Khelli Henna Ould Rachid

Khelli Henna Ould Rachid ( _ar. خلي هنا ولد الرشيد, name also transliterated from Arabic as Khali Hina Uld Errachid, Khalihenna Wald Rasheed, and other variations) is the Sahrawi chairman of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS), a Moroccan government body active in the disputed region of Western Sahara.

Under Spain

A member of an influential family in the Reguibat tribe, Khelli Henna was appointedFact|date=March 2007 by Spain to head the Sahrawi National Union Party (PUNS) in 1974. The PUNS, which had been created with the approval of the Spanish authorities, was the only legal political party in then-Spanish Sahara in 1974-75, had been created to counter the territorial claims from neighbours Morocco and Mauritania, as well as the indigenous independence movement headed by the Polisario Front, created in 1973. It initially advocated autonomy for the territory under continued Spanish colonial rule, but, as the Spanish position evolved, the party and its leader, Khelli Henna, started demanding independence "in association"Fact|date=March 2007 with Spain, proclaiming themselves completely opposed to Moroccan and Mauritanian designs on the territory.

Under Hassan II

When Spain left the territory in 1975, after the Madrid Agreement, Khelli Henna declared his allegiance to the King of Morocco. Under King Hassan II, he was appointed mayor of El-Aaiun in the Moroccan-controlled areas of Western Sahara and later served as Minister of Saharan Affairs.

He was viewed as very close to the King's right hand man, the minister of interior Driss Basri, [http://www.lejournal-hebdo.com/article.php3?id_article=7778] who held responsibility for the Saharan territories, where a guerrilla war against Polisario continued until the 1991 cease-fire (still in effect, pending final resolution of the conflict). Following the death of Hassan in 1999, and the dismissal of Basri by the new king Muhammad VI a few years later, Khelli Henna’s political career seemed to be over. [http://sahara-watch.blogspot.com/2006/08/rabats-man-in-laayoune.html] [http://www.lejournal-hebdo.com/article.php3?id_article=8826 transl.]

Under Mohammad VI

In 2005, the Moroccan government created the CORCAS to promote autonomy as an alternative to the referendum that was agreed in the Settlement Plan. [http://www.marocannonces.com/affiche_morocco_news.php?numero=1431&affiche=td&debut=220&inter=] As head of the government-appointed organ, Khelli Henna made a public comeback, and has featured prominently [http://www.moroccotimes.com/news/article.asp?idr=2&id=17187] in Moroccan diplomacy. He is seen by the Moroccan government as an independent Sahrawi leader opposed to the Algeria-based Polisario independence movement, and its longtime leader Mohamed Abdelaziz. [http://www.moroccotimes.com/news/article.asp?idr=2&id=15801] [http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=16787] [http://www.moroccotimes.com/news/article.asp?idr=2&id=14342]

He considers the Algeria-backed Polisario front as an obstacle to a peaceful solution due to its deep dependency on Algeria. The Polisario refuses to deal with him.

See also

*History of Western Sahara

External links

* [http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1283594/tthe_royal_advisory_council_for_saharan_affairs/ Video of Rachid explaining Sahara Autonomy Plan]

Further reading

* Hodges, Tony (1983), "Western Sahara: The Roots of a Desert War", Lawrence Hill Books (ISBN 0-88208-152-7)
*Pazzanita, Anthony G. and Hodges, Tony (1994), "Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara", Scarecrow Press (ISBN 0-8108-2661-5)