It appears that relations between Rabat and Algiers reached a dead end, with nearly zero percent chance to have diplomatic relations restored between the neighbors.
Rabat – The Royal Moroccan Table Tennis Federation has withdrawn from a competition in Oran, Algeria.
Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) shared a statement from the federation, in which it denounced actions against Morocco’s territorial integrity in the competition.
The federation said that it received an invitation to take part in the Zone 1 championship from December 19 to 22.
Two Moroccan table tennis players went to take part in the competition along with a member of the federation’s board.
Upon their arrival, the representative of the federation’s executive office was surprised to find a truncated map of Morocco without its southern provinces in Western Sahara in the official logo of the competition.
The southern provinces were replaced by a flag of the self-proclaimed SADR, the statement explained.
The representative of the federation eventually expressed strong condemnation and sent a letter to the president of the African Zone 1 and the organizers.
The press release emphasized that the federation had decided to “take all steps with regional, continental, and international authorities to condemn this irresponsible act.”
Algeria opposes Morocco’s territorial integrity and position regarding the Western Sahara conflict. It also hosts and finances the Polisario Front.
Morocco has been calling on Algeria to engage in a political dialogue to end the conflict, but Algeria continues to pledge support for the front.
The most recent statement against Morocco’s position came just after the inauguration of Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Thursday, December 19.
The new president described the issue as “a question of decolonization.”
The chairman of the Algerian National Committee for Solidarity with the Sahrawi People, Said Layachi, also expressed Algeria’s “unwavering support for the Sahrawi cause and the struggle of the Sahrawi people for freedom and independence,” a red line for Morocco’s territorial integrity.
