PRESIDENT BOUTEFLIKA'S INTERVIEW IN THE TUNISIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 001379 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2015 TAGS: PREL PBTS PHUM MO AG WI SUBJECT: PRESIDENT BOUTEFLIKA'S INTERVIEW IN THE TUNISIAN PUBLICATION REALITES REF: A. ALGIERS 1358 ¶B. RABAT 1419 Classified By: Ambassador Richard W. Erdman, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Part of the continuing problem between Morocco and Algeria stems from their habit of protesting their own side's innocence while giving highly colored and exaggerated accounts of the other side's actions and statements. To take but one example, Algerian protestations that Bouteflika's letter to the Polisario and references to a Sahrawi right to self-determination and independence were nothing more than a restatement of long-standing positions totally lacked credibility. These professions of innocence were belied by subsequent explanations that hardened Algerian rhetoric was a response to perceived Moroccan provocations and insults. (Ref A) ¶2. (C) On the Moroccan side, from an Algiers viewpoint at least, there is a similar tendency to misrepresent, exaggerate, and overinterpret Algerian statements. Deputy Foreign Minister Fassi Fihri, in particular, is a repeat offender in making broad charges or statements that are not born out by a close look at the spoken or written record. The most recent example is his complaint to Ambassador Riley (Ref B) about Bouteflika's "call for independence" in his interview with a Tunisian daily (republished in Algeria's official newspaper El-Moudjahid July 2). In the interview, Bouteflika referred only to the Sahrawi right to self-determination and, while it mentioned historic examples of self-determination in Timor, Brunei, and Belize, it neither called for Sahrawi independence nor used the word "independence." (See quotes below) ¶3. (U) Excerpts from Bouteflika's interview in the Tunisian publication Realites, republished July 2 in El-Moudjahid. Western Sahara: "The question of the Western Sahara is debated each time as if it were a question that is new or little known. The problem, however, is several decades old and arose as an issue of decolonization at the same time as the issues of Timor, Brunei, and Belize. Its solution lies in the exercise by the Sahrawi people of their right to self-determination. This was always the decision of the United Nations, obviously accepted by Algeria but equally accepted by Morocco, which suddenly changed its position after the submission of the Baker Plan to the UN Security Council. The position of Algeria has never varied and my letter to the President of the Polisario only reaffirmed it." AMU Construction: "The process of Maghreb construction has nothing to do with the dispute between Morocco and the Polisario. ...Algeria is deeply attached to the construction of the Arab Maghreb Union. But the latter cannot be the object of a blackmail that is all the more unacceptable because the question of the Western Sahara concerns only Morocco, the Polisario Front, and the United Nations. I do not need to say that we remain deeply attached to the construction of the Arab Maghreb Union. We have amply demonstrated this commitment when, for more than ten years, Algeria held the presidency and repeatedly tried in vain to organize a summit in Algiers. We remain faithful to this policy." Bilateral Relations with Morocco: "The level of our bilateral relations obviously depends on the political will of each of the parties. Regarding Algeria, I reiterate our desire to construct with our Moroccan brothers durable relations based on mutual respect, trust, cooperation, and partnership in all fields. I have always suggested that the question of the Western Sahara should remain an issue for the UN and that one should exclude this dispute from becoming an issue between us, thus permitting the development of our cooperation in all fields..." ERDMAN