Bit Bit Zanga Zanga

Moroccan court take revenge from newspaper Al Massae and sentence its director Rachid Nini for a year in jail

Reporters Without Borders is dismayed by the one-year jail sentence and fine of 100 euros that a Casablanca court passed today on Rachid Nini, the editor of Al-Massae, one of Morocco's leading newspapers, at the end of a trial marked by judicial intransigence, repeated adjournments and a refusal to free him on bail.

Held since 28 April, the newspaper editor was tried on charges of disinformation and attacking state institutions, public figures and the "security and integrity of the nation and citizens" under articles 263, 264 and 266 of the criminal code.

Nini's lawyer, Khaled Sufiani, said he would appeal. "This is a very bad development for justice and civil liberties in Morocco," he told Reporters Without Borders. "This is a clear warning to journalists, so that they feel threatened when they exercise their freedom of expression."

"We are alarmed to see criminal charges being brought in a press case," Reporters Without Borders said. "This precedent opens the way to many abuses and to the withdrawal of the press law as effective legal tool. We urge the Moroccan courts to reverse this decision."

The press freedom organization added: "Three months after King Mohammed spoke of constitutional reforms in an address, the sentence imposed on Rachid Nini is tantamount to a retraction. Imprisoning a journalist is the mark of authoritarian regimes. No progress towards democracy is possible without respect for media freedom."

Reporters Without Borders wrote to the justice minister on 20 May warning against trying Nini without reference to the press law. If journalists are accused of abusing freedom of expression, "any prosecution should be carried out solely under the provisions of Morocco's press law" and any punishment should be "envisaged by the law, necessary, legitimate and proportionate," the letter said.

Al-Massae journalists told Reporters Without Borders that the prosecution was prompted by articles which criticized corruption, including corruption among close associates of the king, which raised questions about Fouad Ali El-Himma, the head of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, which referred to intelligence chief Abdellatif Hammouchi, and which called for the repeal of the anti-terrorism law.

Morocco The Old Autocracy Never Dies

The recent horse-trading these last couple of days reminds us of the one viable rule in Moroccan politics: the Makhzen Giveth and Taketh away. The agenda is set by and not imposed upon the Regime.

The nation-wide road-show Menouni’s commission has engaged in over the last three months, and the rounds of presentations political parties and other organizations did in explaining their respective views on the constitutional reform was initially supposed to be concluded with a circulated draft of the future constitution. We now discover -basically at D Day-2 from the official deadline set for the commission to make public its recommendations, that it would be best for the commission and the abnormal entity attached to it (headed by Royal Counsellor M. Moatassim, as per March 10th Royal Speech) not to circulate a written summary, but rather give a brief oral presentation, included in a 6 hours meetings, during which the invited organizations need to accept it as the accurate description of the upcoming constitution. Parallel to this manoeuvre, the Makhzenite minions are spreading ‘The Good News‘ about the changes made in Article 19, about the new powers the Prime Minister will enjoy, as well as the new concept of regionalism and extended autonomy for local democracy. Overall, and to the public opinion, these little manoeuvres go by unnoticed, while the narrative concentrates on how important the new constitution is going to be. A breakthrough in democracy, as it were.

According to these reports, the 2011 constitutional vintage is going to be unprecedented – Just like the 4 reforms that came before. If the official propaganda was to be traced back as far as 1963, we would have been at the all-times vanguard of a democracy such that no scholar in political science ever dreamt of such edifice.

