The Speaker of the Algerian National Assembly, Salah Goujil, commented on what he described as a “Moroccan attack once morest the Tunisian President”, Kais Saied, following receiving the leader of the Polisario Front, Ibrahim Ghali.
Gogel said in his speech, which was reported by the website.dayOn the sidelines of the opening of the regular parliamentary session of the National Assembly, Sunday: “We saw the attack on the Tunisian brothers, because of the Tunisian president’s reception of the President of the Sahrawi Republic (Ghali).”
He added, “In 2017, Europe organized a meeting with Africans, attended by Western Sahara and Morocco without taking any positions, so why Tunisia?”
“Mauritania’s independence in 1960, when the former Tunisian president, Habib Bourguiba, was the first to recognize its independence. The Moroccan King, Hassan II, objected to the independence of Mauritania, considering it Moroccan territory,” according to An-Nahar.
The Speaker of the National Assembly affirmed that “the Sahrawi Republic will inevitably obtain its independence.” He pointed out that “Algeria is known for its support for the right of peoples to self-determination.”
AndOn the 27th of last AugustThe Moroccan Foreign Ministry said that the statement of its Tunisian counterpart regarding the reception of the leader of the Polisario Front, Ibrahim Ghali, “contains many inaccuracies.”
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the statement of its Tunisian counterpart “did not remove the ambiguity surrounding the Tunisian position, but rather deepened it.”
Morocco had summoned its ambassador in Tunisia for consultations following receiving the Tunisian president, the leader of the Polisario Front, which seeks independence for Western Sahara, which Morocco considers part of it.
Morocco said that Tunisia’s decision to invite Ghali to attend the Tokyo International Conference on Development in Africa, hosted by Tunisia, “is a dangerous and unprecedented act that deeply offends the feelings of the Moroccan people.”
This dispute opens a new front in a series of disputes over Western Sahara already drawn to by Spain and Germany, and has caused the escalation of a comprehensive regional rivalry between Morocco and Algeria, the largest backer of the Polisario.
This year, Tunisia has increased its closeness to Algeria, its most populous neighbor and one of the countries it depends on for its energy needs. Saied met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in July.
In response to Morocco’s decision, Tunisia decided to recall its ambassador to Rabat for consultations.
The Tunisian Foreign Ministry said at the time that Tunisia “maintained its complete neutrality in the issue of Western Sahara, in compliance with international legality, and it is a firm position that will not change until the concerned parties find a peaceful solution acceptable to all.”
She explained that the African Union circulated a memorandum inviting all members of the African Union, including the leader of the Polisario Front, to participate in the activities of the Tokyo International Summit for Development in Tunisia.
She added that the Chairperson of the African Commission extended a direct individual invitation to Ibrahim Ghali to attend the summit.
Morocco said in a statement issued by its foreign ministry at the time that it would not participate in the summit. The statement also accused Tunisia of having “doubled … negative attitudes” towards Morocco, adding that the decision to receive Ghali “flagrantly confirms this hostile trend.”
