Moroccan and Algerian press over Moroccan-Spanish row over Leila islet

Moroccan daily "Al Ittihad Al Ishtiraki" criticized this Wednesday the Algerian media for having marked off from all other media in the Arab world, taking an anti-Moroccan stance in the Moroccan-Spanish crisis over the Mediterranean islet of Leila.

Unlike the Arab League which supports Morocco's sovereignty and legitimate rights over the tiny island, the Arab Parliamentary Union which voiced solidarity and support to Morocco and the Arab media which are closely following developments and supporting Morocco, the Algerian media, both official and unofficial, are standing aloof of the Arab community, the paper notes.

The Algerian media, says the paper, are adopting a hostile position and call the Moroccan move to set a surveillance post in the Mediterranean island of Leila "Morocco's occupation of the Leila island" while actually it is a mere confirmation of Moroccan sovereignty.

In a first-page column, the daily which wonders "where do the Algerian media stand as regards requirements of Arab solidarity, neighborliness and brotherhood?" comments that information handling in Algeria reveals the extent of rancor that the Algerian regime harbors for Morocco and that the Algerian official press has failed to make a distinction between pan-Arab solidarity and a bilateral dispute.

Algerian minister of Maghreban and African affairs, Abdelkader Messahel, said Tuesday "Algeria refuses any fait accompli policy and any violation of international legality" and drew a comparison between the Mediterranean Leila islet and the Sahara issue, which he both considered as situations of borders inherited at independence.