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Once again, the US Department of State debunks in its own way the Algerian narrative on the Western Sahara question. Indeed, the US Embassy in Algiers published an interview that the US Deputy Assistant Secretary for North Africa Joshua Harris had with Algérie Maintenant. The difference between the version published by the Algerian newspaper and the text by the US embassy is eloquent.
«There is no shortcut to solving the problem, other than the support of the United Nations to support the Sahrawi people so that they have the right to self-determination», the Algerian media claims the US official said. But this quote is nowhere to be found in the text published by the American embassy.
«The United States wants to see a political solution for Western Sahara that is lasting and dignified. We are serious about using our influence to enable a successful UN political process. A UN-facilitated resolution is long overdue. Previous UN envoys tried many different paths forward, but unfortunately thus far those efforts have not been successful», Joshua Harris responded to a question about a possible change in the Biden administration's position on the Sahara question.
Comments on the Sahara attributed to the US official
«The permanent political solution is, for me, to allow the people of Western Sahara to make an appropriate decision regarding their future. Our policy is clear and our position is clear with the Algerian government, according to which any initiative for a solution must come from the Sahrawis themselves because it concerns the Sahrawi people», reads the interview as published by Algérie Maintenant. Surprisingly, this declaration does not exist either in the interview published by the American embassy in Algiers.
The Algerian newspaper also ignored the American diplomat's praise of the Moroccan autonomy plan in Western Sahara. «The United States views Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal as serious, credible, and realistic, and one potential approach to satisfy the aspirations for the people of Western Sahara», Harris explained.
The US Deputy Assistant Secretary for North Africa acknowledged that «since the breakdown of the ceasefire in 2020, the return to military actions is extremely concerning and makes the environment even more complicated. My government is very concerned about military activities that take us further away from the political process». He argued that «any targeting of civilians we consider to be completely unacceptable. So more than ever, there’s great urgency for a political process to prevent further unraveling. The United States is very focused on creating circumstances for the political process to finally yield movement».
Joshua Harris reiterated his country's commitment to ensuring the conditions for the success of the United Nations political process in the Sahara. «We need the personal envoy to succeed. So, I have returned to Algeria to have another round of consultations with our Algerian partners about practical steps for a successful UN political process», he said.
For the record, last September, Algerian diplomacy falsely attributed to Joshua Harris a quote in which he would have supported a solution to the Western Sahara conflict which «guarantees the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination». The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did the same last August when communicating on the meetings between Ahmed Attaf and Antony Blinken in Washington, DC.
