Morocco World News
Morocco World News
New York, August 31, 2012
During the ministerial meeting on the humanitarian situation in Syria held at the UN Security Council on Thursday in New York, Bashar Al Jaafari, the Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations, at Moroccan King Mohammed VI and taunted Morocco over the Sahara. He leveled his acerbic criticism at the allegiance ceremony, which is held every year on the occasion of the celebration of the enthronement of King Mohammed VI. During this ceremony, Morocco’s officials bow down before the monarch at an annual “celebration of loyalty” that activists have criticized as “backward.”
Regarding the Sahara, Jaafari brought up the longstanding issue, asking, “What about the question of Western Sahara? Do you want us to talk about this issue?” “There are also people in the Sahara, who are fighting for their rights,” he added.
It is worth recalling the relations between Syria and Morocco have been lukewarm since the Assad dynasty took power bloodily in the late 1960’s. As a result, Syria was among the few Arab countries (in addition to Algeria) who never supported Morocco’s stance regarding the Sahara issue.
This is not the first time that Syria’s Permanent Representative lashes out at other Arab countries. Since the broke out of the Syrian revolution, he made is a habit to attack the Permanent Representatives of other Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Also, as pointed by Morocco World News correspondent in New York, during the General Assembly meetings held over the past 6 months, he bitterly lashed out at the President of the General Assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser from Qatar, whom he accused several times of “serving the agenda of the West.”
According to many journalists and observers who covered the UN activities over the past three decades, never a diplomat of this caliber had crossed the line in attacking other countries in such an undiplomatic manner.
Benjamin Villanti contributed reporting from the United Nations.
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