Bethesda, Maryland, USA, 07/12/2016 /SubmitPressRelease123/
The Republic of Zambia has decided to withdraw its recognition of the so-called Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), said, on Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Rabat, Zambian foreign minister Harry Kalaba.
“The government of the Republic of Zambia has decided to withdraw its recognition of the so-called SADR and break off diplomatic relations with this entity”, said Kabala at a joint press briefing with Morocco’s Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Nasser Bourita.
“The government of the Republic of Zambia expresses its strong support for the efforts of the United Nations under the aegis of the security council and the secretary general in order to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution to the issue of Sahara, in keeping with the relevant UNSC resolutions,” said Kalaba.
“Pending the outcome of this UN process, the government of Zambia will maintain a neutral position,” he stressed.
For his part, Bourita recalled that the Republic of Zambia, which had recognized the so-called SADR in 1979 and was a staunch supporter of the separatist thesis, decided to freeze this recognition in 2011 before backtracking on this decision in 2013 for political reasons.
Today, this recognition withdrawal will open a new chapter in the Moroccan-Zambian relations and contribute to promoting bilateral exchanges at all levels, Bourita added.
The decision comes just a day after the appointment of Algeria’s man, Brahim Ghali, head of the Polisario in replacement of Mohamed Abdelaziz, who passed away on May 31.
With this new Polisario recognition withdrawal, Morocco has achieved a major breakthrough in the bloc of African English-speaking countries that had recognized the separatist front in the 1970s.
The wave of recognitions, which occurred at the height of the Cold War, was obtained under the influence or rather pressure of the Algerian President Houari Boumedienne and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi. Nonetheless, most French-speaking countries in West Africa support Morocco in the Sahara conflict and reject the Polisario separatist claims.
http://www.maroc.ma/en/news/zambia-withdraws-recognition-so-called-sadr-zambian-fm
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