In the next twenty-four hours the United States will host two forums on the Sahara. The first event is initiated by an American university lecturer close to Morocco while the other one is conducted by a supporter of Algeria and the Polisario. After the UN personal envoy to Western Sahara Horst Köhler briefed the Security Council in a session, held on the 8th of August, on his last tour to the region, Morocco and Algeria are mobilizing their lobbyists in the United States. The two neighboring countries have urged their supporters to make their messages heard by the Donald Trump administration. Rabat is relying on one of its long-time advocates, Robert M. Holley. The latter is a retired Foreign Service Officer who has been the Executive Director of the Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) since 2003. On August the 14th, he published a column entitled «Western Sahara : Where is Algeria ?», referring to Morocco's position regarding Algeria. The latter is seen by Rabat as an important party that fuels the territorial conflict. A message to John Bolton The lecturer recalls at the beginning of his article, that Morocco presented in 2007 an autonomy plan to resolve the Sahara conflict. He also stresses that Rabat's initiative was well received by the George W. Bush administration. Moreover, he points at the positive comments of David Welch, who was an Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs in the United States Department of State from 2005 through 2008. The latter described Morocco's plan as «serious and credible». Meanwhile, the diplomat criticized the Polisario's proposal, stressing that it «does not bring new ideas». Through his column, Holley was sending the National Security Advisor of the United States John Bolton an implicit message. Since he assumed office in March, he has given much attention to the Sahara issue. This has been confirmed after Horst Köhler met John Bolton a few hours after attending the meeting on Western Sahara at the Security Council. Algeria and Suzanne Scholte The American lobbyist Suzanne Scholte, who is close to Algeria, quickly responded to Robert M. Holley's article. She is head of the Defense Forum Foundation and the U.S.–Western Sahara Association. The human rights activist, known for defending the Polisario in the United States, has asked the Trump administration to «resolve a long-standing political dispute on the last African colony, Western Sahara». Suzanne Scholte said she regrets the fact that the MINURSO could not hold a referendum in the Sahara because the «Kingdom of Morocco has spent millions of dollars on lobbying to block the implementation of the measure, bribing UN officials and legislators». For the record, after his last meeting at the security council earlier this month, Horst Kohler is intending to relaunch direct negotiations between the parties involved before the end of the current year.