Today marks the 3-Months anniversary of the King’s Speech on the constitutional reform. Much has been said, written about it. And, truth be told, whatever the plethora of opinions that followed the news, it has been a remarkable exercise of freedom of speech. However despicable and contemptible some of these pieces might have been, they were, quite simply, the true exercise of the most basic civic right: the right to discuss important public matters without self-censorship. And I am afraid the break is not going to last long. The Headmaster is about the blow the whistle and disperse the party; What is truly harrowing is the way the whole thing is carried out: sneaky, basically a Fait-Accompli. The grievances of a large spectrum about the way the commission has been set up have not been heard, and to those who refused to give it further legitimacy, they were criticized for being too ‘dogmatic’ or ‘extremists’ as if Menouni’s real boss, Counsellor Moatassim, was a beacon of democratic proceedings and a transparent operator. The burden of guilt was easily shifted to those who refused to be robbed from the essential claim for a genuine democratic, parliamentary monarchy, and little by little, these have been muted out of what can be charitably called a ‘public debate’.



Well, with these backroom manoeuvres, there is an additional body of evidence that the Regime did not fundamentally change. The traditional opacity and conspiratorial tactics are still employed. The argument, alas endorsed by many well-educated people, is that when it comes to serious stuff, all these noble gestures about democracy and public participation are useless; Writing the constitution is too serious a matter to be left to its citizens. The commission has heard those it considered fit to deliver a meaningful message, and then selected whatever suits the Monarchy best. Menouni is, at best, providing the legal phrasing.

Let us look at the numbers. At a first glance, the argument that we are not ‘ready for democracy’ might find some support in the overall picture of Moroccans’ interest -or rather, lack of thereof- in politics. The values survey has compiled data on Moroccan politics, and although the vast majority of likely voters registered -or had at least one opportunity to vote on a national or local elections, they do not give the impression of active involvement in the said political process. Indeed, 82% of all likely voters registered, and 70% already voted during an election.



But then again, past elections have been so manipulated -by the late former Interior Minister Driss Basri that these numbers might be meaningless, especially when compared to the lack of interest in politics itself: 26% of the polled sample said they “did not care much about politics” (and the proportion goes as high as 35% for rural dwellers) and only 1.7% expressed an interest in signing up for a party. Finally, 1 in 4 admits they cannot assess the state of democracy in Morocco, even though 64% are confident in Morocco’s future. As a matter of fact, there is very little interest in partisan politics: the first quality voters look for in their prospective representative is “Ma’qoul“, or integrity. 63% are unable to think within the Left-Right political spectrum.



That is why the ‘Yes’ vote will win with a landslide majority -perhaps not as large as the ones observed since 1963- because a vast majority of Moroccans -as the numbers show- will register and vote, not out of political principles, but because the vote is still a collective endavour, and not the expression of individual will. as the report notes:



“22% des citadins et 35% des ruraux déclarent ne porter aucun intérêt à la politique. Cependant, lorsqu’on prend comme indicateurs l’inscription aux listes électorales et le vote, on remarque que les ruraux sont plus intéressés par la politique que les citadins. 86% des ruraux et 80% des citadins sont inscrits aux listes électorales, 77% et 66% ont respectivement voté aux dernières élections. Deux explications peuvent être apportées à ce fait paradoxal.



On peut supposer que la mobilisation en milieu rural est collective et que souvent le vote est considéré comme un acte collectif guidé par des affinités familiales, de voisinage ou clientéliste. Les gens se déplacent en groupe pour voter. Dans ce cas, il ne s’agirait pas d’un intérêt porté à la politique au sens moderne du terme où l’individu, en tant que tel et de façon autonome, serait libre de participer ou non. [...] Dans une société rurale, et dans toute société de face à face où tout se sait, rester à l’écart des processus politiques impliquant sa communauté constitue un grand risque“. (p.54)



It is therefore safe to say that indeed, Moroccan voters are not ready for real politics. But that is confusing the outcome for its cause: Moroccans do not care about politics because they have not been given the opportunity to debate things; they have been prevented from trying to make Cartesian sense out of the political sense. Political apathy is, in short, result of the lack of their involvement in real politics, not the opposite. Indeed, the younger generations were more ready to define themselves on the political spectrum (22%) than their elders (12%) There is a high potential among the 18-35 demographic segment to take their political interest to field application. Now, how could they do so, when, on the instance of the constitutional reform, they are hurriedly prevented from having their say within a nationwide public debate?



