MOROCCO: Reform as a path to a genuine constitutional monarchy

Editor’s note: The post is from an analyst with the Carnegie Middle East Center. Neither the Los Angeles Times nor Babylon & Beyond endorses the positions of the analysts, nor does Carnegie endorse the positions of The Times or its blog.

When King Mohammed VI announced broad changes to Morocco’s constitution in March, he signaled a shift from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy. The new, elected government that results from these changes will be accountable to parliament, have an independent judiciary, offer a more decentralized governance system, provide broader individual liberties and offer women the same chance of winning elected office as men.

The changes came suddenly. Before massive protests erupted in Morocco on Feb. 20 — part of the upheaval that has swept across North Africa and elsewhere in the Middle East — the political scene seemed stagnant; no political party was pressing for constitutional changes.

On that day, however, protesters in more than 50 Moroccan cities called to set boundaries on the king’s powers and hand over the executive prerogatives to an elected government that voters can hold accountable. The king apparently received the message, although he did not make any explicit reference to the protests in his speech.

The announced constitutional reforms open new opportunities for political life in Morocco. Seven significant suggested changes included in the reforms would do the following:

Shift executive power from the king to the prime minister. The prime minister will serve as the head of the executive branch and is fully responsible for the government, the civil service and the implementation of the government’s agenda.

In the current constitution, the prime minister is responsible only for coordinating activities among the ministers of government. With the prime minister selected from the political party that enjoys a majority in parliament, parties will need to develop their economic and social platforms.

MOROCCO: Peaceful anti-government protests allowed to proceed, more planned

Anti-government protests against Morocco's monarchy in the North African country's two largest cities were allowed to proceed and ended without violence Sunday.

About 60,000 protesters gathered in a main square in Casablanca, activists said, but no riot police showed up to limit the crowd, as they have at previous demonstrations.

Riot police were also absent at protests in the capital of Rabat, where videos posted online showed thousands marching down a main road leading to parliament, chanting, “The people want to overthrow tyranny! The people want to overthrow corruption!”

MOROCCO: What a GCC membership would mean for the economy

The Gulf Cooperation Council’s unprecedented decision to invite Morocco and approve Jordan’s request to join its ranks came as a surprise to political observers in the region and outside. Since its inception, the council has been reluctant to grant membership to other states in the region.

Even though Yemen represents a natural geographic extension and strategic depth for the Gulf states, the council has always refused its membership request. It has also dealt cautiously for a decade with Jordan’s application for a free-trade zone agreement.

Political uprisings and new security concerns that surfaced in the Middle East and North Africa over the past few months explain the unexpected move by the GCC. Gulf countries are in the process of building new strategic alliances to face the Arab Spring’s ramifications on both domestic and regional politics. Yet, Morocco’s membership in the GCC does not seem to be the right option. The cost of its membership may be incommensurate with the expected benefits for both parties.

MOROCCO: Antigovernment protesters clash with police

 

Thousands of demonstrators Sunday took to the streets of Casablanca, the country's largest city, in an antigovernment protest police struggled to disperse, driving into the crowd on motorcycles, armed with clubs.

A similar protest in the capital's twin city of Sale on Sunday also was violently disrupted, as was a demonstration in front of the Moroccan parliament Saturday.

 

Morocco's King Mohammed VI and the ruling elite, or makhzen, have so far avoided the massive "Arab Spring" uprisings that have swept other North African and Middle East countries, promising concessions and constitutional reforms in recent weeks as security forces successfully dispersed large crowds.

But protesters have grown both more assertive and organized in recent days, particularly the antigovernment Feb. 20 movement formed in the wake of uprisings in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, which mounted Sunday's protest in Sale. On Sunday, well-known blogger Mamfakinch (which roughly translates as "We won't give up") posted Google maps of the protests online and live blogged their progress with photo and video updates. He posted witness accounts in French, including observations that police allowed pro-regime protests and even mixed with the crowds, but stopped those opposing the monarchy, accosting those with cameras, including journalists. "I can confirm there are wounded, clubbed in alleys," one witness said.

Both photos and videos posted online showed bloodied protesters collapsed in the streets of Casablanca's lower income Sbata neighborhood after allegedly being beaten by police. "Contrary to what has been said, the residents of Sbata do not reject the demonstrations," a witness told Mamfakinch, "I have never seen anything like it!"

 

Activists reported several arrests and more than a dozen injuries, some critical, during the protests, but those reports could not be independently confirmed.

