WASHINGTON, June 7 (UPI) -- U.S. lawmakers are stepping up efforts to establish peace in North Africa.
Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., urged Moroccan Polisario Front militants Wednesday to accept a current proposal put forth by the Moroccan government.
The two groups meet before the United Nations on June 18. Both Morocco and the Polisario Front, representing the Sahawri populace of the Western Sahara, offered proposals for resolving the dispute over regional sovereignty earlier this year.
Lantos, who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said Morocco's proposal would allow the Sahrawi people to "elect their own leaders, run their own affairs, levy taxes and establish budgets, maintain their own police forces, and control the education of their children," while "only external security and foreign affairs will be controlled by the central Moroccan government." This proposal falls short of the full independence demanded by the Polisario Front.
Previous attempts at referendum on the issue have failed, while the United Nations has monitored a regional cease-fire since 1991.
The comments came as the House Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on U.S. policy challenges in Northern Africa.
