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Media
- Press Release: As Informal Talks Begin on Western Sahara, US and UN Backing is Firm to ‘Build on Pro Aug 10 2009
Calvin Dark
202.587.0855
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, August 10, 2009
As Informal Talks Begin on Western Sahara, US and UN Backing is Firm to ‘Build on Progress’ Already Made for Possible 5th Round Negotiations
Strong US support for compromise solution—initiated by Clinton & Bush Administrations, backed by majorityin Congress endorsing Morocco’s autonomy plan—remains US policy today as only “realistic” path to peace
Washington, DC (August 10) – Informal talks hosted by UN Personal Envoy for the Western SaharaChristopher Ross are underway in Vienna between Morocco, the Polisario Front, and neighboring countries Algeria and Mauritania to prepare for a possible fifth round of negotiations to end the 34-year old W. Sahara dispute. The informal meetings take place against of backdrop of broad support by the US Administration, US Congress, and UN Security Council for the parties to achieve a lasting peace.
In a July 23 interview on Viewpoint with James Zogby, Edward M. Gabriel, US Ambassador to Morocco from 1997-2001, and chairman of the Moroccan American Center, noted that the policy of US support for Morocco’s compromise plan began in the Clinton and Bush Administrations, and remains US policy today.
US diplomat Ross was appointed to succeed the previous UN Personal Envoy for the Western Sahara, Peter Van Walsum, in January 2009 by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, with the instruction to “build on progress made to date” to reach “a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution” that provides “self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.” In April 2009, the UN Security Council extended the UN Western Sahara mission, MINURSO, endorsing Ross’s call for informal talks to set the stage for a 5th round of negotiations.
Morocco’s compromise proposal to provide self-determination through autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty for the Western Sahara enabled the initiation of the four previous rounds of negotiations, which began in 2007. The UN Security Council called that plan “serious and credible,” but negotiations mediated by Van Walsum failed to reach agreement, leading him to call for more compromise and realism by the parties. In his final assessment to the UN, Van Walsum concluded that “an independent Western Sahara is not an attainable goal” and the “status quo [is] intolerable,” urging that future rounds of talks focus on the compromise proposal for autonomy.
Meanwhile, US support for Morocco’s autonomy solution to break the deadlock has continued to grow. In April a bipartisan majority of 233 members of US Congress sent a letter to President Barack Obama stating:
“We remain convinced the US position, favoring autonomy for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty, is the only feasible solution. We urge you to both sustain this longstanding policy, and to make clear, in both words and actions, that the United States will work to ensure that the UN process continues to support this framework as the only realistic compromise that can bring this unfortunate and longstanding conflict to an end.”
In his interview, Gabriel said successive US administrations have recognized that “WesternSahara is a sticking point to progress” on critical regional issues of terrorism and economic stability. “Without cooperation and integration, North African nations can’t pull together the resources to make the region viable. That’s impacting Europe and the US.” “There’s a 400% increase in terrorism across North Africa since 9/11. Yet there’s only a 1.5% rate of inter-regional trade among countries—the lowest in the world. That’s a disaster ready to happen,” he said. “There are also tens of thousands of people living in refugee camps under squalid conditions in Algeria who need to be freed to live their lives again.” Gabriel concluded, “What’s needed is sustained US leadership to help forge the compromise.”
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The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. For more, please visit www.moroccanamericanpolicy.org
This material is distributed by the Moroccan American Center for Policy on behalf of the Government of Morocco. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
FINAL_Press_Release_InformalTalks_081009.pdf
- Press Release: US Senate Confirms Minneapolis Attorney as Pres. Obama’s Pick for Ambassador to Moroc Aug 05 2009
CONTACT: Calvin Dark
202.587.0855
FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, August 5, 2009
US Senate Confirms Minneapolis Attorney as Pres. Obama’s Pick for Ambassador to Morocco
Samuel L. Kaplan, long-time Minneapolis attorney, will be 33rd US Ambassador to Morocco, one of the United States’ oldest allies.
Washington, DC (August 5, 2009) – On Tuesday, Minneapolis attorney, Samuel L. Kaplan, was confirmed by the United States Senate to be the next US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco. Nominated in June 2009 by President Barack Obama, Kaplan will become the 33rd American to occupy this post in the North African nation which maintains the longest unbroken Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the United States.
“I want to express how humbled I am to be nominated to serve in a Muslim country with a history of tolerance toward people of other faiths,” said Kaplan during his July 22, 2009 confirmation hearing before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “As a Jewish American, I understand the importance of President Obama’s initiative to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, and I believe Morocco is an ideal country to continue to further the effort of finding common ground.”