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Cairo

Video: (Top) Protesters take to the streets of Casablanca. (Middle and bottom) Moroccan police attempted to disperse crowds who gathered to protest in Casablanca and other Moroccan cities Sunday against the monarchy and ruling elite. Credit: Mamfakinch/YouTube.

Photo: A Moroccan protester collapsed in the streets of Casablanca's Sbata neighborhood during portests Sunday. Credit: Mamfakinch.

 

 

MOROCCO: Protest violence could escalate, intelligence analyst says

Moroccan police beat dozens of protesters who defied a ban on demonstrations and took to the streets of the capital Rabat and Casablanca on Sunday, according to news reports.

Months of protests in the north African nation have led its monarch, Mohammed VI, to make some concessions, but not enough to please protesters. They appeared more defiant Sunday, although their numbers have failed to match the scale of demonstrations in Egypt, Tunisia other countries that saw "Arab Spring" uprisings.

Babylon & Beyond spoke Monday with Metsa Rahimi, an intelligence analyst with London-based Janusian Risk Consultancy who specializes in North Africa, about the Moroccan protests.

B&B: Why are people protesting in Morocco?

M.R.: The protests have been going on for three months now, so it’s not necessarily new. It was inspired by other events in other countries in the region back in February, the 20th of February protest movement.

The economy is one of the poorest in the region, dependent on tourism, with a younger population.

In terms of the other monarchies -- there is a sense of loyalty to monarchies, as opposed to self-appointed autocrats, and so they have been less vulnerable to protesters calling for their downfall.

Q: How have Morocco's leaders and security forces responded to the protests?

A: Until now, we haven’t seen a lot of violence in Morocco. It’s all been very moderate. What we’ve seen in the last fortnight, not only has the 20th of February movement become more radical, but the police have begun to use more force.

BAHRAIN: GCC troops to remain, face increasingly radicalized youth

Sunni monarchs determined to maintain control after crushing opposition protests in the kingdom of Bahrain may soon face a new threat from increasingly alienated youths in the majority Shiite nation.

On Thursday, Bahrain’s state news agency reported that troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council are expected to stay on even after the country’s state of emergency is lifted June 1.

Sheikh Khalifa Al Khalifa, head of the Bahrain Defense Force, told the state news agency that the forces, known as the Peninsula Shield, were sent to Bahrain after protests erupted in February to defend against foreign threats, including Iran. He said Iranian, Iraqi and western agents helped orchestrate the anti-government protests.

Timeline: Repression in Bahrain

Earlier this week, the GCC, a group of six Persian Gulf nations formed in 1981, invited Jordan and Morocco to join in what some analysts have called a consolidation of power by the “Sunni Kings’ Club” in the face of popular Shiite uprisings in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen.

Salman Shaikh, director of the Brookings Doha Centre, said gulf leaders, led by Saudi Arabia, have become a “club of counterrevolutionaries” trying to reestablish an old order, with some resistance from Qatar and Kuwait, which is home to a sizable Shiite minority.

So far, gulf leaders have achieved an “uneasy calm” in Bahrain, he said, but have been unable to broker a political agreement there or in Yemen that would transform the states into constitutional monarchies.

“If you don’t come to some sort of political agreement, you’re going to have a young generation of Shiite youth who will not forget this and will be radicalized,” Shaikh said. “The danger is that they won’t be listening to anybody except maybe Iran.”

Already, he said gulf leaders may have missed their chance in Bahrain, where the government’s violent suppression of protests and alleged torture of political dissidents and medical staff, reported this week by Al Jazeera, has weakened their ability to negotiate with the opposition.

“A lot of young Bahrianis I talk to now dismiss those people, especially young Shiite Bahrainis, and seem to be moving on,” Shaikh said of the government.

MOROCCO: Explosion kills 14 at cafe frequented by tourists

An explosion Thursday at a cafe frequented by tourists in Morocco killed at least 14 people and injured 20 people, the North African nation's official news agency reported.

Preliminary results of the investigation into the explosion at the Cafe Argana in Marrakech, a major tourist destination, show that it was a "criminal act," said a statement by the Interior Ministry cited by the official MAP news agency.

Amateur video footage of the aftermath of the blast (above) showed the cafe's elegant facade crumpled by the impact of the blast. An emergency vehicle stands nearby. 

A photojournalist employed by Reuters described rescue workers removing mangled bodies from the wreckage, according to the news agency.

There was no word on the identity of the victims at the cafe, described by Lonely Planet as one of the places in Marrakech where locals and foreigners mingle. 

