| Tunisia’s President Visit to Morocco not sitting well with Algeria |
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| Wednesday, 08 February 2012 11:57 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tunisia decision to host the Syrian opposition and expel Assad’s Ambassador from Tunis provoked a muted dissatisfaction in Algeria where the government, despite local popular anger, is supporting the Syrian regime. The Algerian government was further affronted by President Marzouki decision to start his visit in Morocco and end it in Algiers, even though the Algerians asked the Tunisian president to reschedule his original visit that was scheduled much earlier.
Mr. Marzouki, an ardent opponent to the exiled dictator Benali, is alien to the hazy ways of the Algerian diplomacy. His sincere and populist calls to the re-energize the Union of the Arab Maghreb (UAM) have fallen on deaf ears in Algiers where the Algerian diplomats view such initiative as too substantial for “little Tunisia”. Some Algerian observers advised the Tunisian President to stay home and deal with “Tunisia’s problems including security and the economy.” Algeria’s attempts to burst Mr. Marzouki’s bubble are not working. Undaunted, Tunisia democratically elected president landed in Rabat clutching a promising and intense agenda that reflects the expectations and dreams of the peoples of North Africa. Tunisia’s call to host a UAM summit is faithful and reasonable. Tunisia, with all its post-revolution problems, is a model to emulate for countries in the region, indeed.
Algeria’s reluctance to embrace Mr. Marzouki’s agenda has two facets. The Algerian government feels threaten by the Tunisian revolution’s implication on the dormant social dissatisfaction brewing under the surface in Algeria. On the diplomatic front, Algiers views Tunisia’s actions as a threat to its self-declared regional leadership. Tunisia call to settle the Algeria-Morocco conflict over the Western Sahara conflict in way to benefit the UAM was not welcomed in Algiers.
The Algerian newspaper “Liberte” went as far as to imply that Mr. Marzouki is biased toward Morocco because of his stay in the county during his refugee days. In addition, Mr. Marzouki’s father lived and had three sons in Morocco where he is buried. “Liberte” writes “we perceive a kind of awkwardness in Mr. Marzouki’s tour, he begins by Rabat before heading for Algiers and Nouakchott; it would have been more correct to start in Algiers, if only to show gratitude to the all kinds of support made by Algeria to Tunisia during this difficult period. It is common knowledge that his late father, who benefited from the nationality of that country, was buried after being granted asylum for several years. Perhaps these emotional ties with Morocco weighed heavily on Marzouki decision to begin his tour in the kingdom.”
As it becomes evident that the Union of the five North African nations that form the UAM will forge ahead with or without Algeria, the Algerian diplomats turn warm toward Morocco. However, it will take more than a change of attitudes in Algiers to save the UAM. For now, Mr. Marzouki is at home in Tripoli, Nouakchott and Rabat.
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haras
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to Algerian If you knew the meaning of pride, you wouldn't be in a forum, where you are not WELCOME... And by the way, since you are an Algerian in the US, where do you hide your pride when you and your country men have to receive the pat on the back in US airports... Allah Yan3al li mayhchem... You come here to talk about pride, when your country men and women were butchered by the thousands.. by your own army... al baraka frassek 3la lamari by the way... |
haras
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to Algerian I see you are going at it again... POWs? FAR? didn't you lose 2 millions of your people for your liberation against some 27,000 Frenchmen, yet it is a victory for Algeria, as you might or might not know, winning or losing, is a matter of geography, and we own the territory... As an Algerian, you should be indebted to our country for all the support and assistance we showed toward your people, throughout history, and don't bring up the Sebta, Melilia or Perjil, we remember your vice president and other ministers going on camera to show support to Spain... Bottom line, keep your borders closed, but for the love of god, and in the sake of consistency, keep out of this forum, it is for Moroccans... no terrorists here pls... |
Cham
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Now they're going after Tunisia What to say, soub7an a allah, a government that want to schedule a sovereign nations leader trips the way they want it be, as if they fixed the whole world and all they have left is asking ppls leaders to move around based on their schedule. Allah ykoun f3aoune hadouke Cha3be. |
Algerian
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... Aes, just have to remember that before the 4-1, there was 5-1 in Casa, but at the end of the day its a soccer game AS FOR YOUr royal army standing tall, just remind me what happened to them last time around against the Polisario?? how many POW were captured by the polisario?? over 2000 pow's and to stop the attacks your FAR had to build a wall and hide behind it why you don't send your FAR'S to liberate Septa, Melila or even the little Perjil island few yards from your coast? As an Algerian i can proudly say that every inch of my land plus sum is under our control can you say the same about your land?? NB: did you read the wikileakes note about the Moroccan army? "Moroccan army is considered to be stretched thin with a reported estimated operational readiness rate of just 40 percent" http://www.saharamonitor.net/wikileaks_moroccan_army.html |
