UN pessimistic on referendum timetable

The date for a planned referendum on independence for Western Sahara is still uncertain, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report released on Friday. Annan's report noted the repeated obstacles that have delayed the holding of the referendum in the Western Sahara, in particular the process of identifying eligible voters. It adds that the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, MINURSO, which already has to deal with some 79,000 appeals from people wishing to vote, now faces the prospect of receiving as many as 60,000 additional appeals by the deadline of 25 February. Annan also recommended that the Security Council extend the mandate of the UN mission, which is set to expire on 29 February, until 31 May. He added that he had asked his personal envoy, former US Secretary of State, James Baker, "to consult the parties on ways to resolve their differences." The referendum envisioned in a 1991 UN-sponsored ceasefire agreement was to give voters a choice between independence or inclusion in Morocco, which in 1975 annexed the former Spanish colony. In December Annan said that the current appeals process could push back the referendum beyond 2002.