The president of the Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP) the biggest Islamist party in Algeria, Abderrazak Makri, said on Wednesday that the Western Sahara issue should not affect relations between Algeria and Morocco, considering the closure of borders separating the two neighboring countries as a huge «mistake that should be corrected». The Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP), Algeria's biggest Islamist political party, urged Rabat and Algiers to reopen borders separating the two neighboring countries. In an interview conducted by TSA Algeria, the party's president Abderrazak Makri said on Wednesday, 19th of September, that closing borders was «an unacceptable political, economic, cultural and social mistake», that must be «reviewed». Abderrazak Makri commented on the Moroccan Algerian diplomatic relations, describing them as «tense». «Algeria and Morocco must reach a common ground when it comes to the Western Sahara dispute, which poisons their ties», he added. «We have a common destiny, because we are the same people. We have a shared culture, language, religious doctrine and geographical features (...) It is hard to tell the difference between a Moroccan national who lives in Oujda and an Algerian man living in Maghnia». Abderrazak Makri head of Algeria's Islamist party «An illogical mistake» Moreover, the Algerian politician highlighted the common points between Morocco and Algeria. «The inhabitants of the Maghreb region have many things in common. They are all familiar with Couscous, Berboucha (dish) and Burnous (a traditional dress)», he told the Algerian media. Meanwhile, Makri called for the creation of «a plan to solve the Western Sahara problem without creating tension». For him, opening land borders between the two countries «has nothing to do with this issue». «It's an illogical mistake», he stated, stressing that his party refuses this decision. For the record, this is not the first time that the Algerian party and his president call for the reopening of land borders separating Morocco and Algeria. Abderrazak Makri had repeatedly criticized in the past the policy followed by his country against the Kingdom. The Movement for the Society for Peace has become the third political force in Algeria after the Algerian elections that took place in May 4, 2017, which allowed MSP to secure 33 seats at the National People's Congress, the lower house of the Algerian Parliament. However, Abderrazak Makri had previously declared that the «Moroccan cannabis», according to him, would invade Algeria. He also pointed at the «Saudi military support to the kingdom with the assistance of France». In November 2016, Abderrazzak Makri welcomed at the MSP headquarters, Saadeddine El Othmani while visiting Algeria. The Moroccan-Algerian land borders have been closed since 1994 following the terrorist attack on the Atlas Asni hotel in Marrakech, in which Algerians were involved. Morocco had imposed following this tragedy visas on Algerian nationals, wishing to enter the Kingdom. As a response, Algeria closed its land borders with Morocco.
