The Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the commemoration of the 34th anniversary of the declaration of the creation of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), along with the rest of the brotherly Maghreb countries. This celebration, which should unite the peoples of the Maghreb, rings false from Tunis, which for some time has been playing the opposite of the partition of unity and rather that of dislocation.
In a statement, the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the occasion as ” glorious memory for the historical meanings and connotations it carries, and which reflect the depth of the bonds of brotherhood and common destiny between the peoples of the region“.
The same source recalled the series of common struggles to materialize the aspirations of the Maghreb peoples eager for more cooperation, integration and solidarity to achieve their aspirations of immunity, progress and well-being.
Tunisia thus renews, via its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “ its accession to the Arab Maghreb Union as a strategic choice for what it represents in terms of strength and courage to face common challenges, win the challenges of development and progress and consolidate the elements of security and stability“, thus affirming its ” determination to continue to work with the rest of the Maghreb countries in order to revitalize its structures and institutions in a way that contributes to the achievement of the noble objectives for which it was created “.
That said, this announcement of “commemoration of the 34th anniversary of the AMU” which comes as Tunisia suffers from its isolation, reveals the contradiction of the Tunisian State as to its own position on Maghreb unity on the ground, especially after having tried more than once to harm the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco.
Indeed, the former speaker of the Tunisian parliament and leader of the Ennahda party, the Islamist Rached Ghannouchi, who reigned supreme in the country before the tour de force of President Kais Saied, had called without hesitation , to the establishment of an Arab Maghreb union, but without the involvement of Morocco and Mauritania, contenting himself only with what he described as the ” triangle Tunisia-Libya-Algeria“, expressing at the same time “ a certain ambition to exploit Libya in order to solve Tunisian problems“.
In an interview, Ghannouchi had clearly stated that the aforementioned triangle should be considered a “tgrowth angle » and that he « should be a starting point to revive the dream of the Arab Maghreb “.
This is not an isolated attack formulated by senior Tunisian officials against Morocco. Since the election of President Kais Saied and his close relations with his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Tunisia has begun to adopt positions hostile to Morocco.
This was done by the presidential welcome reserved for the head of the separatist militia of the polisario, Brahim Ghali, by the Tunisian head of state in person. A man who, as a reminder, leads an entity not recognized by the UN and the majority of credible international institutions (with the exception of the African Union) and which threatens the integrity and sovereignty of Morocco over its southern provinces.
The welcome reserved by Kais Saied to the leader of the armed separatist group financed by Algeria, was made on the occasion of the 8th summit of TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African Development) and in contravention of the rules enacted by Japan which does not itself recognize the polisario or its self-proclaimed sardp.
The Tunisian President’s “warm” welcome to the leader of the Polisario separatists caused shock waves in Morocco, of course, but also in Tunisia, especially since Tunisians and Moroccans had never had any bilateral problems before this mistake of President Kais Saied.
It was that Tunisia was interfering in Morocco’s internal affairs, under pressure from Algerian generals, after years of neutrality in the Sahara issue.
Tunisia’s pro-Algerian turn was already visible during the vote on the latest Security Council resolution on the Sahara. Tunisia chose to abstain from voting while all countries voted in favor except Russia which also abstained.
More recently, in February, the Tunisian President inaugurated the highway linking the towns of Gabès and Médenine during an official ceremony during which the country’s authorities projected the map of North Africa, which amputates Morocco of its Sahara, and the Tunisian national television focused on showing this error, a deliberate choice which leaves no doubt about the intentions of the Tunisian regime subjected to the diktats of Algeria.