Mohamed Abdelaziz – President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Every now and then, World Leaders in Their Underpants is confronted with the dilemma that in recognising a state, we may alienate others. However, our policy is to admit all in the firm belief that trouser-free diplomacy is, ultimately, the only hope for peace on our planet.
And thus it is we arrive in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a sovereign state in Western Sahara, or, a province of Morocco, depending who you ask. According to Moroccans, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is as a puppet state, and the nation with its hand in the boggle-eyed glove is their neighbour, Algeria.
Mohamed Abdelaziz, seen here in his underpants, wouldn’t take kindly to being called a boggle-eyed glove, but if the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a puppet state, then surely, as their president, he is the puppet. Stripped of his outer-garments, we can see that he does not resemble a glove, nor does he have strings, back-lighting, rods, or any other accessories that would readily identify him as an object manipulated by an entertainer. And even if he were, the evidence suggests that Morocco isn’t enjoying the show.
Here at World Leaders in Their Underpants, the leaders are revealed, unguarded in their undergarments, in a highly unlikely utopia of transnational recognition. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is not recognised by the UN, but it is a member of the African Union. Morocco, on the other hand, is the only African nation not in the African Union. Now, like Israel and Palestine before them, they must stand side-by-side with the other World Leaders, bare-chested and unashamed.
