Western Sahara: according to an American expert, autonomy is a realistic proposal

Se trata de un plan apropiado para llegar a una solucion definitiva del conflicto. Que permitiria no unicamente asegurar un futuro viable para la poblacion del territori, sino deberia también responder a las exigencias de la comunidad internacional, insiste Peter Pham, que es igualmente vice-presidente de la asociacion de estudios sobre oriente medio y Africa (ASMEA).
The American specialized magazine “The Journal of the Middle East and Africa” has just published an article of Peter Pham, the specialist in African issues, in which he considers that the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco to the Western Sahara is currently “the only realistic proposal” on the negotiating table.
It is an appropriate plan to reach a final solution to the conflict. Not only would it ensure a viable future for the people living on the territory, but should also meet the requirements of the international community, insists Peter Pham, who is also vice-president of the Association of Studies on the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA).

For him, the Moroccan autonomy proposal can be an important vector of peace and stability in the region. In the current world, the creation of another non viable State in the region would be a serious threat. It would increase the risks linked to the proliferation of terrorist groups and drug trafficking networks rampant over the Sahel-Saharan strip. Such an entity “would not be viable, at least not in the 21st century,” states the American expert in this article entitled “No to an inefficient state: towards a realistic solution to the Western Sahara.”
The United States, as well as Europe and the countries of the region “cannot tolerate instability” in this region facing the “growing threat” of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), according to the vice- president of ASMEA.
Peter Pham’s article has been discussed during a meeting at the Council on Foreign Relations, a prominent think tank of Washington DC, by a group of researchers and academics. Almost all of them have concluded that the United States, having always supported the negotiation and compromise option in this case, must continue its work by bringing together the points of view of Morocco and Algeria.