A 50-year-old dispute: Algeria expels Moroccan farmers from Figuig

During the past few days, the Algerian authorities handed over farmers in the province of Figuig in eastern Morocco, a notice of the necessity to evacuate the "Arja Ouled Soliman" area no later than March 18, according to the Moroccan website Hespress.

After this decision, a state of anger prevailed among the farmers of the region, and they organized protests against the local authorities, and demanded the Moroccan government, which remained silent, to clarify the truth of what is happening to the public opinion.

The Algerian researcher and political analyst, Ismail Khalaf Allah, commented that the Algerian authorities' taking this step stems from the agreement on demarcating the borders between the two countries in 1972, so the Moroccan authorities did not comment on the decision.

In statements to the Al-Hurra channel, Khalafallah added that according to this agreement, Algeria has the right to recover its lands at any time, indicating that this decision has nothing to do with the tension between the two countries over the Polisario file.

While the Moroccan Socialist Union Party stated in Figuig, that the 1972 agreement did not clarify the status of the Wadi Al-Arjah region, over which there is a dispute currently.

'A reaction to the Moroccan victory'

Moroccan human rights activist Ashraf Tarbeek said that the Algerian action against Moroccan farmers comes in an incomprehensible context, and that it may be an Algerian reaction to the recent events between the two countries and the Moroccan victory in the Western Sahara file.

In statements to the Al-Hurra channel, Al-Taribeek added that this response is non-diplomatic, and innocent citizens will be harmed by it, and he made it clear that it will not have an impact on the relations between the two countries that have been already tense for some time.

He stressed that the signs and phenomena confirm that this procedure was based on an agreement between the two countries, indicating that Algeria may take any decision that proves its prestige and sovereignty even if the victim is innocent civilians.

One of the protesters, Abdel Malek Boubkri, one of the owners of the agricultural estates, said that for 30 years he had been entering the region without being prevented by the Algerian or Moroccan authorities. He explained to local media that they were informed by the Moroccan and Algerian authorities not to use the lands in the area after the date of March 18, which may indicate the existence of an agreement between the two countries on this decision.

Figuig is located in the east of Morocco, 360 km from Oujda, and 10 872 people live in it, according to the 2014 Population and Housing Census. It is bordered on the south and east by the Moroccan-Algerian border. The city is famous for its palm oasis, which includes many palm trees, and for producing good and rare types of dates.

The border region between Algeria and Morocco has been experiencing tensions for nearly 50 years. A war broke out between the two countries in October 1963 because of the dispute over this region, and was known as the "Sand War", which ended on February 20, 1964, with the signing of the ceasefire agreement and the determination of a demilitarized zone between The two countries.

This Algerian move comes at a time when relations between the two countries are witnessing unprecedented tension, after the events of the Guerguerat border crossing last November, and the administration of former US President Donald Trump's recognition of Rabat's sovereignty over Western Sahara.

Morocco criticizes Algeria’s support for the Front for the Liberation of Sakia El Hamra and the Valley of Gold (Polisario), which demands the independence of Western Sahara, which was a Spanish colony, while Algeria says it is about supporting a people for self-determination.

In the midst of this new-old dispute between Rabat and Algeria, an Algerian television channel (especially) angered Morocco by presenting a doll in the form of the Moroccan monarch criticizing his positions in a sarcastic way in mid-February.

This incident contributed to sparking discord on social platforms in an unprecedented way.

The peasants are a victim

For its part, the Moroccan Socialist Union Party expressed its astonishment and condemnation of the Algerian authorities' request of farmers to leave the lands in the Al-Arja region.

The party said in a statement that it "made sure that there is the intention of the two countries together to demarcate a previous agreement stipulating that Wadi Al-Arjah is the dividing line between the Moroccan and Algerian lands." ".

The party indicated that the Moroccan government was not clear with the inhabitants of Figuig and Moroccans as a whole regarding the demarcation of the border between Morocco and Algeria, as it remained subject to the political fluctuations between the two countries.

The party said: "The Moroccan state deceived the residents and farmers of the Figuig oasis and their dilemma, as it allowed them to invest for years in lands that may be taken from them at any moment, as is the case now."

Khalaf Allah stressed that the problem is how to compensate these farmers, and this is their right, and this is something Morocco takes over.

Al-Taribek said that, according to some previous problems between the two countries, the Moroccan authorities will compensate farmers with other grazing and agricultural places, because they realize that Algeria is going through a difficult phase and wants to open a front with Morocco to influence local public opinion, and Morocco does not want to give them this opportunity, he said. 

Source: AFP