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Rabat – When the Franco-German channel ARTE aired a potentially disturbing or embarrassing mini-series about some high-ranking Algerian officers’ instrumentalization of terrorism, the expectation was that Morocco’s name would soon pop up as Algeria expressed its dismay at yet another supposedly veiled attack by Rabat.
Not surprisingly, soon after ARTE released “Algiers Confidential,” the mini-series about some disturbing facets of military relations between Algeria and Germany, Algeria was quick to directly attack Morocco, which it is again blaming for the critical scenes depicted by ARTE.
The mini-series tells the story of an arms deal between Algiers and Berlin, and of the kidnapping of an Algerian embassy staff member. It features Algerian General Soudani and Colonel Toumi, with the latter depicted as the general’s intermediary with armed terrorist groups.
While the mini-series is an ARTE-ZDF collaboration, Algeria is again pointing fingers at Morocco, accusing it of financing the production and release of the series to destabilize Algeria.
APS, the Algerian state news agency, quoted two Algerian regime-affiliated analysts while presenting them as academic and experts in security issues to analyze the show’s supposed threats to Algeria’s interests and stability.
“It is a strategy which aims to sow doubt around a certain number of values and benchmarks by attempting to launch new false debates around questions definitely classified by law, history, and an entire people,” APS quoted political scientist Mohamed Berkouk as saying.
Berkouk went on to add that: “Algeria is not Morocco and its role, which aims to create new geopolitical realities in the region, such as the rapprochement with Tunisia and Mauritania as well as its approach to security in the Sahel, are all elements that disturb the French patterns.”
Mediouni made similar claims, arguing that Algeria is facing a hybrid war that is waged against it through social media, “where millions of dollars are injected by Morocco.”
He also forayed in Morocco’s domestic affairs, mentioning the Israeli-Moroccan rapprochement.
“Algeria is being disturbed [by Morocco] because of the deployment of its diplomacy which blocked the Zionist State within the African Union,” Mediouni claimed, hinting at the official Algerian narrative that the December 2020 normalization of relations between Israel and Morocco was essentially driven by Morocco’s desire to besiege and sabotage Algerian interests.
This is not the first time that Algeria’s state media and high-ranking Algerian officials and regime-affiliated analysts or experts converge in resorting to blaming Morocco for both Algeria’s internal crises and any mention of the country’s plight by an international organization or a foreign media outlet.
In August 2021, Algeria decided to sever relations with Morocco, accusing it of causing fires in forests in the Kabylia region.
Algeria’s allegations that Rabat masterminded the Kabylie wildfires came despite Morocco’s offer to send two firefighter jets to help Algerian authorities in rescue and relief efforts as the devastating swept through northern Algeria.
Still more tellingly, the Algerian regime also launched fierce attacks against Morocco after the World Bank issued a report exposing rising poverty and deepening unemployment in Algeria.
In particular, APS lashed out at the World Bank’s assessment by claiming that the international financial institution colluded with Morocco to put together a misleading report about Algeria’s economic outlook.
That the World Bank pointed out Algeria’s deepening social and political crises while “saying nothing about the truths and real figures” of poverty in Morocco was proof that the report was written at the request of Morocco, APS falsely suggested. The World Bank’s report, the Algerian news agency added, was “a futile attempt to destabilize the soft power of a country whose advances disturb some.”
