Guterres Adopts Polisario Position To Keep Minurso In Guergarat

UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, adopted the position of the Polisario Front on the importance of a permanent presence of the MINURSO in the area of ​​Guergarat, in order to avoid Morocco’s violation of the ceasefire in the future.

In a press release that was issued by his spokesman, the Secretary-General asserted that MINURSO intends to maintain its position in the buffer zone since August 2016, and it will also hold further talks with the parties on the mission’s future work in monitoring the region and the various issues that are related to the buffer zone.
Following the adoption of the resolution by the UN Security Council, the Secretary-General welcomed the decision of the POLISARIO to redeploy its forces in the region of Guergarat, as confirmed by the observers of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
The statement said that this must improve the possibilities of creating an environment that helps the realization of the Secretary-General’s intention to relaunch the negotiations with a new dynamic that reflects the decisions and directives of the Security Council in order to arrive at a mutually acceptable political solution for self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.
It called upon the parties to comply with their obligations under the Ceasefire Agreement, to respect its text and spirit and to cooperate fully with MINURSO, and confirmed the importance of ensuring that new tensions will not erupt in the Guergarat area.
Representative of the Polisario in the United Nations, Al Boukhari Ahmed, asserted that the resolution affirmed the adherence of the Security Council to the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination, as a basic reference in the direct negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario Front.
Saharawi diplomat said that the new resolution reaffirms the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination as a basic and fundamental reference in the context of the direct negotiations that the Secretary-General of the United Nations must resume between the parties to the conflict, the Polisario Front and Morocco.
On Friday, the Security Council and the United Nations Secretariat considered Morocco’s commercial activity in Guergarat an “illegal practice” because it was taking place in a military zone where any civilian activity is prohibited.
Morocco, which opposes an in-depth study of the causes of the crisis in Guergarat, is trying to create ambiguity by putting obstacles in the way of diverting attention from the consequences of its violation of the cease-fire agreements.
Prior to the ratification of the draft regulation, Morocco sent a letter to the President of the Security Council stating that he would not recognize MINURSO’s redeployment. More seriously, Morocco threatened in clear terms that it would impede United Nations efforts to resume negotiations, which means that Morocco clearly admitted that it is doing best efforts to block the UN resolution.
A source familiar with the statement said that “there is a danger to the Minorsu, which is afraid to be expelled”, as the Security Council is preparing to extend its term another year.
Morocco has been frustrated by the French support of the Security Council to the proposal of the Polisario Front to send a technical committee to conduct a field study on the causes and consequences of violating cease fire agreements.