Office of the Historian

379. Memorandum From Secretary of State Haig to President Reagan1

Washington, June 26, 1981

[Omitted here is material unrelated to Western Sahara.]

3. OAU SUMMIT. King Hassan today proposed a “controlled referendum” for the Sahara in his address before the Nairobi OAU Summit. Mauritania and Sudan endorsed the proposal. However, each made recommendations which will be unacceptable to Morocco. The Polisario rejected Hassan’s proposal out of hand. The French Foreign Minister today issued a statement endorsing Hassan’s idea in the context of self-determination which will give Hassan trouble. We are preparing recommendations concerning our best public posture along with a proposed reply from you to Hassan’s oral message of a few days ago.2 (C)

  1. Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Agency File, Secretary Haig’s Evening Report (06/06/1981–07/02/1981). Secret.↩
  2. See Document 380.↩