The Moroccan delegation attending the 17th Conference of the Parliamentary Union of Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Algeria condemned on Monday some quarters’ continued maneuvers to challenge Morocco’s territorial integrity.
The delegation’s remarks came in response to Algeria’s invitation of Gloria Florez, a Colombian activist who is president of the Parliament of the Andes (South America), to address the OIC summit.
Florez is known for her vocal support of the Polisario Front — a separatist group that the Algerian regime finances, arms, and shelters.
The separatist militia claims independence in the Western Sahara region, challenging Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces.
Algeria’s invitation of Florez to address an OIC meeting contradicts the regulations and spirit of the organization, the Moroccan delegation argued. The invitation “constitutes a flagrant violation of the objectives” of the conference and the principles underlying its foundation, the delegation explained.
It stressed that the pro-Polisario activist “does not have the legitimacy, in any case, to address issues that are outside the competence of the organization or to raise controversial issues that could comprise the spirit of consensus that characterizes our common Islamic action.”
The delegation also called on the OIC general secretariat to withdraw the speech of the Andes Parliament’s president from the OIC Parliamentary Union’s reports, and urged the OIC to “ensure that such an incident does not happen again.”
Leading the Moroccan delegation at the OIC meeting is Mohammed Ouzine, the secretary general of the political party Popular Movement.
The Moroccan delegation arrived in Algeria after a stopover in a third country as the airspace between Morocco and Algeria remains closed since 2021.
Morocco’s delegation had “regretted” the closure of borders, citing the common language, history, and religion shared by the two countries to stress that “what unites” the two countries is “more than what separates us.”
Ouzzine, who read Morocco’s speech during the OIC summit, also expressed Rabat’s regrets to continue to see hostilities targeting the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The Moroccan delegation also recalled Morocco’s dialogue initiatives, calling on Algeria to engage in a direct and frank conversation to address the political stalemate between the two countries.
The Moroccan delegation’s participation in the Algeria-hosted OIC summit comes amid escalation of tensions between Algiers and Rabat.
Earlier this month, the Algerian regime politicized the opening ceremony of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) by using the continental sporting event to broadcast its support for Polisario’s independence claims in southern Morocco.
The Algerian regime invited Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Zwelivelile Mandela, to deliver an anti-Moroccan speech that was met with a wave of backlash among watchers of the African football scene.
Also during the CHAN opening match, Algerian football fans chanted anti-Moroccan slogans that compared Moroccans to “animals.”
“Give him the banana, Moroccans are animals,” a viral video shows Algerian fans saying.
