Algerian, Moroccan Intellectuals Urge Dialogue Amid Sahara Tensions

This appeal addressed to Morocco and Algeria follows the resurgence of tensions between the Polisario and the kingdom over the Sahara issue. The petitioners deplore the fact that the Arab world is "divided, with dissonant visions that deepen the gap with negative consequences" on the resolution of major problems.

"For nearly fifty years, the region has been affected by the Sahara conflict and its repercussions, which have disrupted the project of its unity and fueled the differences between its two poles, Algeria and Morocco," they note, before saluting "the wisdom (which) has always prevailed in order to maintain the deep ties between the two peoples, even at the height of tensions". The signatories of the petition recalled the history and liberation from colonization of the Maghreb, especially the role played by "Moroccan and Algerian brothers-in-arms".

"The hands of colonialism knew how to separate the unity of destiny between the three peoples, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, in the midst of the battles of liberation to obtain independence, and sought to raise border problems that were time bombs," they suggest. But the Maghreb leaders thwarted disturbances, at the Tangier conference in 1958 by rejecting any relationship with the northern shore, without the independence of Algeria, as defended by Mehdi Ben Barka at the Mediterranean Colloquium in Florence, in October 1958.

"These time bombs quickly exploded after the independence of Algeria around the borders, which were not supposed to be an obstacle to the unity of peoples and the similarity of destinies," the signatories recalled. However, "the flame of wisdom has not been extinguished" despite the ideological conflicts, they salute. For them, the resolution of current differences must go through dialogue and a sense of common interest.