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Join on Telegram Rabat – Morocco has recalled its ambassador to Germany, Zohour Alaoui, the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today.
The ministry argued that the decision is due to Germany’s “exacerbated hostile acts” against Morocco’s “higher interests” with regards to Western Sahara.
Explaining that Germany has consistently undermined Moroccan interests in recent months, especially on questions related to Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, the ministry noted that Berlin has not “distanced itself from its destructive attitude” regarding the Sahara conflict.
Rabat accused Germany of “antagonistic” activism following Trump’s proclamation recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over Sahara, describing such acts as “unexplained.”
Morocco also condemned German authorities’ “complicity” with regards to the case of Mohamed Hajib, a former terrorism convict who lives in Germany.
Hajib has been living in the European country since 2017 after he spent seven years in a Moroccan prison for terror charges.
Tensions initially emerged between Morocco and Germany after Berlin refused to extradite Hajib.
Since he moved to Germany, Hajib has published a series of videos on youTube where he has unrelentingly accused Moroccan security services of having subjected him to tortutre that many of his former cellmates deny.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that German authorities have acted inappropriately in the Hajib case, notably by disclosing sensitive information “communicated by the Moroccan security services to their German counterparts.”
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In the statement, Morocco also expressed dissatisfaction with Germany for “countering Morocco’s regional influence, particularly on the Libyan issue.”
The statement references Germany’s decision to exclude Morocco from several regional meetings devoted to the Libya conflict, despite Rabat’s key role in contributing to the UN-led political process.
In 2020, Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement to express its “deep astonishment” at its exclusion from the Berlin conference on Libya.
The meeting took place on January 19 in Berlin, with the presence of Algeria and a host of other countries.
In response to its exclusion from the meeting, Morocco argued that it has always been at the “forefront of international efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis.”
The ministry also recalled its key role in the conclusion of the Skhirat agreement, which has been serving as the main political framework to find a solution to the conflict over Libya.
Morocco also hosted several roundtables on Libya, convening rival Libyan factions in several meetings in Bouznika and Tangier.
Read also:Morocco Suspends Contact with Germany’s Embassy in Rabat
The roundtable facilitated talks and yielded agreements that are reported to have considerably contributed to the UN-led political process and the appointment of an interim government.
Morocco has also continued to express its unwavering support forLibyans’ efforts to emerge from their country’s prolonged, post-Gaddafi plight. The North African country argues that the international community should support the political process for a genuine and successful democratic transition.
“For all these reasons and due to this constant and unacceptable hostility, the Kingdom of Morocco has decided to recall the Ambassador for His Majesty the King to Berlin for consultation,” the Moroccan ministry concluded.
Morocco’s decision to recall its ambassador from Germany comes a couple of months after the country announced the suspension of all contact with the German embassy in Rabat.
Initially, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry did not provide detailed information on its motives, but explained that its decision is driven from “deep misunderstandings with the Federal Republic of Germany on fundamental questions for the Kingdom of Morocco.”
“Any derogation from this suspension can only be done on the basis of an explicit, prior agreement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” noted the March statement announcing the suspension of contact between Berlin and Rabat.
