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Join on Telegram Rabat – Of Algerian origin, French National Assembly member Soumya Bourouaha is receiving growing backlash for utilizing rhetoric that aligns with the Algerian regime’s stance on Western Sahara.
French deputy of the French National Assembly, Laure Lavalette, questioned Bourouaha’s stance over the social media platform X, asking why she seems so vehemently opposed to Morocco.
She further criticized Bourouaha’s stance, echoing Algeria’s regime position against Morocco-France bilateral ties: “A communist official is this time accusing Morocco and excellent relations between France and the Moroccan kingdom. What do you have against Morocco, @S_Bourouaha?”Lavalette wrote.
Bourouaha responded to the French deputy, echoing Algiers’ long-standing position, which challenges Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces and supports Polisario’s separatist claims.
“Absolutely nothing. Except that the Kingdom of Morocco and President Macron have no right to decide the future of the Sahrawi people!” Bourouaha wrote.
The rhetoric comes as Algeria’s regime continues to lobby against Morocco’s position on Western Sahara. The Algerian regime has furthermore been criticizing France for its steadfast recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara.
In July last year, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that the present and future of Western Sahara is within the framework of Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces.
France also announced the Autonomy Plan as the only basis to end the dispute. The announcement received criticism and backlash from Algeria’s regime, which recalled its ambassador from Paris to protest the newfound position.
Since then, ties between the two countries have further deteriorated, with Algiers frequently attempting to push for a reversal in Paris’ decision.
Lavalette was not the only one to comment against Bourouaha’s anti-Morocco sentiment.
“Who appointed you as the advocate of the Sahrawis?” former Minister of Tourism Lahcen Haddad wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“If you truly defend them, then campaign for their freedom of movement in the Tindouf camps, for them to be registered in accordance with the Geneva Convention, for that Convention actually to be applied to them, for the Polisario’s illegal management of the camps to be revoked, and for Algeria to finally assume its responsibility as the host country by allowing them to freely choose whether to stay or leave,” the politician added.
The UN has long warned against the severe deterioration in the nutrition of Sahrawis living in dire and inhumane conditions in the camps.
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said the Global Acute Malnutrition level and stunting in children in Tindouf have increased to 13.6% and 30.7% respectively, compared to 10.7% and 28.8% in 2022.
The anemia prevalence remains significantly high, surpassing the 40% public health significance threshold among women of reproductive age at 68.8% and children under five years.
Algeria’s regime has continuously refused to allow a census and registration of Sahrawis in Tindouf for over 50 years, despite clear directives from the Security Council since 2011.
“The absence of a census facilitates the diversion of humanitarian aid, which has pushed agencies and NGOs to reduce their assistance,” Morocco’s permanent ambassador to the UN Omar Hilale said earlier this year.
