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Trump’s position upends US policy regarding Sahrawi question

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Paris, 13 December 2020 (SPS) - The position of outgoing US President Donald Trump on Western Sahara set "a precedent in the policy of the American administration with regard to the Sahrawi question "and constitutes a "flagrant violation of Sahrawi people right to self-determination," Polisario Front representative in France, Mohamed Sidati, said on Saturday.
"President Trump's reckless stance regarding Morocco's alleged sovereignty over Western Sahara sets a precedent in the successive policies of the US administration, which have always been in favor of a peaceful solution guaranteeing the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination," Sidati told APS.
In addition, Trump's position has no "legal or political basis," argued the member of the Polisario Front's national secretariat.
For Sidati, "the fact that it came in the last days of Trump’s mandate raises several questions as to the purpose."
The Polisario Front representative in France Sidati affirmed that "Trump's announcement is a political heist, a violation of all international laws and an attempt to undermine the UN-AU process for the settlement of the Western Sahara conflict."
His endeavor will be without success as "this is a question of decolonization, the resolution of which imperatively requires international legality and the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination," he said.
Sidati further underlined that "Trump's position will not change the legal nature of the conflict in Western Sahara," referring to the statement by the spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, Stéphane Dujarric, who affirmed that the UN position on Western Sahara "remains unchanged" after US president's announcement. (SPS)
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