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Morocco has once again rebuked Algeria’s pro-separatism claims made by the Algerian foreign minister Ahmed Attaf during a speech at the UN General Assembly.
Attaf had described the southern Moroccan region of Western Sahara as an “occupied” territory, urging the UN to expedite what he called the “decolonization” of the region.
In response, Morocco’s UN Representative Hilale firmly rejected Algeria’s allegations and condemned the country’s attempts to undermine Morocco’s territorial integrity.
Attaf had reiterated his country’s support for the separatist group of the Polisario Front, and has again shrieked the Algerian regime’s responsibility in the dispute.
He claimed that his country supports the UN-political led and UN Personal Envoy in their “efforts to allow both parties to the conflict,the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front, to resume direct negotiations” aimed at achieving a “peaceful solution.”
Algeria has long denied its role in the dispute despite its direct involvement as it finances and supports the Polisario Front.
Despite its interference in Morocco’s domestic affairs, namely its well-documented sponsoring of separatism in southern Morocco , the Algerian regime has long shirked its responsibility by positioning itself as merely an observer rather than a main party to the dispute.
Rebuking Algeria’s claims, Hilale reiterated the need for the UN to get the Algerian government involved in the UN-led political process, stressing that there would be no separatism in southern Morocco without Algerian financial and logistical backing.
“It is Algeria that created the Polisario, it isAlgeria that finances the Polisario, it is Algeria that pays the Polisario, and it is with Algerian passports that Polisario separatists travel around the world,” Hilale said, noting that the separatist group’s headquarters, the Tindouf camps, are also in Algeria.
“It is the Algerians along with the Polsiario who divert humanitarian aid,” Hilale added, referencing the dire humanitarian conditions Sahrawis face in the Polisario-run Algerian-controlled Tindouf camps.
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In Tindouf, tens of thousands of Sahrawis have long faced dire conditions, including diseases, malnutrition, lack of drinking water and basic needs due to embezzlement scandals involving both Polisario leadership and Algeria’s regime.
Several recent reports have highlighted the embezzlement scandals in the Tindouf camps, where humanitarian aid is usually misallocated and later sold in the black market.
A report by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in 2015 exposed the well-documented embezzlement of humanitarian aid intended for refugees in the Polisario-run camps.
Covering the 2003-2007 period, the report showed that separatist group leadership has long been directly involved in selling humanitarian aid in the Mauritanian and sub-Saharan markets, for the purpose of buying weapons.
Omar Hilale in his address described Polisario as a terrorist militia that targets Morocco’s security.
“Every single day for half a century you [Algeria] have allowed them to cross your borders to attack us,” Hilale noted.
In addition to Hilale’s address, Morocco renewed its concerns on Sunday regarding Algeria’s refusal to shoulder responsibility during a meeting with the UN Envoy for Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura.
A Moroccan delegation, including Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and UN representative Hilale, reaffirmed the country’s fundamental principles regarding the Sahara dispute during the meeting held on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly.
During the meeting, the Moroccan delegation expressed support for the UN-led political process in seeking a realistic and pragmatic political solution, but emphasized that the Moroccan autonomy initiative is the only viable solution to the regional dispute.
Morocco also stressed the need to maintain UN-sponsored roundtable discussions that engage all parties, including Algeria.
In addition, the country reaffirmed the need for strict respect for a ceasefire by all parties as a prerequisite for the continuation of the political process.
