The representative of the Polisario Front in Australia and the South Pacific, Kamal Fadel, published a tweet, in which he accuses Morocco of having tried to bribe and appease the UN Secretary General regarding the Western Sahara file. . To support his statements, he shared a photo of António Guterres in the city of Fez. The member of the separatist movement referred to “information indicating that the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, is on vacation in Morocco, notorious for his illegal methods of influence on officials concerning Western Sahara”.
https://twitter.com/Alfudail/status/1689071887371075584 claiming that a former UN Secretary General, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (1982-1991) was offered “a position in the Moroccan company ONA”. “I hope that Guterres will not give in to Morocco’s subterfuges,” stressed Kamal Fadel.
Polisario relays reposted the tweet, reiterating the accusation towards Morocco of corruption of officials, through free vacations, in particular with reference to the recent private stay of Pedro Sánchez, whose Spanish executive supported the Moroccan plan autonomy in the southern provinces. La Moncloa previously told Iberian media that the interim president of the government had paid for his trip from his own funds.
Moroccan media fall into the trap
Started with an unfortunate publication on social networks, the false information on the UN Secretary General’s vacation was taken up by several Moroccan media. The latter indicated that Guterres had notably visited several monuments of the spiritual capital of Morocco. The Febrayer website thus indicates that the manager “started his tour by visiting the medina of Fez El-Bali”, where he “appreciated the beauty of the traditional architecture and the narrow streets full of life”.
According to the same source, António Guterres also visited the unique and among the most famous monument in Fez, which is the Al-Qaraouiyyine Mosque. The site accompanied its article with several photos of Guterres in Fez, evoking a “positive” interaction of Internet users on social networks with these images. “Comments ranged from welcoming the visit to emphasizing the importance of the cultural city, in addition to expressions of admiration for the beauty of the landscapes and architecture,” the outlet added.
The Kech24 news site also reported that the United Nations Secretary General had visited “ancient Fez, being accompanied during this unofficial tour by the president of the commune of the medina, Yassine Johar”. And to add that “Guterres should also visit Marrakech and Tangier” without specifying the origin of this detailed program. In addition, the Rue20 site specified that António Guterres had gone “a few days ago to the city of Fez, where he spent a short vacation with his small family” without producing photos of this small family. .
The Truth About Private Vacations
A search on the Internet makes it possible to verify that the photo published by the head of the Polisario Front, as well as those taken up by the news sites, actually date back to November 2022. António Guterres participated at that time in the ninth edition of the Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations, in the city of Fez. The images presented as being those of a more recent displacement have not been authenticated.
In the part devoted to the activities of the Secretary General of the UN, the site of the international institution makes it possible to confirm that António Guterres is not currently on vacation, since he participates almost daily in the activities of the organization.
