By Majid Morceli
By Majid Morceli
San Francisco- Although it is unfortunate that communications between Morocco’s diplomats have been hacked, it’s not all bad news. As of now we have not seen or heard something the public is not aware of. The leaks actually show clearly the vigilance of Mr. Omar Hilale, Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and the difficulty of his job defending the national cause. He has shown that he’s always thinking ahead of Morocco’s enemies.
The Moroccan public tends to be a bit harsh and critical toward its representatives in the international arena and elsewhere, due to the fact that everything is conducted in complete secrecy, and rarely do they get the opportunity to see how their public servants perform their jobs.
Thanks to these leaks, Moroccans now at least have an idea what goes on behind the scene, and hopefully realize that Mr. Hilale is a true professional and probably has the toughest job anyone could hope for. Morocco’s enemies are many, and could use any misstep on his part.
These leaks should be interpreted as blessing in disguise; we finally get a glimpse of what is at stake andwhat’s being done behind closed doors, or in this case, via email exchange. It’s a constant and never-ending battle that Morocco has to win.
The communications between Mr. Hilale with Salaheddine Mezouar demonstrate that Morocco’s big concern is unsurprisingly the Algerian regime, almost dismissing the Polisario who are sometimes considered a simple nuisance.
They are very much aware that any action Morocco takes or does not take will certainly get a reaction from the Polisario based on Algeria’s instructions.
The correspondence between the two diplomats show the concern that Mr. Hilale has with the UN envoy Christopher Ross, who is considered a pseudo-advisor to the Algerians. We should not be surprised due to the fact that he was the U.S. ambassador to Algeria.
Moroccan authorities made a big mistake accepting the nomination of the American envoy. Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar is not about to repeat the same mistake regarding the nomination of a new head of Minurso, Kim Bolduc. Mezouar stated that Morocco “had not been consulted” by the United Nations at the time of her appointment. Morocco has also banned Christopher Ross from visiting Morocco until “many clarifications” are made.
The foreign minister wants to see in writing the duties of the UN envoy; apparently the UN envoy is overstepping his mandate to help his old friends in El Moradia. The fact that he refused to do so in writing shows clearly that he has other plans in mind than his mandate.
What the Moroccan public should conclude from these leaks is that the Sahara dossier is in good hands under Mr. Hilale and Mezouar. There will be setbacks, and on rare occasion triumphs, but one thing is sure: Morocco will never give up an inch of its Sahara.
Moroccans should brace themselves for what’s coming: it does not look like any good will come from this as long as the UN envoy has not been dismissed.
The French under Holland are almost siding with the Algerians in order to receive their lucrative business. Three pro Polisario countries have been newly elected to the UN. The U.S. under Obama is flip-flopping. The King’s scheduled trip to Russia has not taken place; canceling his scheduled trip to the UN is not a good sign either.
Morocco has been through worse times and nothing will change the fact that Morocco will never give up a drop of its Sahara sand to the Algerian military regime guided by someone who no one even knows whether he is dead or still alive.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy
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