ALGERIAN PATRIOTS - ENGLISH

  On November 4, 2025, Morocco announced the creation of a new national holiday, named “Unity Day” (عيد الوحدة), which will henceforth be celebrated every October 31. This day is intended to commemorate what Moroccan authorities describe as a “victory” in the Western Sahara issue. Yet this initiative raises many questions. Upon closer examination, no tangible event—whether military, diplomatic, or historical—objectively justifies the choice of this date. No decisive agreement has been signed, no new international recognition has been obtained, and no concrete progress on the ground appears to have marked this day in any significant way. It is precisely this absence of factual foundation that gives this decision both its meaning—and its controversy. By elevating October 31 to the status of a symbol of an unachieved triumph, the kingdom seems to wager on narrative over reality, on symbol over fact, on imagination over accomplishment. Thus, “Unity Day” appears less as the celebratio...

The adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2797 marks a new milestone in the diplomatic struggle over the Western Sahara issue. This resolution reaffirms a fundamental principle: there can be no solution outside the framework of international legality and the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination. While Rabat sought to portray the text as a “diplomatic victory” that consolidates its narrative, Algeria’s interpretation—articulated by Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf in his interview with Algeria International —places events in their proper context and sheds light on the underlying dynamics and power balances that shaped the decision. It is worth noting that this interview represents the first official statement by an Algerian official following the recent speech by the King of Morocco, in which he called for direct dialogue with the Algerian President. Strikingly, Minister Attaf made no mention of this overture, clearly reflecting the limited interest and credibility Algeria ac...

Once again, Morocco’s Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, emerges with a faltering discourse, seeking to mask political submission beneath the glitter of a so-called “diplomatic victory.” The man who opened the gates of Rabat to the Mossad now dares to speak of dignity and balance, though he was the one who sold his country’s honor on the altar of the Abraham Accords. What humiliation is he talking about? Is there any greater disgrace than shaking hands with the occupiers of Palestine while pretending to lecture Algeria on courage and restraint? What remains of a diplomacy that takes its orders from Tel Aviv and Washington? Morocco, once a bearer of Arab identity and resistance, has now become a rear base for Israeli intelligence and a conduit for Zionist schemes in the Maghreb. When Bourita speaks of a “hand extended toward Algeria,” we see only a hand stained with the blood of Gaza’s children — a hand that reached first toward the enemy before feigning a gesture of dialogue. Dialogue c...

A seemingly technical decision, yet politically decisive On 31 October 2025, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2797, extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for one additional year, until October 2026. Although this may appear as a routine administrative renewal, it actually represents a critical diplomatic juncture—one that could reshape the geopolitical balance of the Maghreb and directly affect Algeria’s vital national interests. An ambiguous resolution: neither a rupture nor full continuity Adopted by 11 votes in favor and 3 abstentions (China, Russia, and Pakistan), Resolution 2797 extends the mandate of MINURSO to maintain the ceasefire and prepare the conditions for a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people. Contrary to some media narratives, the resolution does not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. It reaffirms instead the principle of self-determination, the corner...

Since 1963, the Western Sahara has been listed by the United Nations among the non-self-governing territories, awaiting the completion of the process of decolonization. This status means, in legal terms, that the fate of the territory can only be determined through a UN-supervised referendum on self-determination, in accordance with the UN Charter and successive resolutions of the General Assembly. Yet, in 2020, Morocco sought to exploit a unilateral recognition by former U.S. President Donald Trump of its alleged sovereignty over the territory—a political transaction tied to the normalization agreements known as the Abraham Accords. However, despite its media resonance, this move has no legal weight under international law, especially when compared to Trump’s own inability to alter the legal status of territories administered by the United States for decades. The United States and Its Non-Self-Governing Territories: Sovereignty on Hold The United States administers several territories...

As the United Nations Security Council prepares for its decisive vote on October 31, 2025, regarding the renewal of MINURSO’s mandate, discussions over Western Sahara have intensified, exposing a growing polarization within the international community. The draft resolution submitted by the United States—traditionally the penholder on this issue—has stirred notable controversy, revealing persistent rifts between major powers and regional actors. Established in 1991, the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) was tasked with overseeing the ceasefire between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front, while preparing a self-determination referendum. Yet that referendum has never materialized, and today the mission finds itself weakened by budgetary constraints—chiefly American—and recurrent political deadlocks. In this delicate context, UN Secretary-General António Guterres recommended a one-year extension of the mandate, until October 31, 2026, to allow...

Behind the ornate walls of the Security Council, Washington has retreated from its ambition to make Morocco’s autonomy plan the sole basis for negotiation. Tested against the realities of power politics, this exclusivity collided with UN arithmetic, veto threats, and the jurisprudence of international law, reverting—yet again—to the familiar language of a “just, lasting, and mutually acceptable” solution and the routine extension of MINURSO’s mandate without doctrinal change. In the background, one structural fact remains: the U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty in December 2020, embedded in the diplomatic bargaining of the Abraham Accords, shifted the center of gravity of the issue beyond the UN framework—without creating multilateral consensus. 1) A “Plan” Without the Parties: Algeria Excluded, Sahrawis Marginalized The 2024–2025 cycles confirmed the impression of a process steered elsewhere : Algeria publicly denounced the American penholder’s “biased” approach and abstained...