Rabat, Morocco (TMT)- During yesterday’s daily press briefing, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban-Ki-moon, said that this later’s “use of the word [occupation] was not planned, nor was it deliberate, it was a spontaneous, personal reaction. We regret the misunderstandings and consequences that this personal expression of solicitude provoked.”
Even though if Ban Ki-moon regrets using the word, this is not an apology at all. For example, in the downing of US surveillance aircraft in China a couple of years ago, US president, George W. Bush has expressed deep regret but has refused to apologise, despite the Chinese government demanding it.
On the political level, the difference between regret and apologize is huge. While the first one [regret] may sound polite and nice, it still shows neutrality, with no legal consequences. The second one [ apologize] entails serious implications with legal consequences.
Morocco is calling on Ban Ki-moon to formally apologize, especially that he agreed to do so when meeting in New York Morocco’s minister of Foreign Affairs, in a hot tempered meeting to say the least, before turning his back again.
Morocco’s spokesman Khalfi said recently that Ban Ki-moon “agreed to apologize, but failed to honor his commitment,” something that adds more salt to the injury.
Morocco is accusing Ban of dropping the U.N.’s avowed neutrality in the Sahara dossier when using, unprecedentedly, the word occupation to refer to Morocco recovering its formerly colonized lands from Spain in 1975.
The Moroccan Times.
