Press Interpreter

05/24/05 -- Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa and Mauritanian Foreign Minister Mohamed Vall Ould Bellal told Aljazeera that the North African summit, which was set to take place in the Libyan capital on Thursday, had been delayed for an unspecified time.

The Al-Jazeera correspondent said that Libya's decision to postpone the summit was due to the disagreement that had erupted between Morocco and Algeria over recent statements by Algerian President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika in which he reaffirmed his support for the Polisario Front, which demands the independence of Western Sahara.

This decision comes after Moroccan King Mohamed VI decided the boycott the summit because of the Algerian position on the Western Sahara.

A statement issued by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs held Algeria responsible for jeopardizing an opportunity to revive the structure of North Africa on the highest levels by reaffirming its support of the Polisario Front's position.

The statement said that the Moroccan king would not be able to participate personally in the summit as had been agreed, explaining that the kingdom would be represented by its foreign minister.

The developments arose as the foreign ministers of the member states of the union began a meeting to prepare for the summit.

Although the Western Sahara issue was the crux of questions journalists asked foreign ministers as they arrived at the meeting, the participants confirmed it would not be included in the summit agenda.

Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem said that the desert issue had been presented to the United Nations and would not be discussed at the summit.

For his part, Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul Rahman Shalqam confirmed that his country was particularly interested in reviving the Arab Maghreb Union and stimulating Arab-North African agreements following 16 years of difficulties.

He said the summit would address many political and economic issues, notably regional and international cooperation, the fight against terrorism, illegal immigration and agricultural matters.

The summit was scheduled to start on May 25 and 26 but was postponed by a day following the death of the Tunisian president's elder brother.

It is said that the Arab Maghreb Union has not held meetings for eleven years because of Algerian-Moroccan disagreements over the Western Sahara, the separation of which is demanded by Polisario. It has been under Moroccan control since the end of Spanish colonization in 1975.

The Polisario Front is backed by Algeria, where its headquarters has been based since the United Nations brokered a ceasefire agreement in 1991 in the wake of a guerrilla war against Morocco that started in 1976.

[Full article]

Al-Jazeera and agencies

--Translated By Michael McCain

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