Algeria Recalls Ambassador to Morocco to Protest Statements on Kabylie

Arab World

July 19th, 7:16am

Algiers - Boualem Goumrassa

A woman holds an Algerian flag during a protest. (AP file photo)

The Algerian Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to Morocco on Sunday for immediate consultations, hinting at possible further measures in the future. The move came in response to comments from the Moroccan envoy to the United Nations on Algeria’s Kabylie region’s right to self-determination. The Ministry said in a statement that it had requested clarification from Morocco regarding its final position on the “extremely dangerous” situation resulting from the statement of its ambassador in New York. It indicated that in light of the absence of a positive and appropriate response from Morocco, it decided to summon its ambassador to Rabat, adding that “it doesn’t rule out taking other measures.” Algerian parties rooted in the Kabylie region considered the controversial Moroccan diplomatic memorandum part of a “conspiracy against the unity of Algeria.” The Socialist Forces Front, the oldest opposition party in Algeria, said it condemns the provocative memorandum in the strongest terms. The party was founded by late revolutionary Hussein Ait Ahmed and enjoys wide support among the Amazigh people. It stressed that Kabylie is an integral part of Algeria, indicating that the region’s residents are not demanding independence, nor are they “under colonialism,” as stated in the Moroccan ambassador’s document. The opposition Islamist Movement of Society for Peace said in a statement that it had received “with great displeasure” the irresponsible statement of the Moroccan ambassador, who “crossed all red lines.” “This is malicious behavior that demonstrates the persistence of the official hostile policy of the Moroccan regime, which aims to strike the stability of Algeria and the entire region.” It called upon residents of Kabylie to take a firm stance against the advocates of secession, referring to the separatist Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia (MAK), which Algeria recently designated as a terrorist group, along with the Rachad Movement. The Jil Jadid party stated that “the most worrying” thing is that Morocco seemed to want to enter a final and irreversible phase of its enmity with Algeria, noting that the situation is likely to deteriorate further. Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the UN said the Kabylie people have the right to self-determination, describing them as “one of the oldest peoples in Africa, who are under the longest foreign occupation.”

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3087886/algeria-recalls-ambassador-morocco-protest-statements-kabylie