Rabat, Morocco (TMT)- The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs yesterday and told him that he is “deeply disappointed and angry” at the “March of Millions for the Sahara,” a march that took place last Sunday in Rabat and drew a little over than 3 millions Moroccans, according to Morocco’s state news agency La MAP. [ It only drew 1 million people according to Agence Press]
A statement from Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman said that Ban Ki-moon “took note of the misunderstanding related to his use of the word “occupation” as his personal reaction to the deplorable humanitarian conditions in which the Sahrawi refugees have lived in for far too long.”
The UN’s secretary General spokesman’s statement added that Ban Ki-moon “conveyed his astonishment at the recent statement of the Government of Morocco and expressed his deep disappointment and anger regarding the demonstration that was mobilized on Sunday, which targeted him in person. He stressed that such attacks are disrespectful to him and to the United Nations.”
Ban Ki-moon also “requested a clarification regarding the reported presence of several members of the Moroccan Government among the demonstrators.”
The Secretary-General asked the Moroccan Foreign Minister to “ensure that the United Nations enjoys respect in Morocco.”
“The demonstrators, and their sponsors, deliberately chose to ignore that at every stop on his trip he underlined his personal commitment to encouraging genuine negotiations between the parties to achieve “a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara,” Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman statement stressed.
The Moroccan Times.
