Morocco Independence Party Does Not Recognize Algeria-Mauritania Borders

Morocco’s Istiqlal (Independence) Party, which is the party of Rabat ambassador to Algiers, spoke again about the old thesis of the Moroccan Bechar and Tindouf (southern Algeria), and the Mauritanian territory as well. It’s chairman said that his country extends from Ceuta to the Senegal River.

Statements that were launched by Hamid Chabbat, the Secretary General of the Independence Party, who is close to the Moroccan Mekhzen, two days ago, caused a tension in the relationships with Mauritania, after considering it part of the Kingdom.

He said, in February, in a speech to the Union of Moroccan Workers; “The borders of Morocco extends from the territories of Ceuta to the Senegal River”.

This politician, who is confidant of the king, relaunched his provocative statements against Algeria and Mauritania, saying; “Separation, which occurred in 1959 created problems for Morocco, including the founding of the State of Mauritania, despite the fact that these lands remain Moroccan, and that all historians confirm this.”

“Several Moroccan territories remained occupied after that, like Tindouf and Bechar and Kenadsa, which is also Moroccan historically”.

This was the new attack by Chabbat, on the back of Al Kerkarat zone crisis, which Morocco tried to occupy and establish a course there, before the Sahrawi authorities stopped it.

He accused Mauritania of facilitating the arrival of the Polisario Front to Al Kerkarat zone”.

Algerian authorities remain so far silent on these statements, which are not the first of the kind, noting that the new Ambassador of Algeria to Rabat, Lahcene Abdelkhalik, belongs to this political party.

These statements left an acute crisis in the relations between Mauritania and Morocco, and the Union Party For Republic, which is the ruling part in Mauritania, described them by saying: “Affecting the Mauritanian sovereignty and independence, as this will not be the best way to deal with the issues and hot files, and will not push the conflict in Western Sahara to the solution, and the revival of the provocative methods and the deep greed in addressing peer-to-peer is not the best way to serve the common aspirations of the peoples and countries of the region.”

Moroccan Independence Party refused to apologize for these statements, and responded;”Official position of Mauritania is merely an echo of the policy of Algeria in the region”.

Mauritania News Agency quoted a Mauritanian diplomatic source in Nouakchott as saying: “Mauritania will open the Embassy of the Saharawi Republic in the capital, Nouakchott, if the Kingdom of Morocco will continued its media and political provocations”.

“Mauritania recognizes the SADR since the eighties, and we refused to open an embassy for the Sahrawis in Mauritania aimed to show respect for the feelings of Moroccans”.

On the other hand, the agency published an article that was titled: “What does Morocco wants from Mauritania?”.

According to the article; “The recent public statements of the president of the Moroccan Independence Party; Hamid Chabat, about the “extended” unity of his country, which stretches from Tangier to the Senegal River, reflects the Moroccan ambitions in occupying the Mauritanian state”.

“There is no need to remind that Morocco was the last Arab country that recognized the independence of the Mauritanian state, because the map that was approved by the Moroccan regime derived from a map that was developed by Allal El Fassi, who is the founder of Hamid Chabat’s Party, a map that includes besides Western Sahara, Mauritania and western Algeria”.