MSP calls for strengthening role of the UN for solution of Western Sahara dispute
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Sahrawi Movement for Peace (MSP) pleaded Friday for the strengthening of confidence in the role of the United Nations (UN) "as the central element of a compromise solution" in the Western Sahara dispute.
This plea was contained in a text titled "Las Palmas Manifesto" published by the MSP at the end of its first two-day international conference held in Las Palmas, Spain.
The MSP was created in April 2020 as a political movement and an alternative to the Polisario Front to promote the reunification of the Saharawis, in a quest for the peaceful solution to the Sahara conflict.
"In this sense, we believe it is essential to create more spaces for dialogue with the participation of new leaders, such as the Sahrawi elders, the Sahrawi Movement for Peace or any other political movement, in order to get out of the vicious circle and intensify efforts to seek an agreement for this dispute," the participants stressed.
They also advocated the need to "support the UN Special Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, and to encourage him to make more efforts to make constructive progress in resolving this interminable political process and to prevent the conflict from returning to stagnation".
"We urge Mr. Mistura to work efficiently to ensure that the ceasefire is respected in order to prevent further loss of life," noted the Las Palmas Manifesto, which welcomed "the new position of the Spanish government on this issue".
"In this sense, Spain's departure from its traditional negative neutrality strengthens and promotes its role as the main intermediary in a Spain-EU dynamic, for a deeper commitment of the EU to the resolution of the conflict," the participants said.
"We hope that the Spanish government does not give in to pressure from those who want to perpetuate this situation. In this sense, we ask the politicians and political parties of the Spanish opposition to adopt a more constructive and less selfish position on this issue, which is above settling scores and electoral calculations, as it is a sensitive issue," they noted.
For them, it is necessary to "enhance and strengthen the role of the Saharawi traditional authority, represented by the notables and shioukhs whose tribal authority has been challenged by another party in order to arrogate to itself the right to represent the Saharawi population as an eternal right, without any democratic or legitimate process".
The statement called for "preventing the negative effects that the perpetuation of this situation may cause".
"Without a doubt, the permanent tension in the region is harmful to both sides of the Atlantic-Mediterranean axis," the Manifesto warned, calling for "an end to this situation as soon as possible to ease the tension and stabilize the region in a world marked by politico-military upheavals".
The Las Palmas meeting will discuss "the bright future that awaits us and which promises well-being and prosperity; a future of all and for all Saharawis; a future that will be ours, if we accept the winds of change that blow from the Sahara".
-0- PANA AD/IN/JSG/BBA/RA 24Sept2022
