TUNIS, Tunisia, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Differences between Morocco and Algeria are delaying the settlement of North Africa's oldest conflict: The fate of Western Sahara.
Moroccan King Mohammed VI reiterated early this week his country's initiative to grant Western Sahara autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, a suggestion rejected by the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, which has been fighting for full independence of the former Spanish colony.
Moroccan parliamentarians taking part in a conference in Tunisia of legislators from North African Arab countries underlined the importance of Mohammed's initiative in settling the conflict that has hurt inter-Maghreb relations and has delayed a summit of the Union of Arab Maghreb.
But Algerian parliamentarians stressed the issue of Western Sahara was in the hands of the United Nations, which is regarded as the only body capable of finding a just and suitable settlement.
Moroccan legislator Latifa Banani said the king was "clear in his statement in the sense that the Western Sahara is Moroccan territory with the possibility of granting this province freedom of self-rule."
She told United Press International, "Morocco is in no position whatsoever to give up its claim of sovereignty over the Sahara or to undermine its territorial integrity. ... The King's initiative, we believe suits all parties."
On the other hand, Algerian legislator Said Bou Hijja stresses the issue of Western Sahara is a "matter that falls under the authority and prerogatives of the United Nations."
He said Morocco and Polisario agreed to settle the matter under U.N. auspices and that the special U.N. envoy to the conflict, former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, made a proposal under which the people of the Western Sahara will have the right to self-determination following five years of transitional self-rule.
But Morocco rejected the initiative, and suggested instead large-scale autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.
