"Your Personal Envoy (Christopher Ross) should call the parties, especially Algeria, to engage seriously in the process of negotiations, taking into account the efforts made by Morocco since 2006," congressmen said in a letter to the UN Secretary General, during consultations in the Security Council regarding the extension of MINURSO mandate.

By engaging in such an approach, Mr. Ross "should be guided by the spirit of the new parameters in the resolution of the Security Council and inspired by the efforts of his predecessor, Mr. Peter Van Walsum, who concluded that "Independence is not a realistic option", say the signatories of the letter, initiated by Democrat congressman, Marion Berry.

Representatives of the American people have in this context, urged the UN Secretary General to show "extreme caution so as not to condone attempts to deflect the trajectory of the political process and encourage all parties, including Algeria, to show a sincere desire for the resumption of negotiations, in order to achieve lasting and mutually acceptable solution.

The letter also points out that after a stalemate that lasted for years, Morocco has put on the table "a flexible proposal for an enlarged autonomy (in the southern provinces), responding to the call of the Security Council to find an alternative to the referendum option which has been proven inapplicable.

The signatories noted, on the other hand, that the Moroccan autonomy proposal, which "is in line with international law and satisfies the principle of self-determination was the matrix of a new momentum resulting in promising negotiations, with the ultimate goal of "achieving a just political, lasting and mutually acceptable solution ". 

However, congressmen said they were "alarmed by the delaying attempts of Algeria and Polisario to divert the process of negotiations, by playing the card of human rights", adding that this "tactic is used in fact as pretext by Algeria to shirk its responsibilities as a major stakeholder in this conflict. " 

"In fact, the responsibility of Algeria has been repeatedly confirmed by UN reports, several countries and by various studies carried out by think tanks that have all called on Algeria to engage constructively in the resolution of this regional conflict," the letter concludes.

Source: MAP
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