Sahara Dispute Drives Wedge Between Morocco and Algeria, Straining Historic Ties

Other times, other customs, they say. In his latest editorial, François Soudan, editor-in-chief of the magazine Jeune Afrique, shows how Morocco and Algeria have gone from being close neighboring countries whose peoples love and help each other to divided countries and peoples over the Sahara issue. According to the publication, Moroccans have long believed that the vast majority of Algerians do not follow their leaders, that the crisis with Morocco does not concern them, that the Sahara does not interest them, that they have other priorities, and that once the borders are opened, scenes of fraternity will be seen everywhere. "But decades of slogans, quarrels and misunderstandings have had their effect, generation after generation. Today, among the youth on both sides, prejudices, mistrust and mutual misunderstandings dominate. Olympic medals are no longer a source of common pride, but of competition," notes the French journalist. According to him, the peoples of the two countries "no longer know each other, no longer speak to each other, no longer love each other."

To support his point, François Soudan recalls the time when love and brotherhood between the two countries were celebrated: "There was a time when Hassan II invited the Algerian ambassador, Saad Dahlab, to attend the meetings of the Council of Government whenever bilateral relations were on the agenda... A time when the Lions (Moroccan national team) and the Desert Warriors (Algerian national team) celebrated their victories together... A time when people traveled from Oujda to Tlemcen as if they were visiting their family." Since 2021, the year in which Algeria unilaterally broke off its diplomatic relations with Morocco, the kingdom has not ceased to advance diplomatically, particularly on the Sahara issue, causing irritation in Algiers, the protector of the Polisario and some Algerians.