For mainly economic and security reasons, Tunisians believe that if Tunis must choose a camp, after the breakdown of diplomatic relations between Algiers and Rabat, it is for Algeria that it must choose.
“They [the rulers] will all leave, only the peoples will remain united like the five fingers of the hand,” wrote former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki on his Facebook page following the announcement of the severance of diplomatic relations. between Algeria and Morocco.
Translation: “To our compatriots in Morocco and Algeria, for these two men, Emir Abdelkader and Emir Abdelkrim … For their exemplarity … For their honorable values … Do not follow the tensions between politicians, the conflicts of the leaders, and the appeals of immature people to hatred between brothers. They will all leave, only the people will remain united like the five fingers of the hand.”
Tunisians have of course not remained indifferent to the new crisis shaking the region, in particular the former Tunisian president who, in February 2012, relaunched the initiative of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA, a sort of European Union in North Africa), broken down since its creation in 1989.
During a tour in the countries of North Africa, Moncef Marzouki had pleaded in favor of free movement between the five AMU countries – Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia – and a single currency like the Schengen area, but also for the freedom to reside and invest.
Hatem, 56, a computer scientist in Tunis, regrets this rupture which “will break down the Greater Maghreb that we have dreamed of uniting for decades.”
“Relations between the two countries have been strained for years, but it has become more acute in recent times, especially with the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel, and its spyware [Pegasus scandal]. I even think that the army on both sides [Algerian and Moroccan] is preparing for a possible escalation.”
Tunisia fears he will probably be “affected by this conflict.”
“Algeria will mainly worry about its affairs with Morocco and will abandon Tunisia,” he told Middle East Eye. “But lately, with the outbreak of coronavirus cases, our neighbor has helped us by providing us with oxygen and medical equipment, but we also buy gas from him at preferential prices…”
For Mongi, the new crisis between Algiers and Rabat will have no impact on Tunisia.
“These are diplomatic relations that have no direct link with Tunisia. There will never be any conflict between Tunisia and Morocco, nor between Tunisia and Algeria”, assures MEE this 35-year-old administrative agent, before adding: “The only black spot with Morocco, this is the markets and investments that he has wrested from us over the past decade, taking advantage of the political crisis that our country has been going through since the revolution.”
He evokes here certain companies and factories established in Tunisia which have relocated to Morocco (Yazaki in 2011, Lir in 2016, or Delphi Packard in 2017) to flee political and economic instability.
According to an article published in 2014, 400 foreign companies closed and 2,600 businessmen transferred their investments from Tunisia to Morocco.
A “confirmation of international changes”
“Since the advent of Mohammed VI and especially since 2011, Morocco seems to have distinguished itself by insidious actions against our country, taking advantage of post-revolution social instability to carry out underhand canvassing campaigns for foreign investors. This eagerness would have even touched Tunisian investors, some of whom seem to have responded to the song of Moroccan sirens, ” also writes the former diplomat Elyes Kasri in Kapitalis.
“Here in Morocco, people don’t understand what is going on!”, Told MEE Miryem, 38, a Tunisian who has lived and worked in Morocco for four years as a French teacher.
“Especially since Algeria accuses Morocco of being behind the fires that have ravaged Algeria! It is unexpected, especially as the king of Morocco had called in his last speech to overcome the tensions. For me, this old conflict is never going to get better. However, this should not happen between two neighboring countries. But the Arabs agreed never to agree!”
On the occasion of the traditional Speech from the Throne at the end of July, King Mohammed VI had indeed called on Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune “to work in unison for the development of fraternal relations” and pleaded for the reopening of the land border.
Until now, Tunisia has not officially commented on the subject.
For Haythem Beltaief, an expert in international relations, “Tunis should consider in priority its national interest on the security plan but also economic”.
In other words, preserving its relationship with Algeria, a country with which security cooperation in general and at borders in particular, but also political and economic, is very important.
“In addition, Tunisia would have been hit closely by Morocco via the spy software Pegasus. And Morocco is our first economic competitor in the region, ”he adds to support his idea.
Translation: “There is a misunderstanding between two brotherly countries. Tunisia must intervene quickly to put out the fire.”
Haythem Beltaief also considers that “Tunisia is not in a position of diplomatic strength to play an active role. And anyway, stability in Libya is today a priority subject on the AMU.”
According to him, however, “Tunisia must not relax its diplomatic efforts, especially in the light of the pandemic, the Libyan conflict and the overhaul of regional alliances.”
For him, the Moroccan-Algerian conflict is a “confirmation of international changes” and Tunisia “must pay particular attention to it in order to determine its future priorities.”
