The Maghreb Union Dilemma: Morocco’s Monarchical System Hinders Integration with the Five Republics
BY: Dr. Hana Saada
ALGIERS- The Moroccan monarchy’s “Makhzen” system has consistently obstructed the realization of the Maghreb Union dream, a vision cherished by the region’s people and diligently pursued by some political leaders, particularly in Algeria, to foster progress and prosperity. Since the inception of the unified Maghreb entity on February 17, 1989, King Hassan II of Morocco has sought to exploit it to assert control over Western Sahara, resorting to blackmail and provocation.
The failure of the Maghreb Union to achieve its goals of partnership, cooperation, integration, and assimilation can be attributed directly to Morocco’s continued monarchical rule, unlike the republican political systems of Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania, as well as the Sahrawi Republic. Algeria has endeavored to overlook Morocco’s expansionist policies, hoping that the benefits of union would lead Morocco to reconsider its stance.
However, Moroccan provocations persisted, with Algeria viewed as geopolitically pivotal due to its shared borders with all Maghreb Arab countries. Morocco exploited the Maghreb Union issue to blackmail Algeria into accepting its occupation of Sahrawi territories and to backtrack on its support for the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and independence.
Thirty years have passed since the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Abdellatif Filali, announced the freezing of the Maghreb Arab Union, yet Morocco continues to exploit this defunct institution to blackmail Algeria. Despite Algeria’s concessions and intentions to establish a strong Arab Maghreb, Morocco still manipulates the Union to maintain its legitimacy in exchange for Algeria’s acquiescence on the Sahrawi issue.
The regime’s greed and manipulation have reached a breaking point. After exhausting various tactics to coerce Algeria, Morocco still believes it can force Algeria’s acceptance by controlling the Maghreb Union’s General Secretariat. This behavior mirrors the Moroccan Football Association’s attempts to impose its political vision on the football field, undermining fair play.
From fabricating charges against Algeria following a 1994 terrorist act in Marrakech to imposing visas on Algerians and exploiting the Moroccan royal palace for political ends, Morocco has consistently aimed to hijack the Maghreb institution to blackmail Algeria. Algeria must now take corrective action within the Maghreb system.
A meeting between Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune, Tunisian President Kais Saied, and Libyan Presidential Council President Mohammed al-Menfi during the gas summit in Algeria underscores the need for a realistic plan beneficial to the region’s peoples. The hope lies in the Moroccan people’s realization of the potential benefits of joining a new Maghreb space, with Mauritania likely to join. The transition towards this goal requires recognition that the republics of the new Maghreb Union derive their political strength from liberated peoples, free from monarchical and colonial control.
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