| Morocco, an Alternative to Iran |
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By Anne Applebaum
RABAT You might see girls, but they will not be sniper targets, and they will not all look like their Iranian counterparts: Though there is clearly a fashion for long, flowing headscarves and blue jeans, many women would not look out of place in New York or Paris.Welcome to the kingdom of Morocco, a place which, in the light of the past two week's events in Iran, merits a few minutes of reflection. Unlike Turkey, Morocco is not a secular state: The king claims direct descent from the prophet Mohammed. Nor does Morocco aspire to be European: Though French is still the language of business and higher education, the country is linguistically and culturally part of the Arabic-speaking world. But unlike most of its Arab neighbors, the country has over the past decade undergone a slow but profound transformation from traditional monarchy to constitutional monarchy, acquiring along the way real political parties, a relatively free press, new political leaders -- the mayor of Marrakesh is a 33-year-old woman -- and a set of family laws that strive to be compatible both with sharia and international conventions on human rights.The result is not what anyone would call a liberal democratic paradise. One human rights activist painted for me a byzantine portrait of electoral corruption, involving "mediators" who "organize" votes on behalf of candidates. Others point out that if the demonstrators I saw at the parliament had been Islamic radicals or Western Saharan guerrilla leaders, rather than trade unionists, the police might not have been quite so blasé. Though women have legal rights, cultural restraints remain. A tiny fraction of the population reads newspapers, even fewer have Internet access, and somewhere between 40 and 50 percent of the country is illiterate; as a result, election turnout is very low. Political posters feature symbols, not words. Yet in at least one sense, Morocco truly stands out: Alone in the region, the Moroccan government has admitted to carrying out political crimes, and it has set up a "Truth Commission" along South African and South American lines. Beginning in 2004, the commission investigated crimes, held televised hearings and paid compensation to some 23,000 victims and their families. The crimes in question -- arbitrary arrests, "disappearances," torture, executions -- occurred during the reign of King Hassan II, who died in 1999. The Truth Commission is the creation of his son, King Mohammed VI. But although this acknowledgement of wrongdoing was made possible by a generational change, it did not require a regime change. There was no revolution, no violence. The king is still the king, and he still has his collection of antique cars. The result of the Truth Commission's work is a kind of social peace. Not everybody likes the monarchy, but even its opponents concede that the break with the past is real: If nothing else, people feel it's safe to speak openly, safe to form civil rights groups, safe to criticize the electoral process, even safe to complain about the king. Saadia Belmir -- a Moroccan judge and the first female Muslim member of the U.N. Committee on Torture -- told me that despite obstacles, "we can now build the future on the basis of our good understanding of the past." Controversially, perpetrators were allowed to fade into the background. But the crosscurrents of anger and revenge that might otherwise have marked the young king's reign have subsided. Is this a model for others? The Moroccans think so, and they have quietly "shared their experiences" with African and Middle Eastern neighbors. Belmir told me that an informal group had been working on setting up a Truth Commission in Togo; others hint at Jordan, though of course that's unofficial. They all hasten to point out that their formula -- slow transformation under the aegis of a (so far) popular king -- doesn't apply everywhere. One thinks wistfully of the shah of Iran and of what might have been. Still, watching the extraordinary range of clothing and skin colors on the Moroccan streets, one takes away at least one thought: Transformation from authoritarianism to democracy is possible, even in an avowedly Islamic state, even with an ethnically mixed population, even with the presence of a jihadist fringe. More importantly: It is possible to acknowledge and discuss human rights violations in this culture, just as they can be discussed elsewhere. Just because much of the Arab world lacks the political will to change doesn't mean that change is always and forever impossible. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Article first published at the Washington Post
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Comments (17)
Mazen
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hile MoroccoBoard.com encourages discussion on all subjects, including sensitive ones, the comments posted are solely the views of those submitting them. MoroccoBoard.com does not necessarily endorse or agree with the ideas, views, or opinions voiced in these comments. This is a moderated forum. Comments deemed abusive, offensive, or those containing profanity may not be published.
