of U.S. human rights awards. He stated that
Haidar was arrested on November 13 at the Laayoune airport in
Western Sahara upon her return from New York, where she
recently received an award. Moroccan authorities arrested
Haidar after she wrote "Western Sahara" as her country of
residence on an airport entry form, as she has done
previously upon entering Morocco. Ghali claimed that Haidar
was interrogated for 24 hours before Moroccan authorities
confiscated her Moroccan passport and on November 14 deported
her to the Canary Islands.


6. (C) The Polisario official accused Spain of complicity in
the deportation because it accepted Haidar without a Moroccan
passport. (Note: Press reports stated that Spain accepted
Haidar because she has a Spanish residency permit. End
note.) Ghali stated that Haidar began a hunger strike on
November 15 that she would continue until allowed to return
to the Western Sahara and claimed that many Europeans,

especially Spanish citizens, have begun hunger strikes in
solidarity. Lastly, Ghali questioned why the seven Sahrawi
human rights activists arrested in Casablanca on October 8
were facing a Moroccan military tribunal. The activists were
returning from the refugee camps in Tindouf, where Ghali
claimed that they were visiting family members.

Praise for Ross' Efforts, But Skeptical on Future Talks
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7. (C) Ghali praised UN Personal Envoy Christopher Ross as a
diplomat experienced in the region who had undertaken
multiple visits to Tindouf since his appointment. He also
praised Ross' efforts to establish family visits by land
through the berm, claiming that more than 20,000 Sahrawis
were waiting to visit family members in the refugee camps.
Ghali chided the Moroccan government for waiting four months
to approve Ross' nomination as personal envoy. Ghali claimed
that the Moroccan government's hardened position on Western
Sahara and its mistreatment of Sahrawi rights activists are a
provocation designed to disrupt Ross' efforts to mediate the
dispute. He questioned why the UN Security Council, General
Assembly, and Ross had not reacted to these Moroccan actions.
Ghali finally asked how the Polisario could resume
negotiations under these conditions.

Polisario Warns of Potential for Violence
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8. (C) Ghali cautioned that the region is full of extremists
and that the Sahrawi people should not be pushed too far.
They had waited nearly 35 years for a solution. He claimed
that the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara could give
birth to a Maghreb equivalent of Hamas. Ghali recalled that
after the Polisario Front's last political congress in
December 2007, it had taken the Polisario leadership three
days to convince the Sahrawi youth that a peaceful solution
to the conflict with Morocco was the right solution.

Comment:
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9. (C) Ghali's comment on Sahrawi youth's growing frustration
with negotiations is a familiar Polisario talking point.
During a 2008 visit to Tindouf, the head of MINURSO's liaison
office told us that a rowdy group of young Sahrawi delegates
criticized the peaceful approach to talks at the December
2007 congress, but he saw no evidence of action behind such
rhetoric (reftel). Nonetheless, we believe the Polisario's
concern over recent arrests and leadership statements in
Morocco and their uncertainty about the direction of U.S.
policy are genuine. Embassy will be alert to public signs
that Polisario is becoming dubious about engaging in the next
round of informal talks.

PEARCE