Peter Pham : Algeria's 'known' role in Sahara issue poses security risks in region

Washington - Algeria's "known" role in the artificial dispute over the Moroccan Sahara through its unconditional support to the separatist movement of the Polisario perpetuates this conflict that poses security risks for the entire region, warned Peter Pham, director of the Africa Centre in the influential US think tank Atlantic Council.

Algeria's support to the so-called SADR is a very clear fact to any objective observer, Pham told MAP following HM the King's speech on the occasion of the 39th anniversary of the Green March.

For the US expert, the separatist movement of the Polisario which oppresses populations in the camps of Tindouf in Algeria in blatant violation of international law and international conventions on the rights of refugees, owes its very existence to the funds provided by its mentor, Algeria which hosts the movement on its territory.

Pham further noted that the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco in the southern provinces under the Kingdom's sovereignty is the only "realistic" proposal on the table.