The sidelining by BFMTV of its Franco-Moroccan journalist, Rachid M’Barki , whom the French channel accuses of having pronounced the expression "Moroccan Sahara" on air, has elicited a reaction from the parliamentarian and former minister Lahcen Haddad. He denounces a "visceral anti-Moroccanism."
BFMTV presenter Rachid M’Barki, is "relieved of activity" for having broadcast information on an economic forum between Morocco and Spain in Dakhla, in the Sahara, without referring to his hierarchy. He is the subject of an internal investigation.
Spain has agreed to cede control of the airspace of the Sahara to Morocco. President Pedro Sanchez is expected to give his agreement for this change during the High-Level Meeting that opened this Wednesday in Rabat.
Morocco has conditioned the opening of an embassy in Rabat by Israel on the recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara. To advance this file, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed Ronan Levy, one of the architects of the normalization of relations with four Arab countries, as Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The anti-Moroccan speech delivered by the grandson of former South African President Nelson Mandela during the opening of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Algeria in favor of "the liberation of the Sahara" continues to provoke reactions in Morocco.
The opening of the commercial customs of Ceuta and Melilla, the delimitation of territorial waters or the control of the airspace of the Sahara are among the major points of friction between Spain and Morocco that will certainly be the subject of discussions during the High-Level Meeting scheduled in Rabat on February 1 and 2 .
The leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, seized the occasion of the opening of the movement’s congress to denounce "once again the illegal decision of Pedro Sanchez to support the Moroccan autonomy plan" for the Sahara, forgetting his welcome in Spain in April 2021 to be treated for Covid-19.
Spanish ministers Yolanda Díaz, Ione Belarra and Alberto Garzón, members of the Podemos party and left-wing parties, will not participate in the High-Level Meeting between Spain and Morocco, scheduled for February 1 and 2 in Rabat . The party had criticized Sanchez’s decision to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Sahara.
The new Peruvian government led by its president Dina Boluarte is resuming negotiations with Morocco, which had refused it fertilizers because of the authorities’ turnaround on the Sahara issue.
Morocco is putting pressure on Israel to recognize its sovereignty over the Sahara. Otherwise, it will not open an embassy in Tel Aviv.
Aided by the Moroccan police, the Spanish police managed to dismantle an organization specialized in the manufacture of false files to regularize Moroccan citizens in Spain who present themselves as descendants of Spanish Sahrawis.
The corruption scandal shaking the European Parliament continues to reveal its secrets. Morocco is also suspected of having solicited MEPs to intervene in its favor, particularly on the Sahara issue.