A full blown brawl erupted on Friday between Moroccan and Algerian diplomats over the Sahrawi Republic’s alleged participation at the preparatory meeting of the Tokyo International Summit on Development in Africa (TICAD) in Tokyo, Japan.
The incident started when a representative of the Sahrawi Republic to the African Union, Ambassador Lamine Baali, appeared in the meeting; uninvited, sat at the conference table and displayed a card bearing the entity’s name. Realising Baali’s action, the Moroccan representative attempted to forcibly remove the card when the Algerian representative intervened violently and slapped the Moroccan diplomat to the ground.
Several sources reported that the Algerian government had included Baali as a member of its delegation, although Japan does not recognise the Sahrawi entity. The Japanese representatives quickly intervened and reinforced Japan’s official stance on the Sahara dispute. They reiterated that Japan had not invited any Polisario delegation and did not recognise the group.
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This is not the first time the presence of a Polisario Front representative has caused tensions during the TICAD conference. In the last session held in Tunisia in 2022, a delegation from the Front attended the meeting, prompting the Moroccan delegation to withdraw.
The Tunisian government had unilaterally invited Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Polisario Front. However, Japan, the sponsor of the TICAD conference, made it clear that it does not recognise the Polisario Front as a sovereign entity.
The Japanese government condemned this invitation, stressing that TICAD is dedicated to discussions on African development, and that only entities officially recognised by the United Nations are allowed to participate.
The African Union also adopted a resolution stating that attendance at international partnership conferences is limited exclusively to countries recognised by the UN, which was interpreted as excluding the Polisario Front.
The Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, is demanding a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara, while Morocco is sticking to the autonomy plan as the only solution to the conflict, which is supported by many countries, including the United States, France, Spain, Germany, the Gulf countries, and some African countries.
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