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FACE AUX PROVOCATIONS MAROCAINES : Les mesures que pourrait prendre Alger - Actualités : Le Soir d'Algérie
Après le gaz naturel, la fermeture de l’espace aérien et le bouclage hermétique de sa frontière nord-ouest, l’Algérie pourrait prendre de nouvelles mesures contre le Maroc dans le sillage de la rupture de ses relations avec son voisin. Des mesures...
www.lesoirdalgerie.com
FACING MOROCCAN PROVOCATIONS Measures that Algiers Could Take
Monday September 27th, 2021 - 06:56 PM
Last update at 6:49 p.m.
After natural gas, the closure of airspace and the hermetic closure of its northwestern border, Algeria could take new measures against Morocco in the wake of the severance of its relations with its neighbor. Measures that could be political and economic.
Tarek Hafid - Algiers (Le Soir) - Algiers has a panoply of restrictive measures against Morocco. This is what Amar Belani, special envoy in charge of the question of Western Sahara and the Arab Maghreb countries, suggested in an interview with Reuters on Friday (September 24th). "The adoption of additional measures cannot be excluded", declared the Algerian diplomat, indicating that "Algeria will show extreme vigilance and absolute firmness for the protection of its national territory".
Following the official announcement of the severance of diplomatic relations with Morocco, the Algerian government took mainly economic measures. The first was the refusal to renew the contract for the delivery of natural gas through the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (GME) which expires on October 31, 2021. This pipeline which crosses Morocco to supply Spain allows Rabat to produce a significant portion of its electricity and to supply its industry and certain towns with natural gas.
The second measure was announced Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at the end of a meeting of the High Security Council chaired by Abdelmadjid Tebboune and concerns the immediate closure of Algerian airspace to all Moroccan civil and military aircraft as well as to those who bear a Moroccan registration number.
As Morocco is landlocked in the extreme northwest of the African continent, its national airline's planes are required to cross the Algerian skies to reach many destinations. This is particularly valid for the other countries of the Maghreb, for the Middle East but also for certain cities of West Africa. Royal Air Maroc, which is a predominantly African company, will suffer the financial repercussions of this ban in terms of fuel consumption and overflight taxes on the airspace of other states during bypasses.
In the register of territorial sovereignty, Algiers decided to block the Moroccan road number 10 which connects the cities of Bouarfa to that of Agadir. Built during French colonization, this strategic route has always encroached on part of Algerian territory in the wilaya of Bechar. On Thursday 23 September, a unit of the Border Guard Group (GGF) was tasked with closing off access to this road. This action by the Algerian authorities is an act of sovereignty which, moreover, has not been questioned by the Moroccan side. It comes in the wake of the El Arja oasis affair, near Beni-Ouenif, a town where Moroccan farmers used to farm plots of land. Their presence was long tolerated by Algeria until March 2021 when they were ordered to leave the area. Again, Morocco had no complaints about this measure despite hype from all the media in the kingdom. Obviously, Algiers does not intend to stop there and should launch coercive measures as Morocco - supported by its Israeli ally - continues its policy of escalation. One of the trump cards is certainly electrical energy.
From the beginning of October, Morocco is expected to experience a sharp drop in its electricity production due to the lack of natural gas supply. It turns out that Algeria transfers its surplus electrical energy to its neighbors within the framework of the Maghreb Electricity Committee (Comelec), a body whose creation dates back to 1974. Algiers could unilaterally put an end to its transfer of electricity to its neighbor to the west. Of course, Morocco could look to Spain to import electricity since the two countries are connected.
Except that the sales conditions imposed by Madrid will certainly be more expensive. On the other hand, the Algerian government could decide to no longer sit in multilateral forums in which the two countries are represented. This is again a sovereign decision. Finally, Algiers has the legitimacy to impose a visa on certain categories of Moroccan nationals.
In addition, the Algerian security services are exerting strong pressure on the level of drug trafficking, preventing Morocco for several months from benefiting from a large financial income from the sale of cannabis. One thing is certain, Rabat will have to expect immediate reactions from Algiers in the event of an escalation.
T. H.
A. Belani, Algeria's Assistant to the Foreign Minister
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