Tunisia – Western Sahara invite leads to diplomatic dispute

Location: Tunis, Tunisia

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:03:50

Voice: Natural

Source: A24 Tunisia

Restriction: A24 subscribers

Date: 28/08/2022

Storyline:

A meeting Friday between Tunisian President Kais Saied and Western Sahara independence advocate Brahim Ghali provoked Morocco  to recall its ambassador to Tunis this weekend.

Ghali was in Tunis for the Japanese-African investment conference TICAD  and the Polisario leader was invited in the framework of its membership in the African Union.

Now Tunisia is bringing its ambassador back from Morocco for consultations- with an official statement  that it has always maintained its total neutrality on the Western Sahara issue in line with international law.

The 2020 proclamation by former US president Donald Trump recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara was a result of the so-called Abraham Accords in which Rabat secured approval of its claims to the disputed territory in exchange for establishing full ties with Israel.

Tunisan analyst Mabrouka Khedir told A24 that the crisis is ill timed. “We are now in need of Maghreb cohesion more than ever,” said Khedir.”We are a great economic power that can turn towards stronger eastern economic partners if we unite.”

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Soundbite (   Al-Jami Al-Qasimi – Political Analyst):

“I think this is an emergency crisis. Tunisian-Moroccan relations are good and the relationship between the two peoples is great. I think there is a misunderstanding about organizing such international conferences, and we hope that Tunisia and Morocco will overcome this crisis wisely and realistically for the benefit of the two peoples and the two countries to rebuild the Arab Maghreb Union on a solid foundation.”

Soundbite (Mabrouka Khedir – Political Analyst):

“I think that we are now in need of Maghreb cohesion more than ever. I believe that the African Union is responsible for this diplomatic crisis between Tunisia and Morocco at the Tunisian-Japanese conference. Morocco and the Polisario Front attended together in other conferences. There is great tension now and there is an attempt to use this crisis to escalate the diplomatic and political situation between two sisterly and friendly countries. It is therefore important to calm down and view the conference as an opportunity that brought together all African parties, despite their differences in ethnicity, religion, culture, and politics. Today we aspire to a harmonious Maghreb union. We are a great economic power that can turn towards stronger eastern economic partners if we unite. I think we need wise rhetoric and we need to look at the crisis as a moderate crisis, after which the harmonious relations will return.”