The question of this former Spanish colony has pitted Rabat against the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algiers, for decades.
Moroccan and Algerian representatives took on Tuesday, September 26 during the UN General Assembly concerning Western Sahara, considered a “non-autonomous territory” by the United Nations. The question of this former Spanish colony has for decades pitted Morocco – which controls 80% of the territory and proposes an autonomy plan under its sovereignty – against the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algiers.
Using his right of reply following the speech from the platform of his Moroccan counterpart, the Algerian ambassador Amar Bendjama notably accused him of having “distorted” the words of his president Abdelmadjid Tebboune who, last week, reaffirmed his support for the organization of a self-determination referendum.
“Everyone has their own side. We Algerians have chosen the camp of justice, decolonization, freedom, self-determination, and human rights. This commitment applies in favor of the cause of the Sahrawi people who have been waiting for almost half a century for the UN to do them justice, he insisted. If, in Western Sahara, the Moroccan occupation had really made it a paradise, with or without the granting of autonomy, why are we preventing this referendum?”
“Demonizing freedom activists”
He also refuted the “accusations of terrorism concerning the Polisario”: “Let this not deceive anyone, because all the hegemonic powers have always tried to demonize the resistance and freedom activists,” he said while conveying his country’s condolences to Morocco affected by a deadly earthquake.
“We cannot shed crocodile tears and, at the same time, attack a country which is still living in a tragedy,” retorted the Moroccan ambassador Omar Hilale, also demanding the floor several times to respond to his Algerian counterpart. “You show your solidarity and your support but, at the same time, you inject your venom, you insult the dead, you insult the Moroccans,” he declared.
He also reiterated that “the autonomy initiative within the framework of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Morocco remains the only way to turn the page on this fabricated regional conflict”. “Morocco is in its Sahara and will remain so until the end of time,” he insisted.
Emboldened by the recognition of the American administration of Donald Trump at the end of 2020 of its sovereignty over this territory in return for a rapprochement with Israel, Morocco has since deployed increasingly offensive diplomacy to rally other countries to its positions.
