Algeria has accused UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s office of “deviating from its neutrality and objectivity mission in reporting facts and presenting arguments” in the UN body’s latest report on the Western Sahara issue.
Algeria’s delegate to the UN, Abdallah Baali, said in letter was addressed to the Security Council that “it is more serious that the secretariat general has decided, with the same lightness it shows when it comes to the Polisario proposals, to refute Algerian objections which were destined to it as the secretary general was requested to forward them to member states which are the sole judges.“
Voicing doubts about the possibility of implementing the current settlement plan for the Western Sahara, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan last Saturday urged talks on a new framework accord for resolving the dispute.
The current settlement calls for a referendum to allow the people of the territory to choose between independence or integration with Morocco, said reports.
In a report to the Security Council, which in April 1991 set up the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), Annan recalled that it was understood at the time that during the implementation process, there would have to be direct talks between the parties to achieve the compromises necessary for carrying out the plan.
However, because of the parties' unwillingness to work together, the UN started submitting proposals, which the parties would proceed to revise and dilute, he said, cited by the UN online news service – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
