MEDI1TV Afrique : LE GRAND JOURNAL MIDI - 18/10/2024
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00:00Thank you for joining us for this round of news, here are the headlines.
00:23The European Council reiterates the need to preserve close relations with the Kingdom
00:29in all areas of the Morocco-EU partnership, a position reaffirmed by the 27 Member States of the EU.
00:35Details in a few moments.
00:40Annual report on the Moroccan SARA.
00:42UN Secretary-General António Guterres recommends to the Security Council
00:47to extend for a year the mandate of the MINUSCO until October 31, 2025.
00:52Conflict in the Middle East.
00:57Joe Biden is in Berlin for his last official visit, centred on the aftermath of the war in Gaza.
01:04A visit that takes place the day after the assassination of the chief of Hamas, Yair Yassinouar.
01:09We meet again right away for the unveiling.
01:12Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, we are opening the news with the European Council,
01:20which brings together the heads of state and government of the 27 EU Member States,
01:25to reaffirm today, at a summit in Brussels,
01:28the great value that the European Union attaches to its strategic partnership with Morocco.
01:34The European Council has also reiterated the need to preserve and continue to strengthen
01:40close relations with the Kingdom in all areas of the Morocco-EU partnership.
01:46This is the third time since the declaration of the European Court of Justice two weeks ago
01:52that the EU has reaffirmed its commitment at the highest level,
01:55notably with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen,
02:00and the High Representative of the EU, Josep Borrell,
02:02who had reaffirmed in a joint statement the commitment of the European Bloc
02:07in favour of strengthening close relations with Morocco in all areas.
02:16In this same dynamic, António Guterres made public on Thursday
02:20his annual report on the Moroccan Sahara.
02:24A report in which the Secretary-General of the United Nations recommends
02:29to the Security Council to extend the mandate of the EU from one year
02:33until 31 October 2025.
02:36As in previous years, this report examines, among other things,
02:39the question of human rights by underlining the assistance to the population
02:43sequestered in the camps of the Tinouf,
02:46as well as the protection of human rights in the Moroccan Sahara.
02:53On the proposal to extend the mandate of the Minister Zakaria Goudaab,
02:58Professor of International Relations and Political Sciences
03:03at the University of Rabat-Mohamed V,
03:05he gives us his analysis.
03:07We couldn't do better in the face of the stagnation of the dossier,
03:12especially following the irresponsible actions of the police,
03:17which could have put an end to it.
03:19So, at least, it allows us to stabilize the situation for a year,
03:24because it is also an issue that is not only geopolitical or security,
03:28it is also a financial issue.
03:30It would be necessary to convince the members of the Security Council
03:34of the well-founded nature of the matter,
03:35but at the same time to engage in a logic of appeasement,
03:39of de-escalation,
03:40because, you know, this issue,
03:43the artificial conflict on the Moroccan Sahara,
03:46stems from the point of view of the management of chapter 6
03:50of the UN Charter entitled
03:52the Pacific Regulations of the Different.
03:54And so, we expect, from there,
03:58to reactivate at least the roundtables,
04:00but also, it must be said,
04:02because it is connected to what Mr Guterres proposed
04:04following the interim report
04:07which was elaborated by Mr Staffan de Mistura,
04:10his personal envoy,
04:11but also on the basis of the investigations
04:14carried out by the special representative
04:16of the UN Secretary-General
04:18on site in the Moroccan city of Aïeu, of course.
04:21And so, we can say, roughly speaking,
04:23it is my personal reading,
04:24that there has not really been a major contribution
04:26in relation to this report.
04:28It will be a little part of the continuity.
04:30The context, it is a context of tension,
04:32it must be underlined,
04:34but it would be necessary to take the necessary, urgent measures,
04:37first of all to restore the ceasefire,
04:39but to push the protagonists,
04:41especially on the Algerian side,
04:43to resume talks and move forward.
04:47Let us now go to New York,
04:50where the 4th Commission of the UN General Assembly continues.
04:55Yesterday was marked by the appointment
04:58of the permanent representative of Morocco to the UN.
05:01To note, Morocco,
05:03by presenting its autonomy plan to the Security Council in 2007,
05:07made the bold bet on a negotiated solution,
05:10unimposed, inclusive, non-partisan,
05:14projected towards the future,
05:15and not grounded in a pastoral vision typical of Algeria.
