In recent days, certain Moroccan media outlets, notably Hespress, have been working to revive the narrative of an alleged “Saudi mediation between Algeria and Morocco.” Cloaked in the language of goodwill and Arab brotherhood, this rhetoric seeks to burnish the image of a Moroccan regime weakened at home and diplomatically isolated abroad, while attempting to enlist Riyadh and Washington in legitimizing its occupation of Western Sahara.
But Algerians have not forgotten. The story of “Saudi mediation” is nothing new. It was tried before, in the late 1980s—and Algeria drew bitter lessons from it.
The 1980s: A Biased Mediation and Its Consequences
In the late 1980s, under Riyadh’s auspices, Algiers and Rabat resumed dialogue after a period of tension. True to its tradition of Maghreb solidarity, Algeria agreed to reopen its borders in 1988 and launch large-scale economic cooperation, notably by commissioning the gas pipeline linking Algeria to Europe via Morocco—a gesture of trust and openness.
The outcome, however, was disastrous. As Algeria embarked on a difficult political transition at the end of the decade, the Moroccan regime provided support and logistical facilities to armed Islamist groups, contributing to the destabilization of its neighbor during the “Black Decade.”
The crisis reached its peak in 1994, after the Marrakech attacks, when Rabat publicly accused Algiers of “supporting terrorism” and unilaterally imposed entry visas on Algerians. Algeria responded by closing its land borders, ending an illusion of fraternity that Morocco had instrumentalized for political ends.
2025: A Diplomatic Recycling Attempt
What Morocco now seeks to market under the label of “Saudi mediation” is nothing more than a replay of the same scenario—with different actors but identical objectives: to extract from Algeria an implicit recognition of the fait accompli in Western Sahara, in exchange for a pseudo-normalization of bilateral relations.
The rhetoric of “an outstretched hand” and “a new chapter” serves only to mask a reality: Morocco is striving to internationalize an issue that does not favor it within UN institutions, by mobilizing its Gulf allies and American backers sympathetic to its position.
As for the notion that Riyadh wishes to “preserve Algeria’s dignity after its diplomatic setbacks,” it betrays a revealing condescension. Algeria has never lost its dignity, for it defends a position rooted in international law and the principle of decolonization—not an expansionist agenda.
A Dangerous and Anachronistic Moroccan Discourse
The article published by Hespress illustrates the confusion—or manipulation—of Moroccan discourse. To portray the question of Western Sahara as a “settled matter” is pure denial of law. The UN still considers the territory non-self-governing, and no major power has recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the region.
More troubling still, some Moroccan “experts” now invoke the supposed “decolonization of Tindouf and eastern Algeria”—a geographical and historical absurdity that speaks volumes about the expansionist fantasies of the Makhzen. Algeria was never a product of colonialism, but the fruit of a national liberation wrested at the cost of 1.5 million martyrs. Those who speak today of “lost Moroccan lands” are resurrecting the old ideology of “Greater Morocco,” which history has definitively condemned.
Algeria Today: Memory, Sovereignty, and Consistency
The Algeria of the 21st century is no longer the country some believed they could deceive in 1988. It is fully aware of its regional role, its diplomatic weight, and above all its sovereign right not to be instrumentalized.
No mediation can succeed if it rests on falsehoods, American pressure, or Saudi calculations. What the region needs is not biased mediation, but respect for principles: the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination, non-interference in internal affairs, and an end to Morocco’s double discourse of victimhood and provocation.
Algeria, strong in its history and coherence, will not fall into the same trap twice. Those who seek peace must first acknowledge historical truth, abandon imperial illusions, and cease distorting international law to satisfy an outdated monarchical ambition.
By Belgacem Merbah
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