Ferhat Mehenni, leader of the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie (MAK), strongly condemned the Algerian military regime on Monday for its involvement in the death of two French-Moroccan jet skiers.
Mehenni, in a video address to the Kabylie people published on “X” (formerly Twitter), expressed his dismay over Algeria’s hostility, which he deemed “a flagrant violation of international law.”
The Kabylie leader argued that there were other responses that Algeria could have used if their territorial waters had indeed been breached. Though he did acknowledge the complexity of defining any country’s waters boundaries, Mehenni did not accept the justifications provided by Algeria following the event.
The interim Prime Minister of Kabylie extended his condolences to Morocco over the incident.
Kabylie activists have been subject to the Algerian regime’s brutality recently, as Kabylie students were arrested in Vgayet and other cities in Kabylie region in April 2023, following their commemoration of the anniversary of the Amazigh Spring (1980-1981) and the Black Spring (2001).
Kabylie also demonstrated in Paris in the same month, denouncing the Algerian repression against their people, demanding the release of political prisoners, and reiterating Kabylia’s right to self-determination.