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Rabat – As Algeria prepares to host the next meeting of the Arab League, the Algerian regime has reaffirmed its traditional position on Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara by denying the League’s recent adoption of a full map of Morocco with the southern provinces.
Last week, the Arab League sent a memorandum in which it urged its member states and partners to adopt a full map of Morocco in all official events held under the banner of the League. Attached to the memo was a map of Morocco with the Western Sahara region, suggesting the League’s support for Morocco’s territorial integrity.
In addition to the memo, the League later published on its website an undivided map of Morocco in a general map showing all the state members of the organization. The Moroccan map shown in the League’s map of its member countries does not have any border line cutting Morocco’s southern provinces.
The move unsurprisingly angered Algeria, who has spared no effort to challenge Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over Western Sahara.
However, instead of actually protesting against the League’s adoption of a Moroccan map including Western Sahara, Algeria’s regime has decided to accuse Morocco of sharing “fake news.”
Amar Belani, whom Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune appointed as “special envoy” in charge of Western Sahara and the Maghreb countries, claimed that the news of the adoption of a full Moroccan map by the Arab League is a “shameless lie” from Morocco’s state media.
“It is easy to deconstruct this shameless lie,” he stated, claiming that the Arab League released a map that simply does not show state borders.
“This map is not new as it has always been featured on the website of the pan-Arab organization,” he argued.
Algeria’s response is not a surprise. As the main sponsor of Polisario’s independence claims over Western Sahara, the Algerian regime is known for financing, training, and sheltering the separatist Polisario Front as part of its determination to undermine Morocco’s territorial integrity.
Tensions between Morocco and Algeria have been flaring in recent months, particularly after Algeria’s decision to cut diplomatic relations with Rabat in August 2021.
When announcing the severing of diplomatic ties, the Algerian government unconvincingly accused Morocco of being part of a plot to undermine Algeria’s security and sabotage its democratization process.
Read Also: Morocco-Algeria Rift Enters Dangerous Terrain As Algiers Intensifies Disinformation Campaign
Morocco denied what it saw as “baseless” and “unfounded” accusations, instead reiterating its commitment to remaining a loyal and credible partner for the Algerian people despite political disagreements with their government.
Algeria’s decision to sever all relations with Morocco came just weeks after King Mohammed VI had renewed his call on Algiers to engage in talks with Rabat to end the decades-long political stalemate between the two neighbors.
The Moroccan monarch notably argued that Morocco and Algeria are “twin” countries with a shared history and common interests. He emphasized the need for the two countries to transcend decades of political divergences to revive the Maghreb Union project in the interest of regional security and prosperity.
