Western Sahara and The US New UN Initiative

M. CHTAINI

04/22/13

Looking at how sour the US-Morocco relation have become after being so sweet, one wonders what did really get into the mix and go wrong and aside from what has transpired in the last 4 weeks, we are going to see a lot of flip-flopping showing different contradictory positions in the United Nations, in the White House, in the US Congress, in the US State and Defense Departments and the Central Intelligence Agency, and in the US Mission to the United Nations and in the US embassy in Rabat on the “initiative” about the expansion of the MINURSO role in the Western Sahara. What is happening and who can you believe?

 

US-Morocco: The Blunder & The 200 Year Relationship

NEWS

04/19/13

There are days when reality parodies better what the likes of Mark Burnett in Expedition Impossible can come up with.
Take 1,400 U.S. military personnel, ship tons of heavy military equipment to Agadir and Marrakech, add more than 900 Moroccan RAF staff to the mix and invite 14 partner nations from NATO, but then as they are about to kick-start their pre-planned annual war games, blow the whistle and call the whole thing off because a clumsy US bureaucrat at the United Nations decided to put the kibosh, albeit briefly, on the longest peace and friendship treaty that the US have with a foreign power.

 

Morocco-US Relations: Time for Restraint

HASSAN MASIKY

04/18/13

Washington/Morocco News Board--The Moroccan-American spat over a U.S. proposal to add human rights monitors to the United Nations mission in the Western Sahara, known as MINURSO, hurts American efforts and weakens a key ally. Morocco’s harsh response to Washington’s sudden shift is unlikely to harm the long-standing relations between the two nations. Nonetheless, Morocco’s rhetoric needs to cool before the situation develops into a full-blown crisis.

Reflections On The New UN Proposal

M. AZAYI

04/19/13

The UN could not have chosen a more imprudent and unwise time than by having its officials voting on the draft proposal backed by the United States and trying to pass it as legal authority while hoping that other countries vote for it.

 

Western Sahara: What's behind US State Dept. U-turn

M. CHTAINI

04/17/13

The US State Department is ‘in discussion’ over proposing the MINURSO expand its mission to include monitoring human rights as confirmed by the US embassy in Rabat. This action could be the outcome of the inability of the former US Ambassador Kaplan to influence the Kingdom of Morocco to budge from its position on Jerusalem. 

Morocco: Rage, Fury at US State Dept. Betrayal

NEWS

04/17/13

Fury, rage and red mist are genuinely heartfelt by large majority of Moroccans. There is a strong feeling of betrayal, treachery and double-crossing from the new US Secretary of State, John Kerry, against a centuries-old staunch  US ally. Some political movers and shakers are demanding that the government reassesses completely its age-old friendly US policy by inviting the Chinese and Russian navies to engage in joint military exercises in Moroccan territorial waters along the Strait of Gibraltar as soon as possible.

Morocco: High Alert over US Proposal on Western Sahara

MOHAMED DAADAOUI

04/16/13

Panic reigned supreme in the halls of Morocco’s government yesterday. All of the political forces of the kingdom were placed on high alert as news surfaced of a US proposal to expand the UN mission in the Western Sahara to include human rights monitoring in the region and the Separatists  POISARIO-controlled Tindouf camps in Algeria. Leaders of major political parties and the Moroccan cabinet were summoned to an emergency meeting in the palace.  The details of the high level meeting with the king are unknown, but there was a swift statement rejecting the U.S. proposal and a terse condemnation of alleged U.S. “bias and unilateral move.”

Kerry's State Dept. Proposal Roils US Ally

HASSAN MASIKY

04/16/13

Washington  / Morocco News Board----- Morocco is deeply concerned over the potential ramifications of a proposed amendment to the United Nations (U.N.) Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) chart to include human rights monitoring. If the purpose of such revision is to nudge the U.N. negations in a more positive direction, Morocco’s Royal Cabinet considers discussions over human rights observers as a distraction that would lengthen the conflict and may backfire.

Morocco: Green Energy or Green Grabbing?

MOHAMED BELKHAYAT

04/14/13

Washington  / Morocco News Board-    One dirham per meter squared, or roughly $1200 per Hectare ($ 500 per acre) was the price paid by the state for 3000 Hectares (7,500 Acres) to the communities of the first mega solar project in Morocco. The total price which is about $4M was paid to the ministry of interior to develop the area roads, schools and possibly hospitals.

 

Topless Protesters Against Moralising Islamists

NEWS

04/08/13

A. E. Gouzouli
Casablanca / Morocco News Board -  Topless activists unblushingly staged demonstrations opposite mosques in several countries across Europe to support, the FEMEN campaigner and Tunisian national, Amina Tyler in her battle against Islamist crackdown on Arab women's rights.

 

Francois Hollande state visit to Morocco

HASSAN MASIKY

04/04/13

Washington  / Morocco News Board -    -French President Francois Hollande two-day state visit to Morocco highlights the exemplary strategic, political and economic ties that bind the two nations. President Hollande and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, strong proponents of economic diplomacy, presided over the signature of several economic agreements bolstering an already strong business presence of French companies in Morocco.

 

Morocco Football: The Causes Of Failure

NEWS

03/29/13

Following the recent loss by morocco's Team and its elimination from the next World Cup in Brazil,  let us look at the current Moroccan football situation from a historical point of view. We didn’t get here overnight. I’m mostly writing as a fan of the national team since I was a kid growing up in Casablanca. I have to admit that the last time I watch a live game of the national team was during the 84 LA Olympics at the Coliseum. Yes, many years ago. However, I’ve been following them whenever possible. 

Javier Bardem's Last Colony

M. AZAYI

04/01/13

 New York / Morocco news Board---There might or might not be a dramatic song for you up there in those lyrics but in my case I like to specifically dwell little on the lexis side and see what the words’ meaning convey to our reality. I apply their wisdom to what I experience around me and I try to see what is relevant in them to what I conceive in this world of obsessions and stupidity of fixations we are entrenched in these days. But even as I try doing this the first and only thing that looms considerably in my mind is but the picture of a wretched dullard named Javier Bardem. 

 

 

Javier Bardem and Western Sahara

NEWS

03/25/13

Mohamed Daadaoui

Western Sahara was front and center in CNN’s latest edition of Amanpour, marking a rare instance in which the oft-overlooked and stalemated conflict has been treated as more than a peripheral issue in the Western media. Amanpour hosted and plugged a new documentary film on the Western Sahara that claims to shed light on the Moroccan occupation of the territory and abuses of human rights.

Western Sahara Separatists Clash with Mauritania Miners

HASSAN MASIKY

03/22/13

 

The Potential of a U.S.-Morocco Relationship

NEWS

03/21/13

Ahmed Charai

The West faces a serious dilemma on the African continent as French forces begin the process of withdrawing troops from Mali in April. As the New York Times noted [3] this week, French troops were critical in routing Al Qaeda-linked militants from the northeastern part of the country, where the extremists had managed to conquer a territory the size of France itself and subject the population to a reign of terror.