North Africa, South Africa
North Africa POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS International Relations T -LHE YEAR was marked by greater rapprochement among the coun- tries of North Africa. Old disputes were settled or were on the way to settle- ment, and agreements for cooperation were developed. There was also a general improvement in relations between the countries of North Africa and nations outside the immediate area. However, there was increased anti-Israel activity, primarily on the diplomatic and public-relations fronts. A development of potential importance, but one whose effects could not yet be assessed fully, was the overthrow in September of King Idris of Libya by a group of young officers under strong Egyptian influence. Treaties of solidarity and cooperation were signed between Tunisia and Morocco, in January, and between Algeria and Libya, in February. When President Houari Boumedienne of Algeria visited King Hassan of Morocco to draw up the document, Hassan used the occasion to emphasize the im- portance of unity and regional agreements for the development of the Arab countries and the preservation of their freedom against outside aggression, particularly by Israel. Negotiations for a similar treaty between Algeria and Tunisia began in January, a year behind schedule, but there were difficulties because Tunisia gave asylum to Algerian political refugees and because the Tunisian press charged that there were Soviet bases in Algeria. Not until December was there an announcement that complete agreement had been reached on "all pending questions," apparently including disagreements on the delineation of the frontier. A number of international conferences took place in Algeria and Morocco in 1969. The annual conference of African ministers of labor, meeting in Algiers in March, called for a boycott of cargoes coming from South Africa, Portugal, and Israel, a demand which, however, failed to win the support of several countries from other parts of the continent.
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