Rabat – As the rift between Morocco and Algeria keeps growing, Algerian president Abdelmajid Tebboune assured that “97% of fake news” about Algeria comes from Moroccan and Israeli sources.
In an interview with Algerian television on March 1, besides complaining about the alleged Moroccan media campaign, Tebboune proclaimed that he “will not abandon the question of Western Sahara.” As unrest continues to swell at home, instead of pacifying the dissatisfied citizens, Tebboune chooses to intensify the blame game.
“I went through a very critical time and there were those who were spreading rumors about my condition. But we know where it comes from,” he noted. Tebboune stressed that “97% of these fake news [about Algeria] come from abroad”.
”You know where they come from,” the president proclaimed. “It is especially after the two [countries] have reconnected,” referring to Morocco and Israel, that the misinformation campaign has intensified, Tebboune insisted.
The false narratives, media warfare, passing the blame onto outside forces, are all moves of a desperate, impotent government in the throes of collapse, vying for international sympathy.
Read also: Algerian Politician: Maghreb Union Should Not Include MoroccoTebboune’s speech comes at a time of growing international scrutiny. Algeria’s transparent attempts to challenge Moroccan territorial integrity have all but fallen apart. Despite their take on “fake news,” Morocco continues to come out on top in this optics dispute.
On February 24 Morocco sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the member states of the UN Security Council debunking the false allegations against Morocco that Algeria and the Polisario Front promote.
Beyond the inept attempts at media warfare, on March 1, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council established Algeria’s responsibility for the human rights violations in the Tindouf camps.
Algerian authorities were questioned over the suppression, torture, and kidnapping of the opposition supporters in the camps.
Despite the scrutiny, the Algerian president still praised the “role of Algeria in the Sahel region,” while also presenting his country as ”a striking power in Africa.”
“Our army is strong, and we will maintain our strategic expansion in Africa or elsewhere,” he continued. “Algeria is currently working to restore its strength and its pioneering role at the regional level while respecting the sovereignty of others without giving up its sovereignty and its positions,” the president concluded.
