Ahmed Raissouni said his remarks on the historical relationship between Mauritania and Morocco concern historical facts and data that are open to debate and verification, denying that they were intended to affect the nature of the current political relations between the two countries or to call for changing them.
In a post on his personal page, Raissouni said he had spoken about the subject spontaneously, in answer to a question during an interview, adding that he had never raised the issue on his own initiative despite decades of writing and public speaking.
He praised Mauritanians' response to his remarks, saying most of the comments he had read were polite and respectful despite strong objections, and expressed his esteem for Mauritanians, describing them as among the most intelligent Arabs he has known.
On the substance, Raissouni said his remarks draw on ideas and historical data found in old and recent books and documents, and that a number of Mauritanian scholars and leaders, among others, hold such views. He stressed that these views remain open to debate and that anyone has the right to reject them in whole or in part.
He insisted that he holds no official position and represents no party, and that his remarks concern history only, not the current political reality or what relations between Mauritania and Morocco should be in the future.
He also reaffirmed his support for the Arab Maghreb Union project as the best way to bring the region's countries closer, recalling that he had proposed a symbolic unity march between Nouakchott and Tripoli. He concluded by regretting the stalling of unity and integration projects in the Maghreb, in the face of what he described as colonial maps dating back to the Sykes-Picot agreement.