The other figures in the report do, in a sense, explain Feb20 demographics, as well as the lack of participation in the last elections, and when one carefully reads them, can explain the need for a genuine constitutional reform, and not that half-backed, crooked deal likely to be imposed on us. Even though 18-24 Moroccans are less likely to register for voting (55%) only 13% of them declare their lack of interest in politics. They are about twice less likely not to situate political parties (29.8%) than their elders from the 45-59 segment (50.2%); Overall the 18-35 are more likely to be interested in politics than the 35+ segment.





A Nihilist Strategy since 1963

Political apathy goes back to the fact that the more educated one is, the more convinced pseudo-representative institutions are unlikely to do their job they grow. A college-degree graduate is almost twice less likely to be optimist about the country’s future (36%) than illiterate Moroccans (70%). The problem is not in voters apathy, it is in the institutions seemingly put together to represent the people. This is why I -and many others- rant against the very short period allowed for the Referendum campaign.



Whether Moroccans are ready or not to democracy is irrelevant (and quite insulting, especially from the sanctimonious bunch that portray themselves as patriotic) because there is no definite state where ‘Democracy’ is achieved. It can be so only through practise, and we are in the process of being robbed away from the perfect opportunity to exercise our civic right.

Morocco probes orgy claims against ex-French minister

Luc Ferry has been questioned by French officials over the allegations

Morocco has launched an inquiry into allegations that a French ex-minister was caught in an orgy with young boys on its territory.

Prosecutors in the city of Marrakesh are to investigate the claims, made by former French Education Minister Luc Ferry during a recent TV debate.

He refused to give any names.

Meanwhile a Moroccan child protection association has lodged a complaint in France for both "exploitation of minors" and "non-denunciation".

A lawyer for the association, Don't Touch My Child, said the complaint would be handled by Paris prosecutors, who are also investigating the case.

'High sources'

Mr Ferry, a philosopher who served as education minister from 2002 to 2004, made the allegation during a TV debate on privacy, sex and French politics on 30 May.

He said the unnamed former minister had been "caught in Marrakesh in an orgy with small boys".

He added that the information had been given to him by the "highest authorities of the state", including a former prime minister.

Last week prosecutors in Paris opened a preliminary inquiry to determine whether criminal proceedings could be launched. Mr Ferry was questioned.

France - which has strong privacy laws and a press tradition of respect for private life - had been rocked by recent sex claims against politicians.

Senior socialist Dominique Strauss-Kahn stood down as head of the International Monetary Fund last month after being charged with attempted rape in New York.

A conservative junior minister, Georges Tron, has resigned from the government following allegations of sexual harassment.

Both he and Mr Strauss-Kahn deny any wrongdoing.

Source BBC News 8 June 2011 Last updated at 22:38

Bouteflika said to be calling for the opening of the border with Morocco, and to sever ties with the Polisario

‘Without doubt there is a strong desire for the majority of the people of the tow countries  to re-link the bonds of brotherhood and solidarity between the Algerian and Moroccan brothers, but, in contrast, I could see clearly that the initiatives to achieve this noble goal come from one side is Morocco,.. These were the words of Jamal Eddine Habbi, in an interview published by the «Almasse» earlier. Habibi, who is one who made of the most prominent faces of the Algerian resistance during the French colonialism, stressed out that the President Bouteflika hase been always pushing his entourage and his associates to make the situation worse unlike of what have been said about the Army that refuses to open the border with Morocco. Jamal Eddine Habbi, who was head of the party «Popular Unity», added that «the problem or thorn of the Sahara is the reason that holds renaissance of Unified Maghereb» and that he, personally, was calling, always, to sever ties with the Polisario Front «because I was and I will refuse to built small states in the Maghreb »

Morocco's Islamists say not pushing for religious state

The main Islamist movement in Morocco defended itself Wednesday against allegations it was manipulating pro-reform protests, saying it was not pushing for the establishment of a religious state.

