Sahrawi cause is decolonization issue, Algeria stands up for peoples’ freedom

 
 
ALGIERS- President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune affirmed that the cause of Western Sahara is a pure decolonization issue, underlining that “Algeria, which stands up for the peoples’ freedom, supports the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination.”
 
In an interview granted to the Qatari channel “Al-Jazeera,” broadcast on Wednesday, President Tebboune affirmed that the cause of Western Sahara is a pure decolonization issue, which is on the agenda of the UN Special Committee on Decolonization.
 
“We have stood up for it and we will continue to stand up for the peoples’ freedom. We support the right of the Sahrawi people to a referendum and we support their choice, whatever it is,” he said.
 
The opening of consulates in the occupied Sahrawi territories comes under “diplomatic folklore,” he said, pointing out “the big number of countries which recognize the Sahrawi Republic, one of the founding members of the African Union.”
 
Concerning the mystifications on the Algerian position towards the Sahrawi issue, the President of the Republic said that the Spanish Government of Franco proposed Western Sahara to Algeria in 1964, a proposal rejected at the time by late President Ahmed Ben Bella.
 
On a possible change of the Algerian position vis-à-vis Spain in the vent of a change of the government in this country, President Tebboune stressed that “the comments of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (concerning Western Sahara) will not be appropriate if the Spanish government changes,” adding that” what he did is unfair towards the Sahrawi people and constitutes a violation of the international norms and international law.”