05:20The Moroccan diplomat added
05:22that the principles and values
05:24presided over the Pact for the Future,
05:26recently adopted by the Member States of the UN,
05:29are those that Morocco has made its own
05:32for the settlement of the difference around its Sahara.
05:36The American cities of Arlington and Columbus
05:40have respectively signed a twinning agreement
05:43with the communes of Laayoune and Akhla.
05:46Visiting the kingdom,
05:48the mayors of these two American cities
05:50fell under the charm of the southern provinces.
05:54Details with Soheil Jalil.
05:57The mayors of the United States
05:58salute the development dynamics
06:00under His Majesty the King Mohammed VI.
06:02The President of the Conference of Mayors of the United States,
06:05Andrew Ginter,
06:06expressed his admiration for the vision
06:08and wisdom of His Majesty the King Mohammed VI
06:11in terms of urban development,
06:13in particular in the cities of the Moroccan Sahara.
06:15The delegation of American mayors visiting Morocco
06:18was marked by the signing of a twinning agreement
06:21between the American cities of Arlington and Columbus,
06:23with respectively Laayoune and Akhla.
06:25This visit is a privileged opportunity
06:28to see on the ground the urban transformations
06:31and development projects
06:32that are taking place throughout the kingdom.
06:36I would like to express my joy
06:37to visit the city of Dakhla for the first time
06:40and to get to know the Moroccan people in person
06:42in order to forge very important relations.
06:44I would also like to salute the clear-sighted vision
06:46of His Majesty the King Mohammed VI
06:48in favor of the development of the southern provinces of the kingdom.
06:51This agreement opens promising perspectives
06:53beneficial for the population of Dakhla and Columbus
06:56through the sharing of good practices
06:58in several areas,
06:59including culture and sustainable development.
07:10This is a very old relationship.
07:12We have always loved Morocco.
07:14I have been there several times
07:15and I have the impression that the Moroccan people
07:18also love the United States.
07:19We have time to learn from our respective cultures
07:22and we can exchange teaching,
07:24industries, technologies and cultural differences.
07:28All of this makes us richer in life
07:30and not only in terms of money.
07:49This is the second ratification of such an agreement
07:51between the kingdom and the United States.
07:53This partnership is very important
07:55for the city of Laayoune and our southern provinces.
07:57Also, these agreements are the extension
07:59of the American recognition of the Moroccan identity
08:02of our southern provinces
08:03and of our territorial integrity.
08:05This shows that the United States continues
08:07to consider the Moroccan plan of autonomy
08:09as the only serious, credible and realistic plan.
08:13The Moroccan leadership
08:15and its self-determination is the only solution.
08:20The visit of the American delegation
08:22illustrates the vitality of the cooperation
08:24between Washington and Rabat,
08:25carried out by concrete development projects
08:27in the cities and by a common desire
08:29to strengthen economic and social ties.
08:32These acts of twinning also reflect the particular interest
08:35that cities contribute to cultural exchange,
08:37socio-economic development,
08:39the improvement of environmental governance,
08:41education
08:43and the strengthening of the capacities
08:44of the rising generations.
08:48And in the conflict in the Middle East,
08:49Joe Biden arrived in Berlin yesterday
08:52for his last official visit to Germany,
08:54centred on the outcome of this war
08:56after the death of the chief of Hamas.
08:59The announcement by Israel of the death of Yair Yassinouar,
09:02killed in a military operation in the Gaza Strip,
09:05marks, in turn, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
09:09US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
09:11announced that he would soon go to Tel Aviv,
09:14adding that he hoped to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.
09:20A Hamas official said today
09:24that the Palestinian movement could not be eliminated
09:28despite the death of its leaders,
09:29without confirming that its chief, Yair Yassinouar,
09:32had been killed in Gaza.
09:34It seems that Israel thinks that killing our leaders
09:38means the end of our movement
09:40and the struggle of the Palestinian people.
09:42But Hamas is a movement led by people
09:45who seek freedom and dignity,
09:48and this cannot be eliminated,
09:50said Bassem Naim,
09:52a member of the political bureau of Hamas.
09:57And this Friday,
09:58the Lebanese prime minister denounced
10:00the flagrant interference of Iran
10:02after Iranian officials said
10:06they were ready to negotiate a ceasefire in Lebanon
10:09and ask for the convocation
10:11of the Iranian business leader in Beirut.
