Morocco announced on Friday the recall of its ambassador to Tunis after Tunisian President Kais Saied hosted the leader of the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front before a Japan-Africa forum. Brahim Ghali, leader of the Polisario – which claims the independence of the disputed territory of Western Sahara controlled mainly by Morocco – was received Friday by Kais Saied before the Ticad (Tokyo International Conference on African Development) organized Saturday and Sunday in Tunis.
A “serious and unprecedented act”
Brahim Ghali is the president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), self-proclaimed by the Polisario Front. This welcome “is a serious and unprecedented act, which deeply hurts the feelings of the Moroccan people and their living forces”, says the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His press release again criticizes Tunis for having invited “unilaterally” Brahim Ghali at this summit “against the advice of Japan and in violation of the preparation process”. In front of “this hostile and prejudicial attitude”the kingdom decided tocancel participation in Ticad” and to remind “immediately for consultation” his ambassador in Tunis.
“It is a new and unacceptable drift, unnecessarily provocative and which goes against Tunisia’s traditional position”, a Moroccan diplomatic source told AFP. “Tunisia has taken the liberty of touching on a sacred cause for all Moroccans”, she added. According to Morocco, however, the recall of its ambassador “does not in any way affect the strong and intact ties between the Moroccan and Tunisian peoples, who are linked by a common history and a shared destiny”.
The question of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony considered a “non-self-governing territory” by the UN, has opposed Morocco to the Polisario, supported by Algiers, for decades. Rabat, which controls nearly 80% of this territory, is proposing an autonomy plan under its sovereignty. The Polisario is calling for a self-determination referendum under the aegis of the UN, planned when a ceasefire was signed in 1991 but never materialized.