Kaplan, who traces his roots to Sephardic Jews in Spain, has practiced law in Minnesota for nearly a half century and his extensive background and experience in law, business, and healthcare will provide Kaplan with a rich understanding of many of the progresses made and challenges facing Morocco today.
“Morocco’s continued development, and even its stability, depends on the political, economic, and social reforms that King Mohammed VI has championed since he assumed power ten years ago,” noted Kaplan during his confirmation hearing.
“Ambassador Kaplan is a superb representative for the United States and his nomination by President Obama underscores his Administration’s sincere and focused determination to work with our close allies in the Muslim/Arab world,” said Ambassador Edward M. Gabriel, CEO of the Moroccan American Center and former Ambassador to Morocco from 1997-2001. “His demonstrated leadership and intellect will be an invaluable asset to the United States as we work to further strengthen our more than 220-year bilateral relationship with Morocco.”
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The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. For more, please visit www.moroccanamericanpolicy.org
This material is distributed by the Moroccan American Center for Policy on behalf of the Government of Morocco. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
FINAL_Press_Release_Kaplan080509.pdf
- Press Release: Local Election Results Underscore Morocco's Model of Reform: Jul 07 2009
CONTACT: Calvin Dark
202.587.0855
FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Local Election Results Underscore Morocco's Model of Reform: Voters Deliver Gains for Women, Youth, Local Communities, Assert Moroccan Identity in Western Sahara
Contrast with other elections in region noted by Washington Post column, "In Morocco, An Alternative to Iran;" Morocco cited as positive model on democracy, human rights
Washington, DC – With follow-up community council action and polling results now in, the message from voters who turned out in very high numbers for Morocco’s recent local elections is seen as validation for key elements of the nation’s ongoing reforms and political transformation—elevating women and young candidates to positions of leadership, empowering local communities to take more control of their future, and ensuring elections are transparent, free, and fair. Voters in the Western Sahara region sent a strong message asserting their identification with Morocco, registering the nation’s highest level of voter participation in the internationally monitored elections.
The contrast with other recent elections in the region was noted by Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum in a June 30 column written from Rabat, “In Morocco, An Alternative to Iran.” She credited Morocco for finding both the will and a way to change democratically, which offered a model for other Muslim and Arab nations:
“[Morocco] has over the past decade undergone a slow but profound transformation from traditional monarchy to constitutional monarchy, acquiring along the way real political parties, a relatively free press, new political leaders—the mayor of Marrakesh is a 33-year-old woman—and a set of family laws that strive to be compatible both with Sharia and international conventions on human rights.”
Large numbers of Moroccans—more than 7 million from 1,503 communities (52% voter turnout nationwide)—went to the polls for the June local elections, held every six years to fill nearly 28,000 local and regional council positions and select members of the national Chamber of Counselors. The highest level of voter turnout (67%) came in the Moroccan-region of the Western Sahara, where local residents asserted their Moroccan identity with enthusiastic participation in the elections, rejecting a call by the Polisario Front to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to keep Sahrawis in the disputed region from voting.
Voters gave some of the most dramatic gains to women, who made up 17% of those elected—including Fatima Zahra Mansouri, the first female mayor of Marrakesh, one of Morocco’s largest cities and key tourist centers. Participation by young people during this election cycle—60% of the nearly 2 million newly registered voters were between the ages of 18 to 35—was impressive, as was the election of 21-year-old Fatima Boujenah, Morocco’s youngest ever female local council leader, from the southern Moroccan community of Tata.
The Washington Post column in particular noted the success of Morocco’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission—unprecedented in the region—which was established in 2004 and held public, televised hearings to investigate alleged human rights violations from Morocco’s past. The independent commission’s final recommendations, including judicial reforms and compensation to thousands of victims of past abuses, were endorsed and implemented by King Mohammed VI and Morocco’s parliament.
“These achievements are part of Morocco’s broader success story of substantial and real reforms, promoted by King Mohammed VI and Morocco’s elected leaders, and validated by voters in Morocco’s local elections,” said Robert M. Holley, executive director of the Moroccan American Center for Policy. “Today, millions of Moroccans are saying “yes” to both the rewards and responsibilities of a stronger democracy and increasingly open political system. That’s setting a positive standard for other nations across the region.”
“I was in the Sahara the last week of the election campaign and was especially impressed with the enthusiasm oflocal party leaders and voters promoting their candidates day and night across the region,” said Holley. “Their active campaigning and high voter turnout sends a clear signal beyond Morocco about how many Sahrawis paid attention to the Polisario's repeated calls for a boycott to the UN to stop them from voting for their own local leadership."
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The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. For more, please visit www.moroccanamericanpolicy.org
This material is distributed by the Moroccan American Center for Policy on behalf of the Government of Morocco. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
Press_Release_Elections_7July09FINAL .pdf
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