Creation of Algeria-Morocco economic zone will make border issue 'futile', Algerian political leader
Algeria-Morocco, Politics, 2/10/2005

"If Morocco and Algeria manage to create an economic zone at their borders and if Algeria and Tunisia succeed in doing the same, the borders issue will become quite futile, said Houcine Ait Ahmed, leader of Algerian Socialist Forces Front (FFS).

The Algerian party leader who was speaking at the 3rd congress of Leftist democrats, held in Rome stressed that the creation of economic zones will set for peoples (in the region) objectives of shared construction and struggle.

"Our two peoples (Moroccan and Algerian) are not doomed to receive hostile discourses and accusations that false nationalism stands for historical reality," he went on in a clear allusion to divergences between Morocco and Algeria over this latter's support to the Polisario separatists that claim the separation of Moroccan southern provinces, the Sahara, from the rest of Morocco. The territory was retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid accords with Spain and Mauritania.

Ait Ahmed further argued "we will not get out of this deadlock as long as there is no governance, rule of law, transparency and accountability to legitimate institutions È.

Talking about his country's case, he said a large majority of the Algerian society is dislocated, poor and excluded from benefits of oil and gas revenues, insisting on the widespread corruption and human rights violations.

Today, he continues, there is will to obliterate even the existence of a bloody decade, with its 200,000 death toll, its 20,000 missing persons and 2 million of displaced persons. "Does a system based on violence and predation have the slightest chance to create with its neighbors relationships that it failed to establish with its own citizens," he wondered, calling for defusing tensions as a prerequisite to build the future.

The FFS leader also called Europe not to treat its southern neighbors as colonies and pleaded for "credible" partnership between Europe and the Great Maghreb.

Previous Stories:
  The world is now aware the Sahara issue is a Moroccan-Algerian dispute, party leader   (2/8/2005)
  New association to sensitize public opinion on question of Moroccans sequestered in Tindouf   (1/31/2005)
  Morocco urges for immediate release of Moroccans sequestered in Tindouf   (1/28/2005)

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