Rabat – Algeria’s Minister of Communication and government spokesperson Ammar Belhimer, in an interview with Arabic Post, reiterated the conditions for opening land borders with Morocco, as well as adding a new dimension to the proposed solution.
Speaking of the border closure that has been in place since 1994, the minister suggested that besides just demanding the opening of the borders, Morocco’s officials “must show good intentions and take the necessary measures to end the attacks and crimes directed against Algeria through the border crossings, foremost among which is the smuggling of weapons and drugs.”
Historically, Algerian officials have referred to three conditions when it comes to border opening, namely, ending the alleged media campaign against Algeria, making peace with Algeria’s support to the separatist Polisario Front, and putting an end to drug trafficking.
Despite Algeria’s attempts to weave aggressive narratives and apply pressure onto the Moroccan government, Morocco has shown enough goodwill towards the initiative. In December 2020, Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani said that Morocco is ready to open borders with Algeria free of conditions.
Furthermore, on November 6, 2018, King Mohammed VI invited Algeria to engage in a “frank and direct” dialogue to break the stalemate between Rabat and Algiers.
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The Moroccan King reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the “policy of the outstretched hand towards our Algerian brothers, out of loyalty to the bonds rooted in brotherhood, religion, language and good-neighborliness that have always existed between the peoples of the two sister nations.”
As of yet, there has been no official response from Algeria.
Despite Algeria’s political posturing, beyond the world of politics, there is growing public support from both sides of the frontier to open the borders. In 2020, Algerian television presenter and former presidential candidate Ghani Mahdi called upon the Algiers government to end its hostile approach towards Morocco, and to finally open the borders.
“We share the same history, the same thinking, and language,” Mahdi said.
As for Moroccans, they have a clear, almost unanimous, opinion on the border closure. In a report published on February 24, 2020, the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis revealed that 89% of Moroccans wish the borders with Algeria to be reopened.
Algeria shut down the borders with Morocco in 1994 following Morocco’s imposed visa regulations on Algerian visitors. In turn, Morocco set the visa requirements in the wake of a terrorist attack on the Atlas Asni hostel in Marrakech.
In 2004, Morocco finally lifted the visa requirement, but still, the border has remained closed.
Diplomatic rift
During the interview with Arabic Post, Belhimer dwelled on the diplomatic rift between the two countries.
“At some point, the other side persists in transgressions and fails to take into account brotherhood and neighborly relations,” said the spokesperson of the military regime seemingly obsessed with besmirching Morocco’s reputation.
It is not the first time the Algerian regime flaunts its selective memory, as political, media, and diplomatic attacks from Algiers have intensified exponentially since the US’ recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
In February, Belhimer falsely accused Morocco of launching a “misleading and hostile campaign” against Algeria. Later in the same month, Algerian senior officials were quick to tarnish Morocco’s deal with Israel by promoting anti-Semitism.
A final nail in the coffin in the narrative perpetuated by the country so concerned with “brotherhood and neighborly relations,” is the email correspondence of former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sent January 18, 2013, published in 2020, that revealed that the Algerian government of Abdelaziz Bouteflika “encouraged” terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar to carry out attacks in Morocco’s southern regions.
While the Algerian government is seemingly prepared to deflect any and all blame, the actions themselves speak louder than words.
