Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Washington DC – The German embassy in Rabat has sought in the last few weeks to shift attention from its government’s meddling in Maghrebi Affairs by issuing a monotonous statement highlighting Germany’s past cooperation with the Kingdom.
The fact is that Berlin has embarked on a months-long campaign to discredit Morocco and further Algerian and Tunisian interests. The recent visit by the German Ambassador in Spain to the occupied city of Melilla and a German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) report published in November 2020 have further complicated the relations between Berlin and Rabat.
European institutions insist on offering their unsolicited advice and recommendations to African nations. While such meddling is nothing new for the “superior” Europeans, the SWP report went beyond the “usual advising ” when it called on the German government to support Algeria against Morocco. German elites continue to affirm Europe’s colonial role “as a reliable supporter of closer relations among African nations.”
In her introduction, Ms. Isabelle Werenfels, Senior Fellow of the Middle East and Africa Division of the SWP who authored the report, refers to Morocco’s economic efforts in Africa as “hegemonic ambitions.” Such a choice of language shows SWP’s neo-imperialist penchant and its disdain for Pan-Africanism.
Describing Morocco’s support for other African countries as hegemonic goes beyond any acceptable analytical narrative. In fact, it is a neo-colonial interpretation of a successful history of South-South cooperation that concerns Europe. The patronizing tone of the SWP “suggestions” further indicates Europe’s malicious intentions in Africa.
The anti-Morocco remarks in the SWP report demonstrate contempt for the Kingdom and sympathy for Algeria. The paper titled “Maghrebi rivalries over sub-Saharan Africa: Algeria and Tunisia seeking to keep up with Morocco” is an attack on Morocco and an attempt to belittle its success in Africa.
European encroachments on Africa’s economic affairs are unacceptable and must be denounced. Countries with a history of genocide and resources looting should avoid Africa’s regional conflicts. Germany should tread carefully when advocating for one African nation against another since its barbaric acts in Namibia are still fresh in the memory of Southern Africans.
Besides a German institute has no business giving Algeria and Tunisia unsolicited political and economic advice on how to weaken Morocco. Ms. Werenfels conflated advice with advocacy.
Despite the SWP’s claims of impartiality, Werenfels’ recommendations to the German government and parliament are subjective and equivalent to lobbying for Algeria and Tunisia. The SWP recommends that Berlin support Algeria and Tunisia to the detriment of Morocco. Germany, which has not fully recognized its colonial atrocities in southern Africa, is sowing discord among its northern African rivals.
The SWP appears indifferent to the ongoing political and diplomatic spat between Morocco and Algeria. The rhetoric in Werenfels writings is dangerous and careless. It inflames tension in North Africa and adds more fuel to the fire.
Germany is foolish to rely on a corrupt Algerian government to “strengthen the European-African axis.” Despite Berlin’s hindrances, Morocco has accelerated “the growth of openings for non-European actors such as China, India, Turkey, and the Gulf states into African markets.”
The underlying cause of Moroccans’ ire with this report is Ms. Werenfels calls “for German experienced exporters to offer technical expertise to the two “stragglers” on matters such as developing strategies and expanding the infrastructure for exporting locally produced goods to Africa.” In other words, the SWP is asking the German federal government to assist the military-backed Algerian government against Morocco.
The spirit of this report is a shameful interference in Maghrebi affairs and a desperate attempt to support the Algerian campaign to stop Morocco’s advances in sub-Saharan Africa. These calls are acts of economic aggression and diplomatic war that appear to be Berlin’s new strategy towards the Kingdom.
But what are the reasons Germany needs to console Algeria for “feeling of a sense of growing irrelevance”? The reasons are the colonialist nostalgia and the venerable geopolitical and economic interests of the “white men” that continue to define European interests in Africa.
Beyond the SWP’s report concerns, Moroccans are also angry about Berlin’s pro-Algeria positions in the Western Sahara conflict, its support of Spain’s occupation of the Moroccan cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and its attempts to thwart Rabat’s efforts to solve the Libyan conflict. By adopting such aggressive attitudes towards Morocco, Berlin shows a myopic, solipsist, and neo-colonial African policy.
Furthermore, Germany’s antagonism shines a much-needed light on Europe’s hypocrisy and egotism in Africa. It is disturbing to see one of the world’s most powerful and influential economies troubled with a “small” country’s economic successes.
It could be too late for Germany and other EU countries to remedy their diplomatic deficit in Morocco. Rabat is reinforcing its cooperation with the United Kingdom, China, East European countries and solidifying its alliance with Israel. Morocco is, already, the key and gateway for non-EU countries to markets in Africa.
