[NYTr] Cuba Reaffirms Solidarity with Saharan People

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com

Cuba Reaffirms Solidarity with Saharan People

Havana, Jan 6 (Prensa Latina) Cuba expressed solidarity with the
struggle of the people of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)
for their right to self-determination and independence, the newspaper
Granma reported on Saturday.

During the recently-held 12th National Congress of the POLISARIO Front,
Cuba expressed its solidarity with the people of that North African
country.

That stance is in tune with the support offered during the 14th
Non-Aligned Movement Summit for the efforts of the UN secretary general
to reach a political solution that envisages that people's free
determination, the document said.

"The Saharan people and its legitimate and only representative, the
POLISARIO Front, are determined to achieve self-determination and
independence," added the newspaper, recalling that their struggle
enjoys international support.

Granma added that the United Nations, as a guarantor of the Saharan
people's rights, must act energetically to find a solution to the
impasse and demand that Morocco respect and comply with the UN
resolution on Western Sahara.

During the POLISARIO congress, some 250 foreign guests, representatives
of political parties, movements and progressive organizations, mainly
from Africa, Latin America and Europe, expressed support for the
Saharan people's cause.

More than 1,700 delegates said in a final declaration that the
POLISARIO Front would participate in the third round of direct
negotiations, scheduled for Monday in New York.

However, the document warned that if talks fail, hostilities may be
resumed, so it urged Morocco not to miss this opportunity to reach just
and definite peace.

The meetings, held in June and August 2007, are based on Resolution
1754, approved by the UN Security Council on April 30, 2007.

The Saharan people's cause is one of the most progressive in the world:
it is the only African colony. The United Nations has repeatedly
demanded a solution to the over-30-year-long conflict, Granma stressed.

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