Mr. President of the Association

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1 Kingdom of Morocco Royal Advisory Council for Sahrawi Affairs (CORCAS) 9, Rue Ibn El Oualid, Aine Khalouiya, Souissi, Rabat Fax : mrkhalihenna@hotmail.fr Rabat, Monday, April, 17, 2006 Mr. President of the Association Dear Sir, In my capacity as chairman of the Royal Advisory Council for Sahrawi Affairs (CORCAS), I am delighted to express to you and to all the members of you honorable association, in my name and on behalf of the 141 members who compose the Council, my deepest gratitude for the moral and material support you provide for our brothers in the Tindouf camps. I also seize this opportunity to ensure you that the CORCAS (Royal Advisory Council for Sahrawi Affairs) is keen to open a genuine dialog with your Association to lay the foundations of a fruitful cooperation with the only aim to contribute together to the ongoing process of finding a final and peaceful settlement to the Sahara issue and put, therefore, an end to this lingering problem. 1

2 We, in the CORCAS (Royal Advisory Council for Sahrawi Affairs) believe that dialog is the best way to settle conflicts and iron out disagreements of any kind, and especially when the problem opposes members of the same family as it is the case, unfortunately, of the Sahara dispute. Our initiative aims mainly at reinforcing dialog and mutual knowledge so that the Sahrawis, all Sahrawis wherever they are, could live in peace and enjoy their basic rights to freedom and to dignity, and to be able to decide themselves for their future without undergoing pressure from any party. Mr. President, I should also like to inform you that we do not have the least doubt as to the good intention that characterizes your humanitarian action to the profit of the Sahrawis, an action that we, indeed, highly appreciate. The Sahrawis, wherever they are, whether in Laayoune, Tindouf, Mauritania or Europe, do need your assistance to find, to this problem, a fair settlement that makes no winners and no losers. Through this Council, and on the basis of its composition and its prerogatives, we hold out our hands to all the good wills to endeavor together for the settlement of this dispute that feeds on a deficit of communication and on the absence of dialog. 2

3 The problem of the Sahara, as you would admit, should not last longer. Our duty is, in fact, to work and seek inspiration in the experiences of others to get out of the present deadlock and overcome this frozen situation in which we live for thirty years now. Enough! Thirty years of conflict. Or of no war and no peace, is undoubtedly a very long period. We, the Sahrawis, have not the right to while away more time in a sterile and fratricidal dispute. I say it and I stress it, we, the Sahrawis, cannot bear further sufferings! The war, and its trail of dead and orphans, has aggravated the situation of Sahrawis. We are weary of this situation which fathered only misery, widening the gap between brothers. It is urgent, now more than ever, to find a settlement that preserves the political, economic, social and cultural interests of Sahrawis. It is particularly urgent as all the means that were resorted to up to now to solve this conflict were doomed to failure. Obviously, violence is far from sorting disputes. The referendum option is not applicable, for one simple reason that a consultation that is based on the principle of identification cannot succeed. In fact, since its inception, the United Nations was unable to organize a referendum founded on the sole criteria of identification. 3

4 The Sahara dispute is a complex problem. Indeed, the failure of the United Nations to organize this consultation evidences this complexity. Consequently, the failure of the United Nations to successfully carry out this project should prompt us to find other ways to settle this problem that opposes members of the same family. Sahrawis, wherever they are, compose one family that has the same roots and shares the same culture and customs. It is, indeed, impossible to find one Sahrawi who does not have relatives in the Tindouf camps. Links with our brothers in Tindouf and in the neighboring areas have never been severed. By virtue of the prerogatives conferred to the CORCAS (Royal Advisory Council for Sahrawi Affairs), which was established by His Majesty King Mohammed VI this past March 25 in the city of Laayoun, and which is composed of the legitimate representatives of all the components of the Sahrawi society, this Council is the only interlocutor and representative of all the Sahrawis living in the Sahara territories, that is two-thirds of the Sahrawi population. The remaining third lives in the Tindouf camps, as was underlined by the MINURSO. Our Council, which is proud of its credibility and its representativeness, is convinced that autonomy is the most appropriate framework to settle this problem involving siblings. 4

5 This proposal constitutes the unique opportunity to end the separation of families, and to allow them to come back to their homeland. Sahrawis, just like the rest of world citizens, long for peace. They want to enjoy the right of free movement like everyone else. We do not want our children to be born within closed borders, and grow up in an environment which is filled with hatred towards the other. Our aim is to inculcate them with the principles of freedom, coexistence, love and respect towards the other. Our hope is that the genuine traditions of Sahrawis revive, and that the old-time principles of the Sahrawi tribes, which cherish solidarity, love and fraternity, regain the upper hand. We want borders with our brothers in Algeria and Mauritania and with the Canary Islands to be reopened. We are called to mend fences with one another in order to build, together, a prosperous future. For this action, we are answerable to the coming generations. Only a large autonomy under the Moroccan sovereignty as recommended by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, is able to guarantee peace, security, freedom, democracy and dignity. rights. This option can guarantee all our political, economic, social and cultural Within this framework, the experience of your country in the field of autonomy can be very useful to us to ensure the success of this operation that guarantees the rights of all the parties involved in the Sahara dispute. 5

6 We, therefore, pin hope on your support and your cooperation to reach this ambitious goal. We remain at your disposal to discuss any proposal, or provide further clarifications. Yours sincerely. Khalihenna Ould Errachid Chairman of the Royal Advisory Council for Sahrawi Affairs -CORCAS- 6