The Polisario Front has responded to Portugal's recent endorsement of Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara by urging Lisbon to «align with international legitimacy and law, and to defend human rights, including the right of peoples to self-determination and independence». Compared to its reactions to similar announcements from Spain and France, the separatist movement adopted a more diplomatic tone. It reminded Portugal of its «principled and historic stance in support of the people of East Timor's right to self-determination, its firm rejection of occupation and annexation by force, and its insistence on maintaining its role as an administering power in the region along with the responsibilities that entailed», a position which, according to the Polisario, ultimately led to «the establishment of an independent state». The Front also criticized Morocco, accusing it of «continuing to involve countries around the world in its failed colonial venture, in defiance of international law and in rebellion against United Nations resolutions and rulings issued by international and regional courts and organizations». On Tuesday, Portugal publicly expressed its «full support for the autonomy initiative, considering it a constructive, serious, and credible basis for resolving the conflict», according to the joint statement adopted by Morocco's Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccans Living Abroad, Nasser Bourita, and Portuguese Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, following their meeting in Lisbon. Portugal also acknowledged the significance of the Sahara issue for Morocco, and praised the Kingdom's «serious and credible efforts» within the United Nations framework to reach a «just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution».
