Thug Diplomacy Unmasked in Tokyo

A distressing scene took place at the Tokyo Conference Center during the opening of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development.

By Hichem ABOUD

The Algerian-Moroccan dispute over the issue of Western Sahara, where recognition of Moroccan sovereignty has gained significant ground recently, has moved beyond the stage of exchanging insults between the delegations of the two countries, as is often the case at the UN headquarters in New York.

This time, it’s a real street fight between Moroccan and Algerian diplomats. An Algerian delegate was even heard hurling insults and threats that could only come from the mouth of a thug. “Shame on you, I’ll pull your pants down!” shouted another Algerian delegate at a member of the Moroccan delegation, according to the French daily Le Figaro in its electronic edition dated 24/08/2024.

How did it come to this? For the sake of objectivity, and not having been eyewitnesses to this altercation, we prefer to refer to the reputable French daily Le Figaro rather than the Algerian and Moroccan media.

It was the presence of the Polisario delegation at this forum that ignited the powder keg. A presence owed by this separatist movement to the complicity of its Algerian sponsors. Indeed, the Sahrawi Republic, proclaimed in February 1976 in Tindouf, on Algerian territory, is a member of the African Union. However, as it is not a member of the UN and is not recognized by the host country of TICAD, namely Japan, this pseudo-state is not authorized to participate in international meetings between members of the African Union and foreign countries. In the case of TICAD, Japan recognizes neither the Polisario nor, even less, the republic it claims to have created. Besides, no invitation was extended to it by the host country.

Entered clandestinely with fake Algerian diplomatic passports

Since it is not recognized by Japan, the SADR cannot send representatives traveling with a so-called “Sahrawi” passport. Therefore, the delegate of this entity cannot obtain a visa to enter the Land of the Rising Sun. The Algerian regime comes to the rescue of its protégé. It introduces the Polisario delegate with an Algerian diplomatic passport. A fake passport, obviously. The holder of this travel document has nothing Algerian about him. And it is from here that the origin of the altercation between Algerians and Moroccans, who ended up on the ground like street brawlers, arises.

The incident is perfectly summarized by the Swiss-Cameroonian web video activist Nathalie Yamb, who writes on the platform X: “Within the framework of the TICAD ministerial meeting, the Japan-Africa investment partnership, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday, a preparatory meeting was held today in Tokyo. Algeria brought in, as a member of its delegation, a representative of the Polisario Front, Lamine Baali, ambassador of the SADR to the AU.

Once seated, he discreetly takes out a nameplate from his bag with “Sahrawi Republic” written on it, which had not been officially invited by the Japanese organizers, and places it on the table. (Video 1)

When a Moroccan participant (in a beige suit) noticed the maneuver, he rushed to the table to remove the nameplate, and an Algerian diplomat pounced on him and pinned him to the ground with his best ippon, while the Sahrawi executed a strategic retreat with his nameplate. (Video 2)

At the resumption of the session, the presence of Lamine Baali could be observed around the table, after strong Algerian and South African pressure.”

In this entire affair, it is worth noting that Moroccan intelligence services were aware of the Algerian scenario, from its planning to its execution. Otherwise, how can we explain the video recording of the arrival of the Polisario delegate in the conference room and how he pulled out his nameplate bearing the inscription “Sahrawi Republic”? Once again, The Algerian intelligence services have been completely defeated, as they were in 2021 when the fake Algerian passport issued to Brahim Ghali, the Polisario secretary-general, under the name Benbattouche, went around the world.