MFA RESPONDS SHARPLY TO MOROCCAN ACCUSATIONS OF

UNCLAS ALGIERS 002132

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM SMIG AG MO
SUBJECT: MFA RESPONDS SHARPLY TO MOROCCAN ACCUSATIONS OF
ALGERIAN ROLE IN CLANDESTINE IMMIGRATION ISSUE

REF: A. ALGIERS 2082

B. FBIS GMP20051016710021


1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an unusually
sharply worded official response October 17 to the October 16
comments of Moroccan Prime Minister Driss Jettou that
"strongly condemned Algeria and the Polisario's exploitation
of the very complex immigration issue to achieve cheap
propaganda ends." (text in FBIS ref B). The Algerian
response, with its pointed criticism of Jettou's remarks,
marks a departure from Algeria's usual posture of presenting
its policy positions in terms of the interests of the
international community, international law and Security
Council resolutions, as was the case in the earlier remarks
by an unnamed senior MFA official reported in Ref A. Below
is embassy's lightly edited, unofficial translation of the
French text of the MFA statement as published in the
semi-official daily El Moudjahid October 18.


2. Begin edited text of MFA statement: "In the face of the
flood of fanciful, fallacious, and extreme accusations by the
Moroccan governmental authorities manifestly seeking to blame
others for their own actions, Algeria firmly adopts a
position of calm and level-headedness. Morocco's unfortunate
relentless effort (to blame others),which presents a sorry
spectacle, does not concern Algeria in the least. This
relentless effort, as well as the inappropriate and
unjustified mixing together of the complex problem of
clandestine immigration and the question of the
decolonization of the Western Sahara are evidence of a
regrettable moral and political drift. The painful
humanitarian developments arising from the phenomenon of
clandestine immigration are followed by Algeria with all the
attention and levelheadedness required by a particularly
sensitive and complex question...It is surprising that the
Moroccan governmental authorities, for some days now, have
given themselves over to a deplorable escalation of
defamatory and malicious remarks against Algeria in the
context of the difficult situation which has developed on
Moroccan territory..."

3. A passage follows on Algeria's commitment to work with
African and international partners to find a solution to the
clandestine immigration problem. The statement concludes:
"The unfortunate hostility toward Algeria that the Moroccan
authorities incessantly entertain will not have the least
impact on Algerian positions that conform with international
law and are historically coherent."
ERDMAN