afrol News editorial, 2 August - Four years after King Mohammed VI seized the throne, his image as a renewer has clearly faded. Morocco remains the poorest and most repressive among all countries in the region. It is rated the most corrupt nation in the Maghreb, and a series of diplomatic blunders over Western Sahara is leading the Kingdom into isolation.
'Telquel', one of the few remaining outspoken independent media in Morocco, dares to raise two important questions in its last issue: "Is our diplomatic corps incompetent," the Casablanca-based weekly asked on the issue of Western Sahara even before this week's bitter defeat in the UN Security Council. The same incompetence is also said to prevail in government policies towards the 10 million Moroccan youths; one third of the population living without much hope for a better future.
In 2000 - one year after King Mohammed VI succeeded his father Hassan II - optimism on a new and bright future reigned in Morocco. The young and modern King was signalling more democracy, press freedom, economic development, a bitterly needed rights improvement for the women of Morocco and movement in the Western Sahara conflict. On his first anniversary, Mohammed VI was hailed at home and abroad for bringing progress to the stagnating Kingdom.
Since that, the King has occasionally maintained his positive and modern image in the national and international press by breaking with traditions. In July last year, the King married a Moroccan computer engineer in a widely published ceremony, making his wife "Lalla Salma" - or Princess Salma - in breach with tradition. In the Alaouit Dynasty, women so far had been kept hidden - Mohammed's own mother has no title and has never appeared in public. A new era for Moroccan women seemed initiated.
Following this image of modernisation of the Alaouit Dynasty, the birth of Crown Prince Moulay Al-Hassan on 8 March this year was made a public event. Pictures of the newborn child and his mother, "HRH Princess Lalla Salma," were distributed through the semi-official news agency MAP in a manner corresponding with liberal European royal houses.
But these occasional demonstrations of modernity have not been enough to hide the fact that far-reaching reform is not taking root in the Alaouit Kingdom. Behind the glorious facade - the Kingdom likes to give the impression of being the region's leading nation - very little has changed to the better during the last years. In Morocco and abroad, the still-young King seems to have spent his initial goodwill.
In the UN's recently released annual Human Development Report, Morocco again is clearly outclassed by all North African nations. Morocco was placed number 126 in terms of human development out of 175 countries worldwide - only 50 steps from the absolute bottom (Sierra Leone).
Other North African nations - Algeria (ranked 107), Tunisia (91), Libya (61) and Egypt (120) - were significantly ahead in closing the gap to European countries on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea. Also the sub-Saharan "neighbour" Mauritania (154), contrary to Morocco, is gradually moving upwards the human development listing.
Economic growth has ranged from disastrous (-0.1 percent) to good (+6.5 percent) levels since King Mohammed took power in 1999. This growth - which is somewhat lowered by an increased population - so far has made the urban unemployment rate sink from 22 to 18 percent. These achievements however do not seem secure, given the Moroccan economy's dependence on tourism, which has declined since peaking in 2001.
For the Moroccan masses, the limited economic progress by no means has fulfilled expectations. 'Telquel' expresses the feelings of most Moroccans when it comes to government's failure to create conditions for the country's 10 million youth, enabling them to bring the Kingdom forward. Since the government announcement of improving the situation for young Moroccans in mid-2001, "the situation has not changed by even a comma," the Casablanca weekly concluded its analysis.
Moroccans observe that much of the new wealth created has remained with the so-called 'Makhzen' – the businessmen and generals who constitute the 'power behind the throne' and which is generally perceived as the conservative and corrupt class traditionally controlling Morocco's politics and economy.
The slight decrease in unemployment further cannot compensate for the lack of progress in fighting corruption and advancing civil rights. Morocco was recently rated most corrupt country in the Maghreb in a survey by the Swiss-based World Economic Forum, put at the same level as countries like Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The ranking was based on questionnaires among each country's citizens, ranking their own government and thus reflecting the population's discontent.
Also abroad, the perception of a Moroccan government unwilling to tackle the roots of corruption has been cemented lately. A recent survey by the US-Moroccan trade chamber showed that 80 percent of foreign investors see Moroccan justice as "inefficient and inclined to corruption."
