Moroccophobia?

The Moroccan American Community Board has a recent article that is worth sharing. The subject is the Algerian influence on the world's understanding of the Western Sahara issue. The Board is an internet portal for Moroccan Americans. The board covers Moroccan American Community life, functions, conferences and festivities. The article was written by Hassan Masiky.

Algerian Diplomacy and Moroccophobia

Algerian diplomacy has been surfing from a debilitating condition called Moroccophobia. One of the many symptoms of this condition is an obsessive compulsive disorder to destroy the image of the kingdom of Morocco. In fact, for many years Morocco has been a punching bag of the Algerian diplomacy in order to hide internal governmental failures and to portray Algeria as a regional and international power player. By crafting their diplomacy around the Western Sahara conflict and making supporting the Polisario separatist movement as the center piece of its international relations with other countries , Algerian diplomacy reduced its foreign affairs to a child's play intended for children's playground rather than the international arena.

Algiers is well aware that the Sahara dossier is the best obstacle to a bigger Moroccan role on the international scene, and thus makes the Algerian diplomacy looks clever and effective.It is a myth that Algerian diplomacy is an effective diplomatic machine. With few exception, notably the role of Algerian diplomats during the crisis of American hostages in Iran, Algeria has nothing to brag about but its ongoing and relentless efforts to make Morocco look unscrupulous. From calling Morocco an aggressor and the last colonial power in Africa, the Algerian military establishment has been using their diplomacy to counter any efforts by Rabat to explain its position on the Sahara issue.

Since Morocco re-established control over its southern provinces, the Algerian diplomacy has been on the offensive to dispute the legitimate Moroccan claims, but more alarming, to damage the reputation of Morocco on the international scene. The Algerian military created, armed and diplomatically supported the Polisario separatist movement since its creation.

The Algerian support of the Polisario is more of vehicle to harm Morocco than to support a supposedly pseudo self determination attempts by Sahrawi people.

The bluntest manifestations of the Algerian Moroccophobia are the maneuvers of the Algerian diplomacy at the UN. The role of the Algerian mission to the UN is not to represent the interest of Algerians but to discredit Morocco. Instead of efforts to support the Palestinians and other truly oppressed people, Algerian diplomats are paid to watch the Moroccan delegation and counter any efforts by the Moroccan diplomacy that might make Morocco shine.

On the European side, the Algerian government and press have been working hard at mocking and second guessing Moroccan policy towards the European Union. In many instances, as in the case of the creation of the Mediterranean Union, Algeria has been skeptical of the intention of this newly created body and very suspicious of the Moroccan role of the inter-working of this Union. Instead of crafting an Algerian foreign policy that would protect the interests of the Algerian people, the Algerian foreign policy is based to a large extend on how a given country stands on Moroccan national integrity. If a country refuses to buy the Algerian propaganda against Morocco's claim on its Sahara, then that country is labeled as anti-Algerian regardless of how that country may feel about the interests of the Algerian people.

Aside from the Moroccan-Algerian cat and mouse dance, Algiers is facing other setbacks. The efforts of President Boutaflika to resolve the Touareg rebellions in Northern Mali have all but collapsed after renewed attacks by Touareg militants against the Malian Army. Some experts are blaming Libya's Khaddafi of behind the failure of the Algerian efforts to mediate in this conflict. Khaddafi who views himself as the true Pan-African leader is not happy with Algerian diplomacy muddling in is "backyard".

By reducing its diplomacy to a single issue machine, Algeria is losing even more grounds to a meek Moroccan diplomacy. Moroccan diplomacy has self-inflicted many wounds that have cost Morocco dearly; these same mistakes had portrayed an Algerian diplomacy far more potent than its true effectiveness.

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