10:14This is the first time that Najib Mikati,
10:16who maintains good relations with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah,
10:20represented within his cabinet,
10:23adopts such a position.
10:25Iranian Parliament President Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf,
10:29who went to Beirut last week,
10:33stated in an article published on Thursday by Le Figaro
10:36that Tehran would be ready to negotiate with Paris
10:38a ceasefire in Lebanon
10:40since the intensification of Israeli operations in Lebanon.
10:43On September 23,
10:45at least 1,418 people were killed
10:48according to an account made
10:50from official data
10:52and more than a million forced to leave their homes.
10:56Place now,
10:58Tour d'Horizon of the US presidential election.
11:01The US presidential election
11:11Donald Trump and Kamala Harris
11:14are moving their duel this Friday in Michigan,
11:18one of the most disputed states
11:19in a fierce race for the White House,
11:22marked by fierce debates
11:24around American support for Israel.
11:27A large number of American Arabs
11:29residing in this state in northern Canada
11:33also traditionally tend to support
11:36the Democratic candidate in the presidential election,
11:39but are very critical this year
11:41of the Biden administration,
11:43of which the Democratic candidate
11:45is part vis-à-vis the war in Gaza and Lebanon.
11:49Kamala Harris is well aware
11:50that this line could cost her votes
11:53in an ultra-tight election
11:54where each ballot counts.
11:56If the Democrat has estimated
11:58that the death of Yair Yassinoua
11:59will bring an end to the war in Gaza,
12:02Donald Trump has not yet reacted
12:05to the death of Hamas' leader.
12:10And as the presidential election approaches,
12:12on November 5,
12:13the Biden and Kamala Harris administration
12:15has announced new student debt cancels
12:19for civil servants.
12:21This easing concerns
12:22some 60,000 nurses and nurses,
12:26social workers, military, emergency workers
12:29and firefighters,
12:30for a total amount of 4.5 billion dollars
12:33in annulled debt.
12:34The White House program
12:36allows the cancellation of the remaining salary
12:38of the student loan for civil servants
12:40who have paid 120 monthly payments,
12:42that is, 10 years of reimbursement.
12:57Back in the continent,
12:59heading to Somalia,
13:00where seven people, including soldiers,
13:03were found dead and six others were injured
13:06in a suicide attack perpetrated yesterday
13:08in front of a police academy in Mogadishu.
13:11The attack, which took place in a rest area,
13:14was attributed to a member
13:16of the extremist group Khawarij,
13:19to indicate the command of the Somali police.
13:22Police forces are carrying out
13:23an in-depth investigation
13:25on the scene to get more details
13:28and bring the people responsible
13:29before the justice system
13:30to add the same source in their statement.
13:36This time in Senegal,
13:38the National Council for the Regulation of Audiovisual
13:41has brought together the political actors
13:43whose lists are validated
13:45for the legislative elections
13:46anticipated for 17 November.
13:48The goal is to set the daily antenna time
13:51on national television.
13:53Abdelbari Echerdaou will give us the report.
13:57In prelude to the legislative elections
13:59anticipated for 17 November,
14:02the National Council for the Regulation of Audiovisual
14:05has organized a meeting
14:07with the political parties and coalitions
14:09to determine the antenna time
14:11reserved for each on the national RTS channel.
14:15During this meeting,
14:16Senegal has also proceeded to draw lots
14:20to establish the passing order
14:22for the election campaign.
14:25We have taken a relatively short time
14:30to wrap up everything that was planned for the program,
14:33namely to examine the proposals
14:36that were made
14:37regarding the coverage of the election campaign
14:42for the propaganda of the enlisted lists,
14:44of the 41 lists,
14:46and also in relation to the raised concerns
14:50regarding the technical constraints
14:53that the RTS is facing.
14:55The political parties of the presidential movement
14:59and the opposition,
15:00as well as the independent entities
15:02have responded massively to the presence,
15:04saluting the organization of this meeting.
15:07We salute and congratulate
15:11the clarity and transparency
15:14of which the National Council for the Regulation of Audiovisual
15:17and Senegalese Television
15:19has shown us in detail
15:24all the provisions and modalities
15:26that have been taken to allow Senegalese
15:28to follow this election campaign
15:31and give the right to information
15:34to all citizens, to all voters.
15:37The meeting went very well.
15:39A lot of consensus was established and consolidated,
15:44especially in relation to the antenna time
15:46because previously we had set two minutes per coalition
15:51and we agreed on three minutes
15:53because there are 41 lists.