The question of human rights however remains the issue where King Mohammed's new government has disappointed its own citizens strongest. Allegedly manipulated legislative elections last year - where only handpicked parties were allowed to participate - did not convince the population that democratisation was achieved. The low participation of voters reflected the fact that the King and the 'Makhzen' in any way would appoint government.
With democratisation remaining only a myth, the regime also quickly reversed early tendencies of increasing its respect for human rights to secure its power base. In the last few years, the number of political prisoners has rapidly increased, now including Sahrawi independence sympathisers, moderate Islamists and members of the press and human rights groups. Regular reports of torture in Moroccan prisons further document that little has changed.
The case of editor Ali L'mrabet, which has reached the world press, also made Western governments reconsider their impression of progress in Morocco. The outspoken editor this year was sentenced to prison for "insulting the person of the King", "offence against territorial integrity" and "offence against the monarchy."
Mr L'mrabet had published articles focusing on several of the major problems facing the impoverished nation. He published an interview with a Moroccan republican who advocated self-determination for Western Sahara, thus "undermining Morocco's territorial integrity," and an article questioning economic dispositions of the royal house and the 'Makhzen'. Since his imprisonment, four other Moroccan journalists have been detained for publishing an Islamist analysis.
Given government's failure in meeting the population's expectations, the King thus increasingly has had to play the nationalist card. Last year, he managed to shift attention towards his role as a defender of the nation by a short-lived occupation of the disputed Perejil or Leila Island off Northern Morocco in Spanish possession.
More importantly, however, the King has stepped up his language on the issue of Western Sahara, a disputed territory occupied by Morocco since 1975. He regularly has rejected any solution that may include a violation of the Kingdom's "territorial integrity", in practical terms meaning that Morocco has withdrawn its support to UN-led negotiations for a peaceful solution.
The official rhetoric however has proven out of touch with realities as Morocco by no means is the regional superpower it wants to be seen as. The domestic nationalist rhetoric in fact has hurt the country's diplomatic flexibility abroad and yesterday finally led to the government's greatest diplomatic humiliations ever, when a united UN Security Council called on Morocco to accept its peace plan for Western Sahara.
With the nationalist cat out of the bag, it is becoming increasingly impossible for Morocco to accept international demands on a solution for Western Sahara, especially as the UN peace plan could result in exposing the weaknesses of the political system in Morocco proper.
According to the UN peace plan rejected by Morocco, the Western Sahara territory during five years would be under the control of a Sahrawi-elected "Western Sahara Authority", which, according to Moroccan fears, could become a catalyst for change in Morocco itself. The Sahrawis plan to establish a modern democracy respecting human rights and in accordance with modern economy principles. If they succeed, this "Moroccan province" would prove a dangerous contrast to the 'Makhzen' oligarchy.
As the Moroccan government rapidly is manoeuvring itself into a corner among its own population and in the international community, the question of "What went wrong with Mohammed's reform agenda" remains. The answer probably lies in the interdependence between the royal house and the 'Makhzen' in maintaining control over the 30 million increasingly dissatisfied Moroccans.
King Mohammed made an early attempt to cut the throne's dependency of the oligarchy. Soon after taking over, he dismissed Driss Basri, the former Interior Minister who was regarded as the pillar of the 'Makhzen' system. A large-scale corruption investigation also exposed that the breadth of the 'Makhzen' elite - from trade union to political and business leaders - were involved in dubious economic affairs.
The corruption investigators however later backed down on their allegations against the political establishment and concentrated on some few bank managers. No legal action was taken against members of the 'Makhzen'.
As the young King needed support for his sometimes controversial policies and rapidly had lost popular support, he again had to turn to the 'Makhzen' to maintain his grip on power. Therefore, it seems, a profound reform process will be withheld Moroccans also during the reign of King Mohammed VI. These shattered hopes however represent a real danger for the regime and regional stability as a growing part of the Moroccan masses now look to the Islamists for a solution to their future.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español