-- Borzou Daragahi in Beirut

Video: The aftermath of a bombing in Marrakech on Thursday. Credit: YouTube

MOROCCO: Peaceful reform as opposed to revolutionary change

While a brutal crackdown on protesters by the Syrian armed forces is underway, thousands have flocked to the streets in Moroccan cities to take part in ongoing protests that have been organized by the so-called February 20 movement.

Unlike their Syrian and Yemeni counterparts, Moroccan demonstrators are chanting “The people want the reformation of the regime," as compared to the Syrians' call for the toppling of the Assad regime. Moroccan protesters have been calling for socioeconomic and political reform as opposed to a radical transformation.

Consequently, concessions that are being made by Moroccan King Mohammed VI, such as increased independence for the judiciary, may sufficiently quell the reform-hungry movement.

MOROCCO: King says not giving in to 'demagoguery'

Moroccan King Mohammed VI said he would not give in to "demagoguery" a day after thousands of people took to the street to demand he give up some of his powers to a newly elected government.

The monarch, speaking after he chaired a ceremony for the long-awaited appointments of members of a social and economic council, said that building an effective democracy should go hand in hand with sustainable human development.

The remarks were carried by Morocco's official MAP news agency.

Meanwhile, scores of protesters attended a rally demanding political reform and limits on the king's powers in Rabat on Monday, including Khadija Riyadi, president of the Moroccan Assn. of Human Rights.

--  Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Photo: Demonstrators demanding political reform and limits on the powers of King Mohammed VI stage a protest Monday in Rabat. Five bodies were found in a bank set ablaze during unrest that erupted in Morocco last weekend after thousands of people demonstrated in several cities for change, government officials said Monday. Credit: Abdelhak Senna/AFP/Getty Images

MOROCCO: Thousands attend reformist protests

 Moroccans are heeding opposition activists' call to take to the streets Sunday despite state media reports that the demonstrations have been canceled. Los Angeles Times correspondent Borzou Daragahi in Rabat reported thousands of demonstrators on the streets of the capital.

The nascent protest movement, known to some by its Twitter hashtag #feb20, is echoing the call already heard in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Libya and Algeria for more political freedom and an end to corruption.

This video could not be verified but appears to show several hundred Moroccan protesters shouting slogans for freedom and human dignity.

--Meris Lutz in Beirut

ISRAEL: Researchers see Tunisia as a textbook revolution

Revolutions seem to take place all of a sudden, but usually they don't really come out of the blue. Whether religious, political or economic reasons are behind upheaval, it often reflects a long process that reached a tipping point and a window of opportunity. 

The time must be right but the ground must be ripe, too. In this context, an Israeli research group suggests Tunisia's was a textbook revolution. Not in the sense that it was a perfect storm or that it followed a certain formula -- no two revolutions are the same -- but in the sense that it may actually have begun in school textbooks.

The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE) is a group that conducts in-depth studies of school curriculum throughout the Middle East, checking hundreds of books per country and they way they teach about tolerance and peace.

A comprehensive study of the Tunisian curriculum, completed in 2009 and presented before the European parliament, found that education in Tunisia cultivates equality and is much more progressive in teaching tolerance than any other Arab country.

But it wasn't always so, says Yohanan Manor, a retired Jewish Agency official and political scientist who established the research group a decade ago. According to Manor, Tunisia began instituting educational reform in the mid-1990s, when Zine el Abidine ben Ali (who was overthrown last month) appointed a political opponent as minister of education. Mohamed Charfi, who died a few years ago, was a lawyer and longtime human rights leader in Tunisia and a fierce critic of Ben Ali, in particular concerning human rights issues.

The now-deposed president had placed Charfi in charge of the education ministry, maybe so that  he could keep an eye on him but also because Ben Ali  was interested in letting the rights leader implement his agenda, which was separating religion and state, Manor said, noting that the issue is a longstanding one in Tunisian history.

MOROCCO: For cheap Saudi oil, Rabat broke ties with Iran, cracked down on Shiites, leaked cable says

At Saudi Arabia's urging, Morocco broke ties with Iran and began a domestic campaign against Moroccan Shiites in exchange for economic trade-offs, an Egyptian diplomat told sources at the U.S. Embassy in Rabat, according to a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable published by the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar.

"[The diplomat] said goading Iran, a country with which it had limited economic interests, and demonizing the Shi'a, a powerless minority group, was a small price for Morocco to pay for a strategy that could have major payoffs," the April 2009 cable read.

In exchange for active Moroccan support, Saudi Arabia allegedly promised to ensure the flow of subsidized oil and compensate for the loss in direct foreign investment in Morocco resulting from the global financial crisis.