15:55So at this point,
15:57it was really something to be saluted.
15:59Secondly,
16:01for the coverage,
16:05the RTS and the CNRA agreed
16:08to give each candidate,
16:12in terms of lists,
16:15a technical team that will accompany them for 21 days.
16:19As a reminder, the election campaign
16:21will open on Sunday, October 25, 2024
16:24and will end on Sunday, November 15, 2024 at midnight.
16:30And it's time for the guest of the major media newspaper TV.
16:33I told you, the Council of Europe
16:36gathers the heads of state
16:38and the government of the 27 member states of the EU,
16:40a summit during which
16:42the Council reaffirmed the great value
16:44that the European Union attaches
16:46to its strategic partnership
16:48with the Kingdom of Morocco.
16:50And to talk about it, we are with Mr. Christophe Boutin,
16:52Professor of Public Law
16:54at the University of Caen.
16:56Hello to you and thank you for answering our invitation.
17:00Hello.
17:02So can you,
17:04first of all,
17:06quickly remind us of the functioning
17:08of European institutions,
17:10the place and weight of the Council of Europe,
17:12to better understand the issue
17:14of its declarations at the highest European level?
17:18You are right,
17:20I think it is necessary
17:22to replace a little context.
17:24The European Union functions
17:26with three structures,
17:28the Parliament, which is supposed
17:30to represent the European peoples,
17:32the Commission, which is
17:34the general administration
17:36of the European Union,
17:38and therefore the Council of Europe.
17:40The Council of Europe is the meeting
17:42of heads of state and government,
17:44and it is the Council of Europe
17:46that ultimately decides
17:48what can be done.
17:50The Commission proposes,
17:52the Parliament controls its proposals,
17:54and in the end,
17:56the Council of Europe decides.
17:58The other player in the matter
18:00is of course the Court of Justice
18:02of the European Union,
18:04which is, as any independent judge
18:06of other bodies,
18:08and which has to give its opinion
18:10on the decisions
18:12that have been made,
18:14the agreements that have been signed,
18:16as was the case here,
18:18with two different agreements,
18:20with Morocco,
18:22an agreement on fishing
18:24and an agreement on the export
18:26of agricultural products.
18:28We mentioned it earlier,
18:30it is the third time since the decision
18:32of the European Court of Justice
18:34two weeks ago that the EU reaffirms
18:36this commitment at the highest level.
18:38How do you analyse this renewed commitment,
18:40reformulated at the highest level,
18:42in favour of Morocco?
18:46Listen, it proves
18:48that there is a tension,
18:50not to say a certain disagreement,
18:52between the appreciation
18:54made by the Commission
18:56and the Council on the one hand,
18:58and the appreciation made
19:00by the European judge on the other hand,
19:02on the way in which the agreements
19:04signed by the European Union
19:06can concern
19:08the Moroccan Sahara.
19:10The Commission
19:12and the Council
19:14considered that the agreements
19:16they had signed had obtained
19:18the agreement, the consent
19:20of the concerned population,
19:22and above all,
19:24in line with what had been judged
19:26before by this time
19:28the English Court,
19:30that these agreements
19:32benefited the concerned population.
19:36On this point,
19:38that there is a disagreement
19:40with the approach made by the European judge,
19:42the European judge
19:44considered that if there was indeed
19:46taken into account the concerned population,
19:48it did not mean that the concerned people
19:50had been clearly
19:52and clearly taken into account.
19:54In a decision,
19:56it must be said, quite ambiguous,
19:58since at the same time the European judge
20:00asks that the agreement,
20:02the consent of the concerned people,
20:04exists, while saying
20:06at the same time that this agreement
20:08may not be explicit,
20:10but implicit. We see the difficulties.
20:12Finally,
20:14the European judge chose
20:16to respond carefully
20:18by leaving the agreements
20:20subsisted for another year,
20:22which gives time
20:24to the European Union and Morocco
20:26to find other solutions.
20:28Solutions whose European Union,
20:30you are right to say,
20:32has reaffirmed by the voice
20:34of the President of the Commission,
20:36Ursula von der Leyden,
20:38by the voice of her representative
20:40for foreign policy,
20:42and now even more strikingly,
20:44by the voice of the European Council,
20:46therefore heads of state and government.
