Algeria is trying by all means possible to cover the successive diplomatic setbacks suffered by the Polisario, so much so that Algerian diplomats disguise facts, deny proofs. Their latest whim? Zambia did not withdraw its recognition of the pseudo-Sahrawi republic, SADR.
According to informed sources in Lusaka, Algerian diplomats bribed a shadowy civil servant to cast doubt on the statements of Foreign Minister Harry Kalaba. Yet, you cannot find the remarks of this mysterious individual in any official statement or document of the Zambian government.
This Algerian maneuver came after the Zambian Foreign Minister’s statement, a genuine statement this time, in which he reiterated what he had said on July 9 in Rabat. Harry Kalaba had announced that Zambia withdrew its recognition of the SADR, self-proclaimed by the Polisario, but not recognized by the UN.
The Zambian Foreign Minister made it clear: “Zambia supports the efforts of the United Nations to reach a final settlement to the regional dispute over the Sahara”. Harry Kalaba assured that his country wanted to “contribute constructively to these efforts, through a neutral position open to the stakeholders…”
“So, I reaffirm the position of Zambia,” insisted Harry Kalaba, who added that Zambia “considers that the return of Morocco to the African Union is an opportunity for the continental family to lead this issue, which has lasted for much too long, towards an amicable solution in the African spirit of consensus, dialogue and mutual respect”.
In Africa, things are changing too fast for the Algerian regime. After it reintegrated the AU, Morocco is now turning to ECOWAS. And all this stirs panic in Algiers that had always bet on the isolation of the Kingdom.
