On Sunday, Algeria summoned its ambassador to Rabat for consultations, and did not rule out “taking other measures.” In protest against statements made by Morocco’s representative to the United Nations, which it is described as supportive of a local separatist movement, the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK) that it was classified as “terrorist” by Algeria.
On Sunday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “the Kingdom of Morocco clarifies its final position on the extremely dangerous situation resulting from the rejected statements of its ambassador in New York.”
Furthermore, it is stated, “Due to the absence of any positive and appropriate response from the Moroccan side, it was decided today that the Algerian ambassador in Rabat, Abdelhamid Abdaoui, would be summoned immediately for consultations. Other measures are also not excluded, according to the development of this case.”
On Friday, Algeria called on the Moroccan authorities to clarify what it described as “aggressive statements” by its representative to the United Nations, in which they announced support for a separatist movement in Algeria, in reference to the “movement for the independence of the tribes.”
Algeria classified the MAK, at an earlier time, as a “terrorist organization”.
On Thursday, Moroccan media quoted Rabat’s ambassador to the United Nations, Omar Hilal, as saying that, during the meeting of the Non-Aligned Countries, on July 13 and 14, he called for “the independence of the Kabylie people” in Algeria.
This call came after the Algerian Foreign Minister, Ramtane Lamamra, announced his support for the right of self-determination for the inhabitants of the Sahara region, which has been disputed between Morocco and the “Polisario Front” since 1975.
In response, the Algerian Foreign Ministry said, in its statement on Saturday, that it had “distributed an official document to all member states of the Non-Aligned Movement, the content of which officially enshrines the involvement of the Kingdom of Morocco in an anti-Algerian campaign.” Also, it added in the statement: “Algeria strongly condemns this serious deviation, including against the Kingdom of Morocco itself within its internationally recognized borders,” referring to the presence of the Amazigh people within Morocco.
For decades, Algerian-Moroccan relations have witnessed a blockage against the background of the two closed land borders files since 1994, and the issue of the disputed Western Sahara region between Rabat and the “Polisario Front.”
In the Western Sahara issue, Rabat proposes expanded autonomy in the Western Sahara region under its sovereignty, while the Polisario Front calls for a referendum for self-determination, a proposal supported by Algeria, which hosts refugees from the region.
