Human Rights Pioneer, Mama Assia, Mourned

SAID TEMSAMANI

12/23/12

Morocco News Board - - - On Friday, November 2, 2012, Assia El Ouadie Known as Mama Assia passed away. A date that the Moroccan and human rights activists will remember for a long time.  They will commemorate the life of this exceptional Moroccan lady who devoted her life to fight injustice and to stand along victims of human rights.  On her deathbed, members of her family and close friends heard her saying in tears : "Oh if God gives me the opportunity to live a year or two, just to serve my children and all victims of social injustice. I have not yet finished the job. "

Morocco's Rita Saher's Night at Carnegie Hall

NORMAN L. GREENE

12/18/12

The High Atlas Foundation participated in a benefit concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall on Saturday evening, December 15, 2012, given by virtuoso pianist Rita Saher. Rita, who is originally from Casablanca and began studying piano when she was ten, treated the large and appreciative audience to works by Mozart, Schubert, Poulenc, Albéniz, and Falla; and she responded with several encores.

Where is North Africa in US Foreign Policy?

MOHAMED DAADAOUI

12/11/12

Mohamed Daadaoui
The US elections and the monotonous presidential debates bear little to no substance on North Africa. In the much-anticipated third debate on foreign policy, there was scant mention of the countries of the Maghreb and their important strategic worth in US global fight against terrorism. Except for Libya (mentioned 12 times) in the context of the murder of US ambassador Chris Stevens, president Obama mentioned Tunisia once in passing.

A "Giant" At The Spain-Morocco Border

NEWS

12/11/12

Ignacio Cembrero
Spanish security forces deployed on the frontier of Melilla are breathing a sigh of relief. For a little while at least they will not have to cross paths with "The Giant," who taunts them from the no man's land between Spanish and Moroccan checkpoints. For now, they will not face hails of stones from youths incited by Said Chramti, which has at times forced the closure of the international border of Beni Enzar.

A Moroccan Defeat in Stockholm

HASSAN MASIKY

12/07/12

Spain's EU Residency For Real-Estate Investment Plan Worries Morocco

NEWS

12/06/12

Fernando Barciela
“Of course I’m interested if they give me a residence permit and one to my wife and two children,” says Ahmed, a small businessman in the northeast of Morocco who normally spends his summer vacation in Fuengirola on Spain’s Costa del Sol. “Instead of renting, we would make the effort to buy an apartment and in that way the visa thing would be over. At last, we would be able to travel about Europe freely.”

Lonely Servitude: Child Domestic Labor in Morocco

AHMED TAIBI

12/05/12

Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a recent report titled “Lonely Servitude: Child Domestic Labor in Morocco,” published in November 15th, 2012, wrote that the data it compiled between April and August of 2012 suggests the number of child domestic workers has decreased since 2005. It is difficult to take such a suggestion seriously when HRW recognizes within its report that no “accurate statistics regarding the number of children working as domestic workers in Morocco” currently exist.

Scotland and Catalonia bellwethers for Western Sahara?

HASSAN MASIKY

12/03/12

Washington- Morocco News Board--Would the results of last week’s local elections in Catalonia and the Scottish drive for independence hurt or benefit Morocco’s stand on the Western Sahara conflict? Morocco's Foreign Minister Saad-Eddine Al-Othmani should be addressing this question to his staff. Further, is Rabat aware of the repercussions of such fluid events and the potential ramification of their outcomes on Morocco? Moreover, how would Rabat “exploit” these international events to move the Moroccan agenda?

Morocco’s Aleppo Honorary Consul Assassinated in Syria

Hassan Masiky

12/06/12

Washington/ Morocco News Board--Mohamed Aladine Kiali, Morocco’s Honorary Consul in Aleppo, was assassinated on Tuesday, reported Morocco’s official news agency Maghreb Arab Press (MAP). According to MAP, Armed men riding a taxi mortally shot Mr. Kiyali as he came out of a hotel in Aleppo at 7:00 p.m. local time.

Some Moroccan observers are accusing the regime of Basharal-Assad of being behind this terrorist act. The Assad government has been critical of King Mohammed support of the Syrian rebels. Damascus is furious at Morocco’s decision to host the next Friends of Syria meeting scheduled for December

Minister Haddad On Morocco's Tourism Prospects

NEWS

12/04/12

Washington/ Morocco News Board---- In an interview with CNN , Morocco's minister of tourism Lahcen Haddad talked about the challenges and opportunities of tourism in Morocco in times of crisis. In a context marked by the Arab Spring and the European debt crisis, Morocco made the bid of innovation and diversification in tourism  so that it remains an important engine of growth.Lahcen Haddad  also talked about   the strategy of the Moroccan tourism development and the sector’s 2020 vision.

Why hasn't President Obama Visited Morocco during his Presidency?

HASSAN MASIKY

11/27/12

Washington/Morocco News Board-- Watching President Barack Obama’s visit to Myanmar two weeks ago, some Moroccans were left wondering if the White House fully appreciates their country’s close alliance with the United States. Some in the Moroccan community in the United State have expressed dissatisfaction with their diplomatic mission in Washington’s tepid efforts to articulate, package and sell an “Obama visit to Morocco” campaign to the current  Administration House.

Rentals, Home Prices Improving in Morocco

NEWS

12/05/12

Better inflation management, a decline in unemployment and a boost is tourism is helping turn the Moroccan real estate market around, although experts say at this point it is more about maintaining marginal gains rather than claiming victory. The Arab Spring and the Eurozone crisis have both made for volatile times in the Middle Eastern country and more work must be done in terms of recovery.

Morocco: Key role for aeronautics

NEWS

12/02/12

Efforts are gathering pace in Morocco to boost growth in key, labor-intensive manufacturing sectors, including electronics and aeronautics, which will allow the country to increase exports and diversify its traded products, while improving employment. The move forms part of a broader, long-term bid to increase trade and modernize the industry sector, which is being driven forward under Morocco’s National Pact for Industrial Emergence 2009-12 (Pacte National pour l’Emergence Industrielle, PNEI) initiative, a plan that aims to create 220,000 new jobs in the sector by 2015 and boost GDP by Dh50bn (€4.45bn) and exports by Dh95bn (€8.45bn).

Activists Beaten For Protesting King's Oversized Budget

NABIL ARRACH, Ph.D,

11/21/12

On Nov. 18, 2012, members of February 20 Movement  rallied in Rabat protesting against the 2013 Royal expenditures budget, recently introduced by Finance Minister Nizar Baraka. The protest was highlighted by the presence of Khadija Ryadi, head of the MoroccanAssociation for Human Rights (AMDH), and her associate Abdelhamid Amine.

Morocco: Rampant Nepotism In King's sphere

AHMED CHAOUI

11/20/12

Brahim Fassi Fihri, the young president of the Amadeus Institute, is in the news again and for the wrong reasons. The young Fassi Fihri, son of Morocco former minister of foreign affairs and current adviser to the King, made” a fool of himself “ during an interview with the semi-official 2M TV.

Nigeria: The New African Diplomatic Leader, At Expense Of South Africa

HASSAN MASIKY

11/15/12

Washington / Morocco News Board--- In a sign that Nigeria is in and South Africa is out, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) chose the Nigerian capital to announce their decision to send 3,000 troops to flush out terrorists from Northern Mali. With Nigeria contributing the largest Military contingency and leading a new diplomatic offensive, President Goodluck Jonathan signals a Nigerian comeback on the African scene.