The statements of Tunisia’s former President, Moncef Marzouki, on Algeria’s obstruction of unity in the Maghreb have caused a hostile and vulgar reaction in state-sponsored Algerian media.
On November 19, Marzouki exposed in an interview the role that Algeria plays in igniting the Western Sahara dispute and obstructing the Maghreb Union project.
“Whenever we proceed and find a reasonable solution to the [Western Sahara] problem within the framework of Morocco’s Autonomy Plan and the Maghreb Union, certain forces carry out some kind of terrorist strikes to prevent this,” Marzouki said, before explicitly denouncing Algerian rulers.
Read also: Tunisia’s Marzouki: Polisario, Algeria Obstruct Maghreb Union Project
Marzouki’s denunciation of the Algerian regime’s role in destabilizing the region and the lack of counter-arguments caused Alsaid Bensedira, an Algerian YouTuber, to attack and insult the Tunisian politician and his family.
The self-titled journalist uploaded on December 3 a 30-minute footage where he insults Marzouki and accuses him of being a Moroccan intelligence agent.
Bensedira, who publicly admitted that he is close to the Algerian presidency, began his monologue by insulting the looks and intelligence of Marzouki, as well as his wife.
“He is bald and dumb, … and he is married to a French zionist,” the self-styled journalist said in an expression that violates journalistic ethics.
The Algerian propagandist then attempted to explain the alleged link between Marzouki and Moroccan intelligence. He recalled that Marzouki’s father had lived in Morocco since the 1950s and is now buried in Marrakech.
According to Bensedira, Marzouki’s father married a Moroccan woman and had several children with her. The pseudo-journalist argued that Marzouki is “an agent of the Moroccan intelligence” because he has half-Moroccan brothers.
While a conspiracy theorist might see the arguments as legitimate, the way Bensedira presented them takes away all possible credibility.
“Since you decided to talk about Algeria, Mr. Marzouki, we will expose your past and the past of your father, mother, and aunt. We will expose everything about you,” the YouTuber said.
Read also: Europe’s ARTE Television Exposes Polisario, Algeria’s Fake News
Bensedira also attempted to take a quote from Marzouki’s interview and present it out of context to portray the Tunisian politician as a “villain.”
“We cannot sacrifice the future of 100 million Maghrebians for 200,000 Sahrawis,” the former Tunisian president said. The self-proclaimed journalist presented the quote and accused Marzouki, who is a human rights activist, of “selling his principles.”
Bensedira accused Marzouki of being ready to “sacrifice the lives” of 200,000 Sahrawis. However, he did not mention that he had cut the quote.
The full quote from Marzouki’s interview goes as follows: “We cannot sacrifice the future of 100 million Maghrebians for 200,000 Sahrawis, while [Sahrawis] can live with honor and dignity within the Maghreb Union and Morocco’s Autonomy Initiative.”
Contrary to Bensedira’s claim, the former Tunisian president presented a solution that would improve the living conditions of Sahrawis, currently living under dire conditions in the Tindouf camps, southeastern Algeria.
The Algerian YouTuber quickly contradicted himself and his “respect for human lives” when he expressed his willingness to “throw all Arabs in the sea” to defend the alleged “Sahrawi cause.”
“We are ready to sacrifice all Arabs, from the [Atlantic] Ocean to the Gulf. We are ready to throw them in the sea in order to defend 200,000 Sahrawis, because [Sahrawis] are in the right,” he shouted.
Bensedira’s violent statement stemmed from his apparent anger at the support of Arab states for Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over Western Sahara.
In the rest of the footage, the YouTuber continues to present unfounded accusations against Marzouki and Morocco, punctuated by offensive comments about the Tunisian politician’s physical appearance and marital choice.
