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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000340 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/MAG FOR ROBERT EWING 
EUR/WE FOR GARY CLEMENTS AND ANGELA CERVETTI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PBTS SP UNSC WI
SUBJECT: INFORMING SPAIN ON THE WESTERN SAHARA 
 
REF: STATE 20297 
 
Classified By: DCM Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C)   SUMMARY:  Poloff met with MFA Subdirector General 
for North Africa Manuel Gomez-Acebo on February 21 to discuss 
recent developments on the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western 
Sahara.  Gomez-Acebo noted that he recently had spoken with 
NEA DAS Gordon Gray about the visit to Washington of a 
high-level Moroccan delegation and said that Spain was 
pleased to hear the U.S. emphasis on the need to address the 
principle of self-determination.  He said that Foreign 
Minister Moratinos also received a high-level Moroccan 
delegation on February 8, which delivered much the same 
message.  Moratinos plans to meet with Polisario "FM" Mohamed 
Uld Salek in early to mid-March.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C)   Poloff met with MFA Subdirector General for North 
Africa Manuel Gomez-Acebo on February 21 to discuss recent 
developments on the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara 
(reftel).  Gomez-Acebo, who visited Washington for 
consultations in early February, told Poloff that he had 
spoken with NEA DAS Gordon Gray about the visit of a 
delegation led by the Moroccan Minister of Interior to 
Washington.  A similar delegation, also led by Interior 
Minister Benmoussa, met with Foreign Minister Miguel Angel 
Moratinos, National Security Advisor Carles Casajuana, and 
Director General for the Mideast, Mediterranean and Africa 
Alvaro Iranzo in Madrid on February 8 and conveyed basically 
the same message.  The Moroccan delegation also paid a brief 
courtesy call on President Zapatero. 
 
//SIMILAR MOROCCAN MESSAGE// 
 
¶3. (C)   The Moroccan delegation underscored to Moratinos 
that an intensive process is taking place in Morocco in order 
to achieve a successful solution that will respect the 
territorial sovereignty of Morocco, address the specific 
concerns of the Sahrawi people, and conform with 
international norms of autonomy.  They mentioned Spanish and 
German models of autonomy but did not get into specific 
similarities.  The delegation said that the plan would 
reserve the classic governmental competencies for Morocco, 
including customs, security and defense, etc. while the 
Sahrawi would be able to create a local police, some form of 
local taxation, an elected local Parliament, and would 
control social and cultural affairs and some form of local 
judiciary.  Economically, the Sahrawi would also control 
agriculture and could share revenue from natural resources. 
Morocco is also preoccupied with assuring that there is 
sufficient and proportional representation of all of the 
tribes resident in Western Sahara, not just the refugees. 
The Moroccans said that the plan would include some form of 
consultation with the population and used the word 
"referendum" but did not clarify whether this would be a 
national referendum or a referendum exclusively among the 
inhabitants of Western Sahara.  Lastly, the Moroccans made 
clear that this autonomy plan would be a one-off event 
applicable only as an exceptional case in the Western Sahara. 
 Morocco would not alter its Constitution. 
 
¶4. (C)   Gomez-Acebo noted that the plan had no doubt evolved 
between the meeting in Madrid and the Washington meeting.  He 
said that Moratinos had urged the Moroccans to be as generous 
as possible with sharing the actual content of the plan prior 
to its publication.  According to Gomez-Acebo, the Moroccans 
did not tell the Spanish when the plan would be released nor 
in what manner.  Moratinos stressed that the presentation of 
the plan should be done in a spirit of negotiation, not as a 
take it or leave it proposition. 
 
¶5. (C)   Moratinos also told the Moroccan delegation that 
dialogue with the Polisario is necessary prior to the plan's 
release.  He said that a climate of dialogue must already 
exist prior to the plan's presentation in the Security 
Council or it will fail.  Moratinos plans to meet with 
Polisario foreign affairs representative Mohamed Uld Salek in 
early to mid-March to urge PF consideration of autonomy. 
 
//MOROCCO'S COMING OUT?// 
 
¶6. (C)   The Moroccan delegation also took the opportunity to 
 
MADRID 00000340  002 OF 002 
 
 
discuss Morocco's ongoing social and economic reforms, 
including actions to revise the Family Code and address 
women's issues.  They told Moratinos that Morocco is also 
taking steps to combat corruption and has instituted a truth 
commission to document human rights abuses prior to 1999. 
The delegation said that Morocco is strongly committed to the 
goals laid out in the Barcelona Process, such as the 
principle of the Mediterranean neighborhood and the adoption 
of EU democratic and economic norms.  The Moroccan delegation 
said that resolving the Western Sahara question would 
constitute a high point in this effort. 
 
//CT IN THE MAGHREB AND THE SAHEL// 
 
¶7. (C)   Gomez-Acebo said the Moroccans also expressed 
concern about the apparent new level of cooperation with Al 
Qa'ida among various groups of North African extremists, 
under the auspices of the Algerian GSPC terrorist group.  The 
Moroccans were preoccupied with resolving this question, but 
Gomez-Acebo noted that they did not make the usual gesture of 
attributing the problem to the Algerians, signaling a 
recognition that the problem is now more regional in nature. 
 
//POST-MEETING SPIN BY MORATINOS// 
 
¶8. (C)   Moratinos told the delegation that he would not be 
able to make a completely positive statement in the press 
because the Moroccans had still not sufficiently addressed 
the principle of self-determination.  He emphasized that any 
plan must be acceptable to both the Polisario and the UN in 
order to have any chance at success.  After the meeting, 
Moratinos' told the press that both he and President Zapatero 
had underscored the need to "address the principle of 
self-determination."  Moratinos said that Spain delivered two 
messages to Morocco: "the active commitment of Spain to work 
to overcome the deadlock in which the Western Sahara finds 
itself," and "the importance for the Moroccan proposals to 
instill a dynamic of dialogue among the parties within the 
context of the United Nations, on the road to finding a 
definitive political solution that is durable, mutually 
acceptable, and which addresses the principle of 
self-determination."  Gomez-Acebo said the U.S. emphasis on 
addressing self-determination would be well-received in 
Madrid. 
 
//BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH MOROCCO AND ALGERIA// 
 
¶9. (C)   Gomez-Acebo noted with pleasure that the dates for 
the visit of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia to Algeria have 
been confirmed for March 13-15.  He said the media criticism 
surrounding the inability to finalize dates was uninformed 
speculation, as the Algerians had gone to great lengths to 
secure the visit.  Gomez-Acebo's office is extremely busy at 
present with the royal visit as well as the Morocco-Spain 
bilateral summit set for early March.  The royal visit to 
Algiers provides a nice counter-balance for the Morocco 
meeting, as Algeria has been critical of Spanish attention to 
Rabat on the Western Sahara. 
 
¶10. (C)   Poloff asked Gomez-Acebo how Spain is managing the 
balancing act of maintaining good relations with these two 
feuding yet essential neighbors.  Gomez-Acebo said that it 
takes hard work and consistent emphasis on increasing common 
ground and economic ties with both nations to the point where 
the Western Sahara is merely an aspect of the bilateral 
relationship, not the focal point.  He noted that Spain has 
the advantage of not having been the dominant colonial power 
in either Algeria or Morocco, adding that France has clearly 
cast its lot with Morocco on this issue.  "Walking a 
tightrope is not necessary if there is an increasingly stable 
base," he said, "We do not want to have to choose with whom 
we will dance." 
 
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Visit Embassy Madrid's Classified Website; 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/madrid/ 
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AGUIRRE