aes
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... The proud algerian forgets two things. One that he was a second class Frenchman fighting the motherland France. Two the proud Algerian forgets that before he was French he was a second class Turk. Before that he was ... Now back to Marzouki. Here I feel like laughing and crying. Laughing because since 1975 the generals in Algiers have been dealt one blow after another. First Morocco gets half of the Sahara while Bouteflika was busy begging Kissinger. Second Morocco gets the other half thanks to the generals scaring off the Mauritanians. Then the Berlin wall fell leaving the generals exposed. And just when I thought things could not get worse for the generals in Algiers, the Islamist spring came and the generals started losing the few Friends they have. Qaddafi is long gone. His final minutes still lurking in my mind. Bachar of Damascus is in trouble, Big trouble. And now Marzouki of little Tunisa is pressing the generals while Obama and Sarkozy are watching. Crying because I feel pity for them. Kind of like that soccer match in Marrakesh. When we were up 2-0 I was happy. When we scored the third I turned off the TV and went out for a walk. I hate to see others being humiliated. And for the same reasons I feel pity for the generals. They have played us and lost. We have the sahara. They have nothing. My bad they do have 100,000 sahraouis in the camps.The nation from within. The generals refuse to throw in the towels they want us to play the extra time even though they have been hammered. Bouteflika's "help us save the face" to the Americans, once the enemy, makes me ill. So I cut me some onions. This way I can laugh and cry at same time. . So the fight goes and the proud Algerian can jump and down right left and center, but the Atlantic ocean he will never see. Nor would he be able to dream of its fresh salty air or its tasty sardines. Our royal forces stand tall. The same forces the generals avoided in 1975. 37 years ago. I was only ten at the time. That was the time to get the job done. Now it is a little too late. That ship has sailed. By the way proud algerian the frech left simply because the could bear killing more of you. Make sure you mention that the next time you bring up this sore subject in your history. |
riffi
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... Algerian you are in denial and you need professional help, your lesson of history was teach to you in Cuban and soviet way, hate your neighbors, brain washed. At least you can learn from morocco good manners and also learning how to be sufficient in food stock, also instead of buying tomato from Spain at double price you could get it from morocco at half price, how you want Moroccans or other nationals to go as tourist in your country when everybody gets blown away and most of westerns country have you on terrorist watch, the civil war really messed up your way of life and your way of thinking. Algeria is not free yet that's why you still in war between each other. Reading you and mhamed does not make me see a brilliant future for Algeria and it is a shame. |
Algerian
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... As for Merzoki he might want to worry more about his people, that are trying to find refuge in Algeria and raising the Algerian flag instead of the tunisian one, and less about mediating between Morocco and Algeria http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AmH5Lx60UCE |
Algerian
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... RIffi, Yes mr riffi we are all of the above, but you still have not answerd my question. If we are so evil and barbaric, why is it that you guys keep begging day and night for the re-openning of the borders. From your king and down, what part of no dont you guys get and as have said it in many occasions.. There is no such a thing as free lunch, so unless you guys can give us something in return plz have some shame and stop asking. As for your family members and ALgeria no but thank you, ALgeria was liberated by Algerians dear friend, the only thing we got from you is an attack in a hope ti score some land, thats the brotherly love we got from you. As for the riffis they should have died for the enslavement they were in. |
good luck
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Tunisia & Libya In Mr. Merzouki's shoes I would forget about this whole Maghreb Arab thing and focus on building something close with Libya. Both of them are the only countries in the Arab world marching towards true democracy and their economies are complementary. I would only revisit when/if TRUE change takes shape in both Morocco and Algeria. As things stand today, a Maghreb Arab Union would dilute the wealth, power, and influence of those that rule these 2 countries. so MAU ain't gonna happen... |
riffi
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... algerian you tell me you are also proud of killing each other for the last 20 years and still counting 200.000 innocent lives and plus .Moroccans never did so to each other.you mean you still fighting to liberate algeria and algeria is not free yet.Some members of my family in the rif died for the independence of your country because they taught we were brothers and we had common destiny in and you come here to insult the moroccans shoohadas who helped you to free your country,if we were really cowards we would accept the french deal in closing the borders and throw out your blood hungry general to the lion cage and by now we will have tindouf colombechar and may be more.keep oiling the machine you will make the things happen more faster than you think.there is a say in berber "we gave the flower to the donkey and he ate it" |
