Rabat – The spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, has debunked an Algeria media outlet’s claim on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ alleged vacation in Morocco’s city of Fez.
L’Expression DZ made the claims in an article that appeared on its website on August 12, with the Algerian outlet taking issue with the UN chief’s supposed “faux pas” of choosing to spend his holiday in Fez.
In response, Dujarric sent a written message to the news outlet, describing the claims as “completely false.”
“These facts could have easily been verified through a simple email or phone call to the United Nations, the tone of the article leaves little doubt about the journalist’s intentions and bias towards the Secretary general,” Dujarric said.
The claim that the UNSG has chosen to vacation in Fez was also shared on social media by the self-proclaimed representative of the Polisario Front in Australia and the South Pacific, Kamal Fadel
“UNSG Antonio Gueterres is reported to be holidaying in Morocco which is notorious for its elicit methods to sway officials in relation to Western Sahara,” the separatist Polisario member claimed while also sharing pictures of the UNSG in Morocco.
Dujarric went on to clarify that the UNSG is indeed on vacation but in his homeland Portugal as well as in the US.
Dujarric commented on the pictures shared by the Algerian regime-affiliated media, stressing that if the pictures published were taken in Fez they date from Guetress’s participation in the UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum that was hosted in the Moroccan city in November 2022.
“These are publicly and easily verifiable facts,” the UNSG Spokesperson stressed.
