Algiers–Paris–Dubai: Beyond the Media Offensive
On May 2, 2025, Algerian public television launched an unprecedented verbal attack on the United Arab Emirates. Labeling the country a “mini artificial state” and accusing it of attacking “the identity and unity of the Algerian people,” ENTV far exceeded standard diplomatic norms. Officially, the outburst was triggered by statements made by historian Mohamed Lamine Belghit on Sky News Arabia, in which he denied the existence of Amazigh culture. However, sources suggest Algerian intelligence services discovered advanced contacts between the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylia (MAK) and individuals close to Mohammed Bin Zayed (MBZ). This claim is entirely false.
The supposed MAK-UAE relationship is a pure invention of Algerian intelligence services, which have failed in all their foreign operations. The botched kidnapping attempts of journalist Hichem Aboud (twice) and YouTuber Amir Boukhors exposed the incompetence of these services, led by General Fethi Rochdi Moussaoui, whose rapid rise is due more to servility than to skill.
Moreover, the international success of the MAK is hard to digest for a regime whose diplomacy consistently fails.
Revelation: A Channel Between MAK and Abu Dhabi
The Directorate General for External Documentation and Security claims to have evidence of discussions between Kabyle envoys and Emirati figures. In March 2024, a decisive meeting allegedly took place in Manhattan on the sidelines of a minority rights forum. Talks supposedly focused on logistical and diplomatic support for the MAK—an organization labeled terrorist by Algiers. Yet, unless proven otherwise, the MAK, which is publicly known to be financially struggling, would likely seek funding from Dubai before anything else.
MAK’s success lies elsewhere than in supposed UAE contacts: participation in the UN Minority Forum in New York, support from the Canadian parliament, and an invitation to the French Senate—these are serious blows to the Algerian regime.
Algerian Intelligence in Total Disarray
The Algerian regime has launched a calculated media counteroffensive, aimed at discrediting the MAK and its potential backers. It uses outdated propaganda that fails to convince even its creators. Recently, public TV aired a news segment at 8 PM claiming the dismantling of a MAK network smuggling weapons from Marseille. France was explicitly mentioned as a MAK supporter. Paris did not respond to these absurdities spread by a TV channel—even if it is the regime’s mouthpiece. Two days later, a crude attack was launched against the UAE, under the pretext that Algiers is defending Tamazight, a culture it long denied and repressed.
This escalation against the UAE occurs in an already tense context. Since 2020, relations between Algiers and Abu Dhabi have deteriorated due to disagreements over Libya, opposing positions on normalization with Israel, and suspicions of Emirati interference in the Sahel. In April 2024, President Tebboune accused—without naming—the UAE of funding destabilization attempts in the region. A few months earlier, a pro-government Arabic daily announced the expulsion of five Emirati diplomats declared persona non grata, accused of espionage. The news was quickly removed from the website, and the Communication Minister was dismissed at 11 PM by Tebboune himself. Since then, relations between the two countries have steadily declined under constant propaganda driven by Algerian intelligence.
With France, Algeria’s aggressive rhetoric has escalated since Emmanuel Macron recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in July. Algeria even accused France of financing and arming the MAK. This could be enough to justify a declared state of general mobilization—a concept increasingly discussed. This reflects the regime’s attempt to cover up both internal and external failures and brace for more setbacks. Declaring a state of war would allow the regime to imprison more citizens, as provided by the draft law on general mobilization. A 10-year prison sentence could be imposed on anyone refusing mobilization or criticizing it.
Self-Determination: A Double Standard
The crisis exposes Algeria’s double standards regarding the right to self-determination. A vocal supporter of the Polisario Front, Palestine, and now the Moroccan Rif (yes, that’s new!), the Algerian regime denies this same right to its own 44 million citizens. Denied the right to freely elect their local councils, parliament, and president, Algerians live under the rule of a gang imposed through force, fraud, and lies. So how could this regime accept the right of Kabylia to self-determination?
For Algiers, any foreign support for the MAK is a casus belli. The May 2025 response seeks to halt this and prevent more direct involvement by the UAE or France. Two scenarios are possible: continued contained tension or a full diplomatic rupture, as happened with Morocco in 2021.
We warned you dealing with a thug regime means anything is possible.
By Hichem Aboud