20:48This cooperation with Morocco
20:50must not only be reaffirmed,
20:52but must even progress,
20:54as judged by the texts
20:56that have been given.
20:58And why, in your opinion,
21:00such a dissension between the positions
21:02of the Court of Justice of the EU
21:04and the other institutions of the European Union
21:06at the place of the Kingdom of Morocco?
21:08Once again,
21:10because the Commission
21:12and the Council
21:14somehow judge
21:16the reality of the situation.
21:18What interests them
21:20is to know if the agreements
21:22made with Morocco benefit
21:24the populations concerned,
21:26the populations of the territory
21:28of the Moroccan Sahara,
21:30which is clearly the case.
21:32The European Court of Justice
21:34remains in a very strictly
21:36legal approach
21:38linked to the question
21:40of territory
21:42having to access or not
21:44sovereignty, linked to tensions
21:46on this territory and to debates
21:48on the UN scene,
21:50and refers not to the notion
21:52of population, but to the notion
21:54of people. It is technically,
21:56if you will, on the difference
21:58between the two that agreements exist.
22:00Moreover, it must be recognized
22:02that the tension between the institutions
22:04is more important
22:06because a number of states,
22:08France very recently,
22:10but Spain before it,
22:12states that are directly
22:14concerned by the agreements
22:16that have been signed, Spain for fishing
22:18in a fairly obvious way,
22:20these states recognize
22:22the Moroccan position
22:24and support the Moroccan autonomy plan
22:26at the UN.
22:28You mentioned a little earlier,
22:30as the President of the European Commission
22:32and the representatives
22:34of the EU before him,
22:36the European Council also reiterated
22:38the need to preserve and continue
22:40to strengthen close relations
22:42with the Kingdom of Morocco
22:44in all areas of Morocco-EU partnership.
22:46What analysis do you also make?
22:50Listen, the fact
22:52that the European Council
22:54here insisted on the idea that
22:56it was necessary not to continue the agreements,
22:58but to progress, can also be seen
23:00as a certain response to a
23:02somewhat curious pressure,
23:04that of Algeria,
23:06which has just brought
23:08some ambassadors
23:10to its Ministry of Foreign Affairs
23:12to, in a way,
23:14ask them
23:16whether they intend
23:18or not to apply
23:20the decision of justice of the European Court.
23:22Of course, the answer is yes,
23:24the European states
23:26will apply the decision
23:28of the CGE.
23:30It is a bit surprising to see here
23:32this Algerian pressure, and I believe
23:34that there may also be a disturbance
23:36and a part of the response
23:38of the heads of state
23:40and government, because I recall
23:42that they are sitting
23:44in the European Council,
23:46who recall that not only
23:48cooperation with Morocco
23:50is a useful cooperation
23:52in many areas,
23:54essential, and that they
23:56wish more than ever to see it progress
23:58today.
24:00And in view of this commitment,
24:02of new formulas,
24:04formulated by the three
24:06largest European institutions
24:08regarding Rabat,
24:10what kind of strategic partnership
24:12could it take, in your opinion,
24:14in order to strengthen itself?
24:18On the elements that affect
24:20the issue of trade,
24:22there will necessarily need
24:24to be a renegotiation
24:26of the texts, a renegotiation
24:28of the agreements. By the way,
24:30the agreement on fishing, in any case,
24:32has been terminated since 2023.
24:34If we want to continue it,
24:36a new agreement must be reestablished
24:38on the export of agricultural products.
24:40But the cooperation
24:42between the Kingdom of Morocco
24:44and the European Union does not stop
24:46at the issue of trade.
24:48Currently, we know that there is
24:50a very strong tradition of cooperation
24:52between the Kingdom
24:54and the European Union
24:56in the fight against
24:58terrorism, in which Morocco
25:00provides absolutely decisive
25:02assistance to the European Union.
25:04Moreover, we know that the European Union
25:06is committed to a
25:08reform of its immigration
25:10policy, and
25:12there too, it will necessarily
25:14need to have agreements
25:16and a healthy, effective
25:18collaboration with
25:20the Kingdom of Morocco.
25:22Of course, all this in the case of
25:24a strategic partnership between
25:26him and Morocco. Thank you again,
25:28Christophe Boutin. I remind you
25:30that you are a professor of public law
25:32at the University of Caen.
25:38And this concludes this newscast.
25:40Thank you for following us.
25:42We will see you again on Mediain TV Africa.