Algeria more isolated than ever as it celebrates 70th independence war anniversary

Algeria celebrates the 70th anniversary of its revolution against the backdrop of a series of diplomatic setbacks that left the country in a state of diplomatic isolation.

The celebrations this year coincide with a debacle in the security council in a series of diplomatic blows and tension with almost all neighbors, save cash-strapped Tunisia.

UN Security Council

Algeria, which hosts and arms the Polisario separatists, has failed to use its position as a non-permanent security member to advance its anti-Moroccan agenda, after the council extended the mandate of the Minurso for another year while calling on Algeria to engage -together with other parties to the Sahara conflict- in good faith towards finding a mutually acceptable solution.

The resolution, which lauded Morocco’s efforts as serious and credible, urged Algeria to take part in the round-tables and called for a census of the population held by the Polisario in Algerian territory.

Algeria has tried in vain to amend the resolution in a way that does not mention it as a party and extend the mandate of the MINURSO to human rights monitoring. Its maneuvers were rejected by the council members, including Russia.

Parade

Algeria had to suspend air traffic for ten days and blocked key roads of the capital for a similar period in order to stage another military parade, marking the 70th anniversary of the Algerian war of independence.

Despite President’s Tebboune’s invitations to leaders of countries Algeria deems as friends and allies, only proxies and Algeria’s satellite states attended the parade. Leaders of influential countries in the region shunned the event.

As was expected, Tunisia’s president Kais Saied and Mauritania’s president Ould Ghazouani were the only heads of state to attend the show of mostly soviet-era armament, worthy of being exposed in a military museum.

Tebboune forced the two leaders to stand in a souvenir photo with the chief of the Polisario separatists and the head of Libya’s presidential council Yunes El Menfi. That photo was the only diplomatic achievement of Tebboune.

Since the duo Tebboune/general Chengriha took power in Algiers, Algeria deepened its isolation to the extent of having troubled ties with all neighbors except Tunisia, which depends on Algerian gas and subsidies.

As Algeria was busy preparing its Soviet arms for the parade, President Macron of France was paying a visit to Rabat reiterating Paris position in support of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, a position he said was not inimical to any country in the region-alluding to Algeria- but rather conducive to regional peace and stability.

The parade and the large boycott by influential countries showed once more the scale of Algeria’s isolation as its diplomatic voice becomes increasingly inaudible due to Cold War-era stands, just like its obsolete armament, which better serves the purpose of a parade from a bygone era.