Algerian
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... Man In Blanc, Let me tell you now, why i am proud to be Algerian First, as an Algerian i am proud to say that we liberated every inch of our land, we paid for it dearly but guess what we did it. We did not cry about it to the UN, or asked uncle Sam to support us no, we did it the hard way if you know what i mean. I can go on and on about what makes me proud of being an Algerian compared to Moroccans but i am not here to lecture you about your own country The thing i still don't get is that in one hand you guys have no shame begging us day and night at all levels to re-open the border only to turn around and insult us left and right. Please for the love of god, yes we are all the things that man in blanc called us, so why don't you guys leave us alone, we do not need you nor we want to re open the d#$% borders, so please have some shame or some nif as we say in Algeria and leave us alone. |
Sahrane
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NICE TRY,NOT! @ riffi You should know by now son,lambasting the messenger if you don't like the message wouldn't cut it anymore ,argue your way out ,instead of throwing nonesense around,and furthermore i'm as moroccan as they come,i'm not hiding behind a username, do your search.anyway the board they know by now,and i'm critisizing the regime not the country.should you ask why? cause i care ,for my fellow countrymen,and i want to see a governement for the people not the other way around,as for the algerians show me, neighbors who don't have mutual issues,even on the personal level ,don't you ?(with attitude like yours i'll be surprise).let alone on the governmental level so the case beforehand is on the latter,so let the governments sort it out that's their job,and they're not good at it,so what they do ? they create animosity between the poeple and they stay above the fray ,doing their dirty business the governments do,personally i don't have any issue with algerians and i know some,why should i hate them for their governement behavior? ......... |
Morcelli
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SAS needed When the majority of the posts here are critical of the state of affairs in Morocco, there must be something wrong there or we are just bunch of whiners who will never be happy no matter what? I think it's a little bit of both. How do we reconcile the two? If you ask me, I have no clue but I do know we are not doing much to improve, There is no doubt in mind that the Benkirane and his people/party have good intention, they don't have blood on their hand, the question is: Can they govern is the current environment? the answer is NO. Right now they hold a mini power, mini power does not cut it in Morocco. The big dossiers are still and will continue to be managed or screwed up "however you look at it" in the royal palace. We also need to keep in mind that Morocco is very poor country, yes we have rich people, yes the king and his elite took over the entire resources of Morocco, I still think that even if they give back whatever they stole, Morocco will still be a mess. what is the reason? The reason as my grand mother used to say: We don't sas. meaning we do not have the foundation and that is absolutely true. You cannot start building from the middle. no "sas" no progress. |
riffi
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... sarhane another DRS agent who just came from the bench to replace the Algerian blogger.it never fail ,surely it shows the DRS is scrambling and the clock is ticking.i am asking Tewfik can you please get from your pin some dogs who just not only bark. |
man en blanc
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It's raining Tunisians, Algerians, Polisario, Mauritanians, and lets's hear it for the New York GIANTS : Halluleayah! Let me get this straight, bear with me here Mes Dames et Messieurs : We SUCK! We are so damn lost, we don't know crap about anything, but we are expert about everything! Ain't easy being Moroccan guys. God blessed us with his, hers? the gift of Foum. As in : I AM MOROCCAN, I know everything! I know what to do with the Sahara. Easy. The nice Algerians promised to work with us to resolve our little forty year-old plus friendly you-parked-your-car-8-inches-into-my-driveway. No. It was 3-inches-into-my-driveway. You supported Khadafi! Did Not! Did too! Did not. Did Too. The Sahara is Moroccan. Did not. Syria is a democracy. Israel is not. The Arab World is a paragon of fairness, transparency and the basic respect of human decency. Yeah. And yet Algeria still sucks. The whole, long-comatose Arab World is on a cannibalistic mission to devour itself into some form oblivion. COOL! But Algeria is something else. Algeria sucks! Algeria suffers from the absence of identity, and we are all paying the price for that deficiency. Like a persistent toothache. Algeria is not even a country! It is an afterthought engineered by the colonialistic empires of yesteryear.. Actually it is a a brilliant plan. Create a strip on the Mediterranean Sea, call it Southern France. Or Algeria. And this way Tunisia and Morocco would be separated. Holy mother of God! at least in Morocco, with our corrupt regime, our abundance of hardships, at the end of the day, we go to the hsira in our baraka and thank Allah, the M'khazen, the M'kadem because : WE ARE NOT ALGERIANS! As I tell everyone in sight. You could be an Algerian. A fate I would not wish on my worst enemy. Unless he/she's an Algerian. Then I pray that they'd become MOROCCANS! A day In Casablanca is worth thousand years in Algiers! If only those Algerians would admit it! |
Kalid M.
