Algiers (Algeria) 28 August 2024 (SPS)- During a press conference held today at the Sahrawi embassy in Algiers, Sahrawi Foreign Affairs Minister, Mohamed Sidati, condemned the Moroccan delegation's violation of basic diplomatic norms during the recent ministerial meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), which took place in Tokyo from August 23 to 25.
He described the Moroccan actions as an affront to the reputation and credibility of the African Union, despite the fact that the outcome for Morocco was ultimately failure and defeat as the meeting confirmed the right of the Saharawi Republic to attend TICAD’s meeting in its final Communique.
In fact, the Moroccan diplomatic delegation had absurdly attacked the Sahrawi Republic's Permanent Representative to the African Union, Lamine Baali, during the TICAD experts' meeting held on August 23 in Tokyo. A Moroccan diplomat attempted to violently seize a the Sahrawi Republic’s nameplate in front of the Sahrawi representative's seat much to everyone's astonishment. Other African diplomats intervened to stop the assault and subdue the Moroccan aggressor.
The Sahrawi Foreign Minister noted that since Morocco's accession to the African Union in 2017, it has "sought to undermine the membership of the Sahrawi Republic, a founding member of the Union, and to obstruct its participation in the Union's partnerships with other organizations and countries."
He added that "the recent TICAD meeting clarified matters and confirmed Morocco's failure in its attempts, much like its defeat in Mozambique, Tunisia, and Japan for the second time," referring to the final statement of the conference affirming the right of all Union member states to participate in AU organized or co-organized meetings and partnership.
The Sahrawi minister further stated that all participants recognized that Morocco "adopts and practices bullying, espionage, and bribery in its foreign policy," and that since its accession to the Union, it has only reflected "the backward image of Africa," where "corruption, bribery, violence, and the violation of the African Union's founding charter" are widespread.
On another note, the Sahrawi Foreign Minister confirmed that Morocco, due to its failure to achieve any victory over the Sahrawi Republic, "always resorts to disruption, distortion, and manipulation of facts, and to media sensationalism to mitigate the impact of diplomatic shocks and defeats that continuously afflict its expansionist policy towards the Sahrawi people and the region in general, and to mix things up."
In this context, the Sahrawi minister pointed out that Moroccan propaganda is currently promoting a new lie, claiming that "the Sahrawi Republic will be denied participation in a meeting with China, despite the fact that the China meeting is a forum organized by China with some African countries, and not a partnership meeting between China and the African Union." (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)