Moroccan authorities accuse the Justice and Charity group and the radical left of manipulating the February 20 Movement behind a series of protests demanding political reform and a limit to King Mohammed VI's powers.

"We can say loud and clear that the Justice and Charity movement is not calling for the installation of a religious state and that it is in favour of a civil state," one of its leaders, Nadia Yassine, said.

The Islamist movement is officially banned but tolerated.

"It is the first time that we are saying this in such an explicit manner because the context, linked notably to the emergence of the February 20 Movement, demands it," Yassine said.

Yassine said it was "listening" to the demands of the youth leading the protests. Asked about the group's position on state secularism, she said that would require debate.

Authorities say the movement has up to 40,000 members but its own estimates are closer to 200,000, political analyst Mohamed Darif said.

The protests, inspired by a popular uprising that overthrew Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January, have drawn thousands of people onto the streets, prompting the king to announce plans in March for major reforms.

Moroccans mourn fallen protestor

magharebia.com
By Mawassi Lahcen for Magharebia in Casablanca – 07/06/11
In the latest wave of pro-reform rallies across Morocco, demonstrators on Sunday (June 5th) marched in honour of February 20 Movement protestor Kamal Amari.

Marchers at the front of the rallies held up large portraits of Amari, who died in Safi on Thursday (June 2nd), allegedly at the hands of police. Protestors demanded that the police involved in his death be punished. Contrary to the previous two weeks, security forces did not confront the demonstrators.

Following Amari's death, Safi witnessed massive demonstrations on Sunday, with people calling for political reforms, an end to corruption and a democratic constitution with credible elections. Meanwhile in Rabat, thousands marched in defiance of a protest ban. Casablanca, Fez, Tangier, Marrakech and other cities also saw reform rallies.
Demonstrators held up black flags and banners to express their grief. Some also carried coffins to symbolise Amari's funeral. Others chanted slogans demanding the trial of his alleged killers, while condemning authorities for using violence against peaceful protestors.

However, local authorities in Safi denied that Amari died after being attacked by security forces, claiming that his death was due to an illness in his lungs, resulting in suffocation and cardiac arrest.

The official version of events contrasted with claims by eyewitnesses and members of Amari's family, who insist that he died after being beaten by security forces during the May 29th reform protests in Safi.

"Seven security men stopped my brother after demonstrations had ended and battered him severely all over his body, resulting in several wounds, the most serious of which was one at the back of his head," Kamal's brother, Abdul Nabi Amari, told Magharebia. "Worried he might be arrested and tortured again, Kamal did not go to Mohammed V Hospital, and preferred to seek treatment in a private clinic."

"However, his condition deteriorated and was eventually transferred to Mohammed V Hospital, where he died in much pain. The family keeps pictures and videos showing the wounds and bruises sustained by Kamal which resulted in his death," his brother added.

The National Council for Human Rights, appointed by King Mohammed VI last April, announced the formation of a commission to investigate the causes of Amari's death.
Additionally, the public prosecutor in Safi appointed medical examiners to run a forensic autopsy on Amari's body and determine the cause of his death. Their report concluded that the cause of death was "extensive pneumopathy with the brain receiving no oxygen", according to a press release from the prosecutor.

The statement added that lung disease "exacerbated the effect of a non-complex chest bruising, and led to death in the absence of early and appropriate treatment". Following the release of the coroner's report, the public prosecutor asked the judiciary police to conduct an investigation.

"The autopsy report included an explicit recognition that the cause of death was an assault against Kamal Amari, though it tried to circumvent the issue by claiming that the lung disease exacerbated the blows received by Amari on his chest," commented Hassan Benajeh, a spokesperson for the Justice and Charity Association, of which Amari was a member.

"We, the February 20th Movement, have enough evidence, pictures and videos, and certificates, which we put at the disposal of independent human rights associations, and which clearly show the attack on Kamal that led to his death," Benajeh said.