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Rabat – Algeria has abstained from a UN General Assembly vote condemning Russia’s attempts to annex Ukrainian regions.
The Algerian regime was one of 35 countries that abstained from voting against Russia, Algiers’ major arms supplier.
Algeria’s abstention is notable considering its support of the Polisario Front, a separatist group seeking independence in Western Sahara to undermine Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over the region.
Algeria’s regime has long shown double standards with its stance on the Western Sahara dispute.
While it supports Polisario’s claims over Western Sahara, Algeria is facing backlash for both cultural and political repression of the Kabyle people, a native group based in the Northeastern region of Algeria.
In May, Morocco’s permanent ambassador to the UN Omar Hilale exposed Algeria’s double standards, saying: “You are asking for self-determination for the 20,000 people you are kidnapping in the Tindouf camps, but you are denying it to a people of 12 million inhabitants.”
Shedding light on the glaring contradiction at the heart of Algeria’s diplomatic activism in Western Sahara, Hilale added that Kabylia, a region in northern Algeria, “underwent three colonizations” from the Ottoman, French, and Algerian regimes.
“This is the longest occupation in the history of Africa,” Hilale argued.
Bolivia, Burundi, Eritrea, Eswatini, South Africa, and others also abstained from voting.
Five countries voted against the resolution, including Belarus, Syria, and Nicaragua.
On the other hand, an overwhelming 143 countries voted against Russia’s attempts to annex Ukrainian lands.
Morocco was among those that voted against Russia’s actions, a move which is the first of its kind as the country abstained from voting on a few resolutions against Russia earlier this year.
In March, Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Ministry clarified the non-participation in the vote, saying that the country’s decision should not be subjected to any interpretation.
“The Kingdom of Morocco continues to follow with concern the evolution of the situation between Ukraine and the Russian Federation,” the ministry said.
It also stressed its regrets to see a military escalation that “unfortunately resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries and which has caused human suffering on both sides, especially since this situation affects all populations and States in the region and beyond.”
