Omar Hilale criticized Algeria for using primary education to spread hatred towards Morocco.
Rabat – Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the UN Omar Hilale denounced Algeria’s hostile moves against Morocco’s territorial integrity during a meeting of the UN Committee of 24 on Monday, June 17 in New York.
The diplomat’s statement in front of the committee comes in response to claims voiced by the ambassador, Chargé d’Affaires of Algeria, who condemned countries which name Algeria as a key actor in the Western Sahara conflict.
The Algerian diplomat claimed that his country “is not a party but just an observer.”
In response to Algeria’s claims, Hilale reiterated Morocco’s firm position regarding Algeria’s unquestionable responsibility in the conflict.
“If Algeria is only an observer, why does it arm, finance, shelter and diplomatically mobilize for the Polisario, an armed non-state separatist movement?”
Hilale also deplored Algeria’s recent move against Morocco’s territorial integrity during a final exam at a school in Algeria.
“If Algeria is not a main party, why does it foster the culture of hatred of Morocco and separatism among children in primary education by introducing into the school curriculum and end-of-year examinations.”
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Algerian students who took history-geography for the Certificate of Primary Studies (CEP) found a task which questioned Morocco’s territorial integrity.
A question in the exam papers reads that “the independence of the Maghreb and its construction can only be achieved if the Sahrawi people are free.”
Hilale said that “the Sahara will never be independent and will always be an integral part of Morocco.”
In response to Algeria’s claims, the ambassador added: “If Algeria is not a party, why has it continued to turn a deaf ear for 40 years to the incessant and urgent calls of the international community, including the Security Council in its resolutions since 2011 for the census and registration of the populations of the Tindouf camps in Algeria?”
The Moroccan diplomat argued that census registration is the only way to protect the rights of these populations who “are scorned every day, and are exposed to intimidation and violence.”
Algeria also continues to turn a deaf ear to Morocco’s dialogue initiative, proposed by King Mohammed VI in November 2018, to break the stalemate between Rabat and Algiers and to increase cooperation.
