Abdennour Khelifi, the fighter who disguised himself as a diplomat
More than 72 hours after the altercation that has shocked the diplomatic world, details of the attack on the Moroccan representative by the senior official of the Algerian Foreign Ministry, Abdennour Khelifi, head of the Africa department, are beginning to emerge.
The incident occurred during the run-up to TICAD9, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, when Khelifi physically attacked a Moroccan representative who was trying to remove a sign bearing the inscription ‘Sahrawi Republic’, an object that had no place at the official meeting, due to the lack of international recognition of the SADR, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, by the organisers.
The Algerian official's actions have been the subject of protests and have called into question the reputation of Algerian diplomacy, not only among its African neighbours, but also at the international level. So much so that the organisers warned during the conference that ‘please those entities that should not be represented should leave’.
Who is Abdennour Khelifi?
With a senior position within the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Africa Directorate department, he is a diplomat known more for his physical aggression than for his ability to hold such a position. Abdennour Khelifi is known to have no higher education qualifications.
Khelifi is known for his techniques, which are more typical of the last century than of present-day diplomacy. He is known for his inelegant manners and aggressive physique. Khelifi's physical aggression and lack of diplomatic skills have further damaged the reputation of the Algerian government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Such has been the magnitude of the event that questions are being raised within the Foreign Ministry administration as to whether the post he holds is commensurate with his skills and behaviour.
However, it is unclear how long this situation will continue during TICAD9 in Tokyo, as SADR is excluded from all other international events related to Africa. Indeed, none of the countries and organisations linked to Africa recognise the illusion of separatism, promoted and supported by Algeria.
These include the European Union, the Arab League and South America, as well as countries such as Türkiye, India, South Korea, China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. All these countries refrain from inviting SADR to participate in meetings with African countries.
الوزير الياباني المنتدب في الخارجية Yoichi Fukuzawa يؤكد أمام أفريقيا و العالم أن بلاده لا تعترف بهذا الكيان " البوليساريو " و أن تسلله للقاعة لا يعني أي تغيير في موقف اليابان.#المغرب #تونس #ليبيا #السعودية #الامارات_العربية_المتحدة #الكويت #البحرين #مصر #الاردن #موريتانيا… pic.twitter.com/PzqSal8Rhw
— Harbaz Nabil🇲🇦 (@HarbazNabil) August 24, 2024
The whole world has witnessed how Algeria's techniques have been used to manage things as it pleases, without giving anyone a choice, without asking permission, without considering the opinions of others, sneaking in diplomats with a single function, to draw attention to, provoke and generate noise around a debate that is increasingly off the political agenda of many nations, not only African ones, such as the autonomy of Western Sahara.
Not only has all this confirmed the baseness of Algerian diplomacy when Morocco is involved, but even the organisers themselves, Japan, called the Algerian delegation to task and twice condemned the existence of ‘a puppet entity’, Lamine Baali, a member of the Algerian delegation who placed the paper with the name ‘Saharawi Republic’ on it, asked them to please leave the room.
A leaked video has surfaced showing Lamine Baali, an Algerian representative of the self-proclaimed "Sahrawi Republic," attending a preparatory meeting for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). pic.twitter.com/CdGkJgFBAV
— Morocco World News (@MoroccoWNews) August 26, 2024
But while Algeria's rulers were busy with the fuss of their own making, Moroccan politics is enjoying its finest hour with the recognition by over 100 countries of its autonomy plan for the Sahara.
The Algerians' hasty actions in Tokyo, provoked by the pain they suffered after France recognised Morocco's historic sovereignty over the Western Sahara region, forced Tebboune to capitulate once again, leaving him no choice but to call in his ambassador.