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High Institute of presidency I have no sympathy for the Makhzen and its sinister,shady and unscrupulous methods. The reality is the Kingdom of Morocco have had centuries long tradition of a functioning administration, and has been a nursery providing leaders for the region. All of the presidents of North Africa are in debt one way or another to the kingdom. - Algeria took the most advantage of it.All their presidents ( with the exception of one) were born, schooled or resided in Morocco: Ben Bella, Boumedienne, Benjedid, Bouteflika, Boudiaf. - W Sahara has the good old al bahja Mohamed Abdelaziz. - Mauritania has Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz formed in Meknes in the 70s. Few presidents of that forsaken land had their stint in Morocco. - Tunisia is honoring us with Marzouki and his Moroccan blood brothers. We need to check on the Lybian leadership, they gotta have some Moroccan moles, that will end up outing themselves eventually. So Moroccans can be presidents in these countries, but they can't be kings in Morocco something ain't right... |
Sahrane
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Do what i say but not what i do. I couldn't agree more, dictators must be wiped out,no exception the moroccan one included .meanwhile they are on their way to the extinct species category,dictators are.as for the UN resolution would be more credible coming from democratic country instead of dictatorship like morocco,do what i say but not what i do .it came to mind.the damas's butcher time is up anyway with or without the un resolution,tunisians ,egyptians,yemenis,didn't need one ,yes there is a caveat, the military reaction. |
Morcelli
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... Morocco's circulating the Arab league initiative to get a rid of the killer and delegate power to his deputy until elections are held is not a PR move. The world is done with PR tricks, Mubarak and Bin labidine were the darlings of the west and their PRs did not help them much. Morocco as the representative of the Arab league sitting among the UN permanent and non permanent representatives is to convey to the UN what the Arab initiative which is my opinion make a a lot of sense. Getting the F%^#%^235ng dictator out and stopping him from butchering those who want to be free is not a PR. |
Sahrane
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EYE ON THE BALL Poeple are falling in the regimes trap on both sides,and the purpose is exactly the discussion on right now,and those are the governement talking point aiming at distracting their population from the real issues at hand,instead of taking care of the urgent matters ,like puting our house in order,by holding the corrupt regimes (moroccan&algerian)feet to the fire and taking an example ,from Mr marzouki and the tunisian people,whom in my opinion have a lot to offer a precious lesson on democracy. Concerning moroccan intiative to the UN,yes is laudable but i'm afraid is a PR move on morocco part, to deflect attention on the regime poor records,yes they are not killing poeple as the syrian butcher do,but they're killing them slowly but surely.for example how many people died due to a lack of basic health care?how many people died from poverty,malnutrition,stress from a police statpressure,injustices or in prison? well a conservative guesstimate would be thousands if not a millions since independance(sic). |
Morcelli
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... As everyone knows by now nothing sits well with Algeria. Their sole existence in life is to go against Morocco. Morocco has been championing the Arab Initiative to kick Bashar out who us butchering his own people is not something the Algerians "who by the way claim that they are in love with International law" are happy with. Right after the Moroccan foreign minister left Algiers couple of weeks ago, the drums of mediocrity started to beat in Algerian press. They invited the polisario thug from Valence Spain to threaten Morocco with going back to war. Mr Hassan, you said that UMA will take place with or without Algeria, I disagree. That cannot happen. Mauritania picked Algeria to be their good friend instead of Morocco. Libya is a mess and the last thing they want to worry about right now is grouping. Tunisia, Let's face it, it has nothing to offer to the other north African countries or at least that what's how it is perceived in Algeria. Morocco is regarded as a poor country who will benefit the most from Algeria if the borders are open. I don't see any progress in our lifetime, even though everyone including the foreign and the interior minister of Algeria is talking about the eventuality open borders soon. |

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Washington / Morocco Board News-- The Algerian government has been unhappy with President Marzouki populist diplomacy
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