Morocco
Morocco bans Spanish journal

afrol News, 14 May - An issue of the Spanish weekly "Cambio 16" has been banned in Morocco, as it reported about the West Sahara conflict, according to the French group Reporters sans frontières (RSF). This is not the first time, RSF informs.

In a letter to Minister of the Interior Ahmed Midaoui, RSF protested the circulation ban on an issue of the Spanish weekly "Cambio 16". RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard asked the minister to "reconsider this decision, which shows once again that the authorities do not hesitate to censor foreign newspapers when they report on disturbing issues." 

RSF recalled that in January 2001 another Spanish weekly, "Epoca", was censored by the Moroccan authorities.

According to information collected by RSF, issue 1528 of "Cambio 16", dated 19 March, was banned by the Moroccan authorities, who offered no explanation for their action. The issue included a report titled "The Sahara Prepares for War". 

In his article, Rocio Castrillo noted that "an army of 30 000 soldiers ... is preparing to confront the Moroccan invader." He also interviewed Brahim Gali, a member of the Polisaro Front's national office, who spoke of "the intransigent and colonial will of Morocco's expansionist regime." 

In January, issue 827 of the Spanish weekly "Epoca" was also seized by the authorities without explanation. The issue included a report titled "Morocco, the Totalitarian Temptation", which criticised the Moroccan government's 2 December ban on the weeklies "Demain", "Le Journal" and "Assahifa". 

The article notably denounced "the Moroccan regime's fear of a truly independent press, which could open citizens' eyes to an absolute monarchy regime based on a system of feudal power."

Sources: RSF, through IFEX

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