Algeria-Mali: a serious stalemate

"The Transitional Government would be interested to know the feelings of the Algerian authorities if Mali were to welcome representatives of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia at the highest level of the State", reads press release no. 64 signed by the Minister of State, Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Spokesperson for the Malian Government on 25 January. This is the first time in history that a foreign state has mentioned the MAK (Movement for Kabyle Self-Determination) in an official document addressed to the Algerian authorities. The Moroccans, despite everything Algiers has put them through with its unparalleled support for the Polisario, have never taken the plunge. The mere mention of the Kabyle people by Omar Hilal, the representative of the Cherifian kingdom at the UN, had put Algiers in a tizzy. What will its reaction be after this outing in Mali?

It all started again in Kampala, when the Malians suspected "the hidden hand of the Algerian authorities in a manoeuvre consisting of imposing a chapter on Mali in the final document of the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Kampala, Uganda, without the consent of the Malian authorities", as recalled in the press release of 25 January. Algiers was quick to respond by issuing a denial in order to exonerate itself.

However, there are other grievances against Algiers, and not the least. "The willingness of the Algerian authorities to maintain the United Nations sanctions regime against Mali, at a time when the Non-Aligned Movement and the Russian Federation were opposed to it in the interests of Mali, which was calling for the regime to be lifted", is an act deemed unfriendly. Just like "the reception without prior consultation or notification at the highest level of the Algerian state of subversive Malian citizens and Malian citizens prosecuted by the Malian justice system for acts of terrorism; the existence on Algerian territory of offices representing certain groups that signed the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali resulting from the Algiers process, which have now become terrorist actors". This is practically the Algerian-Moroccan configuration, which gives the Malian authorities food for thought. The latter have no hesitation in concluding that there is "a misperception on the part of the Algerian authorities, who regard Mali as their backyard or a doormat state, against a backdrop of contempt and condescension".

We would be interested to know what Algiers' reaction was to this communiqué and what response it envisages. Up to now, the Algerians have played the appeasement card without seeking escalation. But in this case, the Malians did not mince their words. They used unusual language. Very aggressive language that Algiers is not used to.