The scene takes place in the cozy confines of the United Nations, but the tone is not diplomatic. The debate on the question of the Moroccan Sahara, a decades-old issue, has experienced a new episode as tense as it is eloquent.
Faced with an Algerian representative, stuck in worn-out arguments, the Moroccan representative literally took the floor head-on and dotted the i’s, crushing with his verb and his rhetoric an adversary who seemed increasingly cornered.
Although the exchanges were marked with the protocol language specific to the United Nations, Morocco’s message was clear: the Sahara is Moroccan, and any attempt to deny this reality amounts to obstinacy. It all started when the Algerian representative, visibly determined to rehash well-known grievances, accused Morocco of “human rights violations” in Western Sahara, even going so far as to mention “forced disappearances” and “extrajudicial executions”. .
An inevitable confrontation
A speech almost modeled on the old refrains of the Polisario, the armed separatist group that Algiers has supported for decades. In a serious tone, he insists that the only solution to this conflict is self-determination, insisting on a referendum which has become as ghostly as the project itself.
The Moroccan representative, initially impassive, lets his Algerian counterpart unpack his argument with almost ironic patience. Then, the time comes to fight back, and what a response! With sharp calm, he begins by emphasizing the hypocrisy of his interlocutor, recalling that Algeria prides itself on defending the right to Sahrawi self-determination, but remains silent on the true condition of the refugees in the Tindouf camps, in the territory Algerian.
In a finely crafted diatribe, the Moroccan diplomat highlights Algeria’s “political schizophrenia”: on the one hand, it loudly proclaims not to be a party to the conflict, calling itself a simple “observer”; on the other, she is omnipresent in the discussions, trying to give lessons to Morocco and the international community. A paradox which, according to the representative of the Kingdom, reflects an inability to accept the bitter failure of a separatist project which, after 50 years, has led nowhere.
And to better drive the point home, he ironically emphasizes that Algeria, so concerned about the “rights of peoples”, should perhaps start by being interested in the condition of its own citizens, who do not have the freedom to demonstrate for causes as noble as Palestine. “ If you are so attached to the rights of the Sahrawis, why do you deny Algerians the right to protest in favor of Palestine in the streets of Algiers? », he says, stinging his opponent, whose discomfort was perceptible.
The Moroccan autonomy initiative, the only realistic horizon
Far from being content to send his Algerian colleague back to the ropes, the Moroccan diplomat confidently advances the autonomy initiative proposed by the Kingdom in 2007. Supported by more than 100 States, this solution is, according to him, the only pragmatic path , credible and lasting to resolve the dispute. And, he does not fail to recall that the opening of consulates in the cities of Laâyoune and Dakhla by around thirty countries proves international support for this solution. A masterstroke which undermines the arguments of the Algerian camp, increasingly isolated in its support for an out-of-phase Polisario.
It also echoes the socio-economic development of the Sahara under Moroccan administration, while emphasizing the active participation of the Sahrawi populations in the management of their local affairs. A modernization and prosperity that the Algerian representative prefers to ignore, prisoner of outdated rhetoric. “ We move forward with or without you “, seems to say the Moroccan representative, while Algeria sticks to its fixed positions.
Faced with this avalanche of hard-hitting arguments, the Algerian representative attempts a clumsy counter-attack, taking refuge behind the eternal question of “self-determination”. He accuses his colleague of not having pronounced the term “ Sahara occidental », as if this single semantic point could overturn the reality on the ground. But the Moroccan diplomat, imperturbable, does not let himself be distracted. He recalls that the Sahara has been Moroccan since “ the dawn of time » and that the term “ Sahara occidental » is an invention of the colonial era.
The Algerian argument on “ right to self-determination » is quickly deconstructed: the Moroccan autonomy plan provides for a popular consultation after negotiations, allowing the Sahrawi population to express themselves. Far from imposed autonomy, it is a negotiated and consensual solution, respecting international requirements.
One-sided verbal joust
The demonstration by the Moroccan representative was implacable. In a room where echoes of support for the Moroccan Sahara resonated, he not only defended his country’s position brilliantly, but also exposed the contradictions of his Algerian adversary. While the latter tirelessly repeated the same hackneyed arguments, the Moroccan representative was able to offer a forward-looking vision, based on compromise, stability and development.
Thus, the verbal duel was clearly one-sided. By remaining faithful to Moroccan diplomacy, based on peace and negotiation, the representative of the Kingdom brought Algeria back to its own contradictions. A lesson in masterful diplomacy, served calmly and firmly, without ever crossing the line of disrespect.
The observers were not mistaken: the Moroccan posture, articulated around autonomy and development, hit the mark, leaving its Algerian adversary perplexed and in the background. A clear rhetorical victory, in favor of the Kingdom of Morocco.
