Morocco Prejudices Against Algeria, Tries To “Blow Up” The Non-Aligned Summit

Morocco is trying to use all the available platforms against Algeria, by fabricating problems and transferring them to international forums and meetings so that it will create a public opinion case, in order to obtain some sympathy and freedom from criticism that it faces because of the Western Sahara issue.

Rabat chooses Venezuela (this time), which will host the 17th summit of the Non-Aligned States and Governments on September 17 and 18, as the opening session of the meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement was postponed throughout Wednesday, because of the “intransigence” of Morocco to impose itself through demanding the chairmanship of the Political Committee, in order to exploited by the Makhzen.

Morocco made theses to justify its demand, on the lips of  the Permanent Ambassador and Representative of Morocco to the United Nations, Omar Hilal, who said that his country had never been the chair of NAM, since its creation in 1961, reminding that Morocco pulled out in Algeria in 2014 in favour of Ecuador, on the request of Algerian officials.

Moroccan ambassador claimed; “Morocco’s insistance to nail the chairmanship of the Political Committee, is not about the ambition to take responsibility or an honour, but to respect the principle of rotation”, and he went so far as to add; “Non-Aligned Movement called for this principle in United Nations bodies, but it refuses to apply it, and this is a clear contradiction, which would weaken the movement”.

Ambassador Hilal spoke about Algeria, when he talked to the audience wondering: What does Algeria want? Trying to impose an impact on the officials, and then he answered that Algeria does not want the presidency of the Commission, but it aims to exclude the candidacy of Morocco through the obstruction, then reach consensus on a third candidate.

Moroccan diplomat challenged everyone, by asserting the determination of Rabat on refusing to withdraw its candidacy, and advised Algeria, in a strange position, to respect the hosting country, and members of the Non-Aligned Movement, through the presidency of the Economic and Social Committee, “which remains vacant”, according to his claim.

Chair of the summit only resorted to Cartagéna text, which allows the hosting country to take over the presidency of the committees in the case of failing to reach agreement about the candidates, but Morocco protested throughout the session, and its ambassador tried to provoke the audience, having taken the word again, and protested against the chairmanship of the hosting country, Venezuela, and all the bodies, and tried to accuse Venezuela of bowing to the political blackmail by a member country, “he means Algeria”, and that it violated the NAM rules and democratic norms in the international summits.

Morocco tried to speak on behalf of the group, as if it is the conscience of the nations, when it expressed what it claimed as destabilising the future of the Non-Aligned Movement, noting that the members, including Morocco, came to Venezuela in the hope of strengthening the movement, but unfortunately they will leave the country, leaving the movement weaker than ever.

Algeria is represented in this summit by the President of the National People’s Assembly, Mohamed Larbi Ould Khalifa, accompanied by the State Minister, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Ramtane Lamamra, who was appointed by the President Bouteflika to represent Algeria at the ministerial meeting that precedes the summit.