Following the provocative step undertaken by Tunisian President yesterday, with all the unaccepted bias of hostile claims against the Moroccan Kingdom’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, we, in the PAM, express our condemnation towards this aberrant position, which has not come haphazardly, but we consider it as a result of many misunderstood steps issued by the Tunisian Presidency over the last few years, and which were embodied in many negative signs and animosity positions against the Moroccan Kingdom supreme interests. The action which was taken by the Tunisian Presidency does not only constitute a dangerous blow to historical relationships which bring together the brotherly countries of Morocco and Tunisia, but it is considered as a stab from the back to an ally that has remained faithful to the defense of Tunisia security, its territorial integrity, its political stability and its economic progress.
We, in the PAM, consider that this deviation from the spirit and rules of international relationships as an inappropriate reaction towards serious and honest initiatives Morocco has pursued to reinforce cooperation with Tunisia in different sectors, and which have been embodied particularly in the royal supreme messages addressed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI to Tunisian President to enhance bilateral relationships and build the Arab Maghreb union. His Majesty’s visit to Tunisia in 2016, in very difficult security circumstances, during which Tunisia was the target of terrorist attacks, and His Majesty’s initiative, at that time, embodied a strong support to Tunisia in those specific circumstances. His Majesty’s then called on the Tunisian President to visit Morocco, during a phone call between the two countries’ leaders on January 16, 2020, and all those calls and invitations were unfortunately dismissed.
The action taken by the Tunisian Presidency not only has provoked the feelings of the Moroccan people and a large part of the Tunisian people, but has given a big blow to the history of friendly and positive relationships between both peoples and both countries’ leaders for several decades.
We wished from the Tunisian Presidency – instead of making this historical mistake against a brotherly country – that it should have corrected its unfortunate mistake, such an unfriendly, negative and unprecedented mistake at the Security Council during the vote on resolution 2602 about the Moroccan Sahara, such a position was antagonistic to Tunisia’s own historical position since the fabrication of this conflict, such a position was surprising not only to Morocco, but to all wise leaders and to Arab voice at the international security council.
The Tunisian President’s greeting of the separatist leader, on the occasion of his country’s hosting the Japanese – African cooperation forum (Ticad), against Japan’s opinion, is considered as a violation to the preparation and accepted rules and also as an aggressive action that harms the strong and close relationships between the Moroccan and Tunisian peoples, which share a common history and fate due to Algeria’s influences; as it has become obvious that Tunisia has shown over the last few years a bias in favor of Algeria, sometimes under pressure and other times under harassment, since Algeria is attempting to exploit Tunisia’s political, economic and security conditions to bring it to its rank, in a desperate attempt to marginalize Morocco from its regional entourage.
The action taken by the Tunisian Presidency is considered as a big blow to all efforts to revive the Maghreb Arab union, following the first stabbing addressed to Maghreb countries’ peoples on the signing of “Carthage Declaration” by Algerian and Tunisian Presidents in a provocative step to substitute the Arab Maghreb union project by the creation of a regional alternative framework without the Moroccan Kingdom.
We, in the PAM, are looking forwards to Tunisian wise political powers, to our Tunisian friends and brothers to let wisdom and reason prevail as well as to our common historical links to correct this deadly political and diplomatic mistake, which despite its painful impact for the Moroccan Kingdom, it will not dissuade it from adhering to its unionist position which rejects all attempts to undermine our territorial integrity; in exchange or that Morocco continues to use its wisdom and put its potentials and capacities at the service of regional peace, security and cooperation with all brothers and friends to serve the causes of the areas’ peoples for peace prosperity, development and progress.