Aljazeera TV channel interviewed recently Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune on an array of issues and, as usual, he chose to dwell on his favorite topic: the neighboring Kingdom of Morocco.
Tebboune said that relations with Morocco are beyond repair or, as he termed them, reached “a point of no return”. Any listener with a critical, analytical mind would ask: who is responsible for this deteriorating state of affairs. Let’s go back in time and look at the dynamics governing the ties between Morocco and Algeria.
In 2021, and for no apparent reason, Algeria decided unilaterally to cut ties with its neighbor, citing hostile acts by Morocco. Some linked that half-witted decision to the wildfire that was ravaging forests on the Algerian territory and interpreted the naturally occurring forest fire as the referred to hostile act. It would seem that those at Algeria’s helm just rolled the dice and came up with such absurdity.
The feud is caused mainly by the long-running dispute over the Sahara. Algeria is arming and supporting a separatist militia that wants self-determination on this portion of Moroccan lands. The move by the neighboring state is meant to weaken and undermine Morocco’s sovereignty, and, in a cause-effect logic, Morocco should be the one cutting ties. Yet, the Kingdom chose compromise over escalation and proposed an autonomy plan for the Sahara under its sovereignty. Autonomous regions enjoy international recognition and are scattered all over the world. They can manage their domestic affairs with no foreign or outside meddling. But, no matter how sound and rational the Moroccan plan may seem, it has been sitting on the table for years with no tangible breakthroughs. A paradox for anyone listening to the narrative of peace and settlement by the Algeria-backed separatists.
Algeria has always denied that it has a hand in the decades-long dispute to evade all responsibility. However, recent UN resolutions and reports by the UNSG named it as party to the conflict and included it, along with Mauritania, in roundtables to break the stalemate.
Tebboune told Aljazeera that “our position is a response to [Morocco’s actions], we were never the ones who started [the problem].” Here, the Algerian president is either delusional or has a dyslexic mindset that confuses action and reaction.
In fact, Algerian leaders have always played the cards of hostility towards Morocco and France to score political gains. Each time, they would bring to memory the French colonizer and the martyrs who fell in battle and feed this tale to average population, while the French-Algerian relations are doing well. An illustration of this is the Algerian chief of staff Saïd Chengriha’s recent visit to France.
For Morocco, things take a different proportion. Algeria brings out the heavyweight argument of Arab nationalism versus Israel. The country was quite vocal about its stance on Morocco’s resumption of ties with Israel and conclusion of the Abraham Accords. According to this deranged train of thoughts, Morocco should submit its foreign diplomacy plans to Algeria for approval before entering into alliances and clinching deals, which is ridiculous.
Morocco is a sovereign country run by a resourceful Monarch who was able to navigate the country through many hardships, the last of which is the Covid pandemic. The Kingdom proceeds according to well-devised strategies that ensure progress and prosperity, economically and socially.
If Morocco chooses to diversify its allies, it does not mean that its position will be biased or unfair towards Palestinians. On the contrary, the country is embracing a balanced, judicious stance that preaches coexistence and tolerance. In fact, Morocco has condemned recently inflammatory remarks made by some Israeli officials against Arabs, which means that the Kingdom is keeping its word, something Tebboune prefers to turn a blind eye to.