A new development in the controversy between the Algerian and Moroccan governments over the expropriation of Algerian state property in Morocco.
Compromising documents, of which we have a copy, provide proof of the bad faith of the Algerian authorities, who are crying “a new phase of escalation in its provocative behaviour towards Algeria”.
These documents, which are none other than correspondence from the Algerian Consulate General in Morocco addressed to the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, clearly prove that the Algerian authorities were in talks with their Moroccan counterparts about these properties, which are the subject of expropriation proceedings.
In one of these letters, dated 20 May 2022, the Algerian consul general in Casablanca “informs the Moroccan side that a property and financial valuation of these assets is underway and will communicate its conclusions as soon as they are finalised”
Further on, the Algerian consul adds that he “also informs that the consular premises will be vacated and its contents removed in accordance with diplomatic practice, once the sale operation has been duly completed in accordance with legal procedures”.
In the same correspondence, the Algerian consul recalls the subject of the Moroccan ambassador’s residence in Algiers, which is the subject of a similar procedure on the Algerian side and mentioned in a correspondence dated 14 March 2022.
Algiers completely ignored this exchange of correspondence between the two parties in its press release of 17 March. It acted as if the matter was brand new and “considers that this is an unspeakable violation of the respect and duty to protect the diplomatic representations of sovereign states as enshrined in international law and custom”. This gives the impression that the author of the Algerian press release was completely unaware of the negotiations that had been underway between the two parties for over three years. According to sources close to the matter on the Algerian side, the communiqué was hastily dictated by the DGDSE in the go-with-the-flow style typical of the hawks of the Algerian regime who threaten war with Morocco with the sole aim of ensuring the continuity of their power.