- Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs
The Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs ( _ar. المجلس الملكي الاستشاري للشؤون الصحراوية) or Corcas, from the French abbreviation of "Conseil royal consultatif pour les affaires sahariennes", is an advisory committee to the Moroccan government on the
Western Sahara . It was originally devised by KingHassan II in the 1970s, but allowed to expire, and renewed by his son,Mohammed VI in early 2006, after the proposal of an autonomy plan devised to replace theUnited Nations 'Baker Plan . The autonomy plan is opposed by theAlgeria backedPolisario Front , which demands that the United Nations resolutions and Moroccan-Polisario agreements calling for areferendum be implemented.Mission
The CORCAS is intended as a consultative body for proposals related to what Morocco regards as its
Southern Provinces , but also to defend the kingdom's "territorial integrity " in the media and in international fora.Task of the Council is to facilitate dialogue with the Sahrawi in the
refugee camp s of Tindouf,Algeria .Composition
The 141 members of CORCAS are Sahrawi and Moroccan political and traditional (tribal) notables (
sheikh s), elected representatives for women and youth groups and civic society officials. The members are appointed by the Moroccan government and support the Moroccanclaims on Western Sahara. Of these members 14 (10%) are womenFact|date=June 2007 . Notably, the father of Polisario leaderMohamed Abdelaziz is a member of the CORCAS.Its chairman,
Khelli Henna Ould Rachid , is a former leader of the PUNS, a now-defunctpolitical party operated by the Spanish colonial government to rally support for its rule in then-Spanish Sahara in the 1970s.Fact|date=February 2007 After the departure of the Spanish in 1975, which caused the dissolution of the PUNS, he became a defender of Morocco's position on the Sahara, and became a figurehead for the Moroccan government's rule in the Western Sahara.Fact|date=February 2007There are nine vice-presidents: Khedad Moussaoui, Hassan Derham, Abdelaziz Abba, Omar Bouida, Ali Salem Chekaf, Othmane Ila, Hassana Cherif, Brika Zerouali and Kaltoum Khyate.Fact|date=June 2007
CORCAS set up five commissions, envisaged by its statutes [ [http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=15024 Morocco Times: CORCAS Autonomy project, 'courageous royal initiative'] ] ,
*the commission for social affairs, human development and the environment;
*the commission for external affairs and cooperation;
*the commission for the defense of human rights, public freedoms and the populations of the camps;
*the commission for economic affairs, education and training;
*and the commission for the promotion of the Hassanie culture, information and communication.International activities
The CORCAS leadership travels extensively and is regularly featured in the Moroccan press. Its chairman,
Khellihenna Ould Errachid , regularly attends meetings in foreign forums, such as the UN, where the Sahara question is discussed. Among others, the CORCAS president has met with the President of thePeople's Republic of China president, the former French foreign minister, and various other international officials.The chairman of Corcas as well as the Secretary General, Dr Maouelainin Ben Khalihenna Maouelainin, are the spokesman of the moroccan delegation in Manhassett talks under the supervision of the personal envoy of the Secretary General of the UN.
Criticism
In an interview with the independent Moroccan weekly magazine
Le Journal Hebdomadaire , CORCAS memberEl Houcine Baïda a former victim of Human Rights abuses byPolisario , and head of PASVERTIAssociation of Sahrawi victims of repression in the Tindouf Camps , as chairman of the Human Rights Commission within CORCAS complained about the lack of tackling human rights issues, and about the way CORCAS president Khellihenna runs the Council. In his opinion, the country's actions in theSouthern Provinces were alienating Sahrawis, and thus could push more youth towardsseparatism . He further claimed that most of the organization's members were allowed no knowledge of the government's autonomy plan - that they were supposedly responsible for drafting - and that CORCAS chairmanKhellihenna Ould Errachid runs the council's affairs despotically, and on a trip occasion behaved with him like "a new Franco". [ [http://www.lejournal-hebdo.com/sommaire/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1677&Itemid=30&mosmsg=Merci+d%60avoir+vot%E9 Le Journal Hebdo] ] . Beida is at odd terms personnally with the CORCAS chairman, and has been part of all delegations that had the task of explaining the mission of the CORCAS abroad.Notes
External links
* [http://www.corcas.com Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS)] – Official site in ar en fr es
* [http://www.map.ma/mapfr/corcas/index.htm Le CORCAS] fr
* [http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1283594/tthe_royal_advisory_council_for_saharan_affairs/ Video of Corcas president Khali Henna Ould Rachid, introducing the mission of the council]ee also
*
History of Western Sahara
*History of Morocco
*Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)
*Sahrawi National Council (SNC)
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