Muntassir Zane

The Ministerial Meeting for the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), scheduled for August 24-25, 2024 in Tokyo, has experienced major disruptions jeopardizing the success of the event.

This is after the meeting of senior officials from Japan and African member countries of the United Nations, which was dedicated to the preparation of TICAD9, saw the break-in of certain Polisario elements not invited by Japan, who were able to enter Japanese territory as well as the conference hall thanks to Algerian travel documents and visas issued to them as members of the Algerian delegation.

According to a video sequence that has gone viral, a Polisario separatist is clearly seen secretly putting up a sign in the name of the so-called Sahrawi republic.

In response to this attempt to undermine the work of the ministerial meeting and its preparatory reunions, the Japanese side made it clear that Japan, the host country, had extended invitations to take part in TICAD9 only via its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and exclusively to African countries that are members of the United Nations, which do not include the pseudo-Rasd or the Polisario.

Again during the ministerial meeting, Japan, through its minister of foreign affairs, has also reiterated its official position, which does not recognize the pseudo-rasd.

This is not the first time that the Polisario has used such underhand maneuvers to present itself at an international meeting involving its africains strategic partner causing disruption in an attempt to sabotage the smooth running of this international event.