Infiltration Of Tindouf By Terrorist Groups Stresses Need For Settling Sahara Issue- MEP

The terrorist threat plaguing the whole region of the Sahel and the infiltration of the Tindouf camps in south-western Algeria by jihadist groups underscores the urgency of settling the Sahara issue, Socialist member of the European Parliament Gilles Pargneaux said on Wednesday in Brussels.

Speaking at a conference in the European Parliament on the Sahara issue, Pargneaux said that the status-quo is "untenable" given the looming risk of Tindouf becoming a stronghold for jihadists.

Pargneaux, who is also Chairman of the Morocco-EU friendship group at the European Parliament, warned of the dangers represented by the proliferation of terrorist groups in the polisario-run camps of Tindouf, noting that security and intelligence services all consider that the former leader of Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar used Tindouf as a refuge after leaving Mali in the wake of the French military intervention in January 2013.

It is, therefore, necessary for the EU to intervene in order to prevent the upsurge of terrorist strongholds at the gate of Europe, he said.

The growing instability "pushes us to seek a solution to the Sahara issue and a reconciliation between Algeria and Morocco," Pargneaux made it clear.

On the impediments to a solution to the Sahara issue, Pargneaux pointed out to the responsibility of Algeria as it remains stubbornly attached to obsolete prisms that prevents it from evolving at the political level.

The MEP strongly condemned the serious human rights violations committed by the polisario against the population held against their will in the Tindouf camps. In this respect, he deplored the embezzlement of humanitarian aid by Algerian and polisario officials to the detriment of the population held in the camps.

This embezzlement was the subject of an inquiry by Pargneaux addressed to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. "proofs are undeniable" and show large-scale abuse and dysfunctions regarding the distribution of international humanitarian aid sent to Tindouf camps, he deplored.

The Sahara conflict has been imposed on Morocco by Algeria which continues to support and host the polisario separatist front. The Algerian support for the creation of an artificial state in the Moroccan territory has been hindering efforts aiming at achieving regional economy integration and security cooperation.

To reach a lasting settlement of the regional dispute that has lasted for four decades, Morocco put forward a substantial autonomy initiative that has been welcomed by key international actors as a serious, credible and realistic proposal.

MAP 05 February 2015

Sahara: Algeria's Dangerous Game Exposed At European Parliament

The dangerous game of Algeria for over 40 years to undermine the interests of Morocco through its political, diplomatic, financial and military support to the Polisario Front has once again be exposed at the European Parliament on the occasion of the screening of the documentary "Polisario: Identity of a front", which provides accurate insight and objective view on the Sahara issue.

   The 52-minute film was screened in a room packed with several MEPs, representatives of diplomatic missions and Sahrawi NGOs based in Europe, at the initiative of the President of the EU-Morocco Friendship Group at the European Parliament, Gilles Pargneaux.

   "The documentary sheds light on the reality of the Polisario and offers a study that sheds light on its essence, ideology, supporters, practices, lack of legitimacy to represent the Sahrawis or defend a cause", Pargneaux said on this occasion.

   The film digs into the  history of the conflict by using authentic images from the archives of the French National Audiovisual Institute (INA) in addition to reports of personal harrowing accounts  by  founding members of  the Polisario, including intellectuals, as well as known Moroccan opposition members at the time.

   The documentary depicts Algeria’s manipulation of the Polisario Front, which was initially created by Sahrawi students to fight against the Spanish occupation of the Moroccan Sahara. The Algerian exploitation was meant to weaken Morocco and ultimately serve Algeria’s interest and designs toward hegemony in the region.

MAP 04 February 2015

Autonomy 'Only Honorable Solution' To Settle Sahara Issue, Says Erik Jansen

  Autonomy is the "only honorable way" to settle the Sahara conflict, former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to the Sahara, Erik Jansen, said Wednesday in Brussels.

   "I have always been convinced that the only honorable way to settle the Sahara issue is autonomy", Jansen said at the European Parliament during a debate following the screening of the documentary "Polisario: Identity of a front", which provides accurate insight and objective view on the regional conflict over the Moroccan Sahara.

   Autonomy is a rather "elastic" concept which "excludes both extremes: integration and independence", which makes it a good solution to the Sahara conflict, "because it offers the Polisario and those who support them (in Algeria) an honorable outcome", he said.

   Noting that his five-year mandate as a Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to the Sahara has allowed him to better understand the ins and outs of this conflict, Jansen said that the challenges facing the region, the terrorist threats and the instability in the Sahel and the feeling of frustration and despair that could push young people in Tindouf camps to join terrorist groups underscore the urgency to find a negotiated political solution to the Sahara issue.

MAP 04 February 2015