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... Everytime a Muslim country is subjugated, like Morocco, colonized after being colonized physically, it is called a good little Muslim neighbor. Making peace with ISrael when it is not able to negotiate with justice, letting other countries tell it what to do, it is a good little Muslim country. WHen it ones to actually live free and pursue it's own destiny, look at, here come the invaders. When are N. African going to wake up! Morocco is an alternative??? What a joke@@ |
Mazen
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... Please, when writing about these articles, dont say Kingdom of Morocco. It is hardly a kingdom. It is a backwards poor country that needs help from the rest of the Arab world. It doesn't have a say in Israeli politics because it hasnt earned any political capital in the area. All of these articles seem to be aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and seem to speak of Moroccans as if they area an actual people. These are Arabs living in N. Africa, eastern region of Arabia. Get the facts straight. |
SM
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... Due to lack of proper education in Morocco, most Moroccans have no political involvement and those that are educated prefer not to make their political beliefs known due to risk of imprisonment and torture by the Moroccan secret services. How can you therefore make a comparison with Iran which is a hugely educated nation with a very different history?? And how can you compare a few protesters in Rabat to the large demonstrations in Iran where of course the police had to put a stop to rioters burning banks etc. I've been to both Morocco and Iran and I know which country I'd feel safer in and it definitely is not Morocco |
Casawi
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Typical Why doesn't Miss Applebaum write about the abuses of Sahrawi protesters in the Sahara by Moroccan security forces? Miss Applebaum, like other war-mongers in the mainstream media, should know she can't be using Morocco as a platform to stock animosity and hostility against Iran. Will someone remind her of the LA riots that left 52 dead people and thousands of injured and during which the government brought in tanks to put down the protests by force? |
Hmimarmad
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... According to MAP, Obama voiced hope Morocco can play a leading role in bringing Arabs and Israelis together in order to solve the Arab-israeli conflict, How about Obama helping Morocco bringing the Algerian to their sense. How about forgetting the economic interest that US has on Algeria for a moment and be honest. The US is the only power that can help Morocco and Algeria get out of this on going failure that our head of states cannot solve. Morocco should seize this opportunity and bring the arab israeli views a bt closer, Hassan II did just that and benefited, M6 needs to get the ball rolling and start a process and perhaps Obama could help us out and help the algerians too. |
Ahmed T. B.
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In Morocco, an Alternative to Democracy Where was Applebaum when the Ifni riots took place? Did she visit the detained journalists who criticized the election process? Examples of repressive government measures are too many to list here. In 2008, human rights and freedom of expression noticeably regressed compared to the 1990's. One has to wonder why a US journalist whose career was built on advocating an Israeli lobby's interest is show-casing Morocco to the West. Read my response to Applebaum's op-ed at http://cabalamuse.wordpress.com |
Adiloss
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Comparing the incomparable? It seems the journalist tourist is misled by some appearances. It's true that demonstrators in front of the parliament are often not disturbed by the police. They have been there even for months for some of them, but nobody cares. The journalist didn't happen to pass by in one of those hot violent days were police officers can break the head of anyone they can lay hands on, even non demonstrator passers can be subject to violence and degrading verbal insults by police forces. On the other hand i suggest to one of your photographs or cameramen to take pictures of this violent abuses. sure his camera would be smashed and he will be "kindly" asked to go back home. As for moroccan journalists, they are often subject to more violence if they try to take pictures of such scenes. Now, politically speaking, the scenes fron iran are more exposed because the political will of the west wants to present iran as a non democratic state; while those of morocco are not shown enough because it's considered an ally. |
Omar
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Morocco ahead Yes Miss Applebaum our country Morocco is ahead the Arab countries as far as civil rights are concerned.Different non-governmental organisations can demonstrate wherever and whenever they like.There are demonstrations not only in Rabat ,but also in other Moriccan cities such as Fes,Casablanca, Nador etc.We have a certain amount of freedom, but freedom is not democracy.What we need is real democracy;the independence of justice,the parliament and the government.These shouldn't be a mirror for the so-called democratic nations. |
Watchdog
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Drive by reporters My first impression was that they let quacks like Miss applebaum write for the washington Post. This speaks volumes about why is the Newspaper industry in the toilet. She also writes for Salte Magazine, the same place that is giving Ex New York governor an outlet to relieve himself( for lack of a better expression). No seriously, slate is nothing but a dump for right leaning under achievers. Miss Applebaum wrote her garbage based on a drive by as evidenced by the very first sentences in her article. intelectual integrity would require that she painstakingly research her data, but who cares about probing things for what they really are. We live in a fast paced age where the first casualty is the truth. I have alyaws been intimidated by big name magazines and Newspaper, but now I am tempted to ask the Washington post to hire me, I can definitely produce better quality yellow journalism |
Hmimarmad
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... The sad part is credibility or not, when the US speaks everyone listens. CNN did everything possible to screw up Iran but in vain. their rely heavily on Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook to sway public opinion, they thought that they had Iran in the bag as they did in Georgia, but this time it did not work, the only thing that worked is the baton from the Iranian police. They showed clips of the demonstration but rarely show the other side and they did it, they did so very briefly. They tried to capitalize on Neda the young woman who got shut and that too did not take them far. The Iranians population seemed to be polarized in this election they are those who want to keep Ahmadihajad and those who want to have Mosavi. The US coverage of any situation as some of you already stated, is based on who's with us and who is against us. Morocco has always been on the side of the US but infortunately and due to lack of competence never got its fair share of the goodies back. The only administration that gave back to Morocco is the Bush administrainon. As bad as it sounds Bush was a hero for Morocco. Almost a billion dollars via the Millenium Challenge, Free trade agreement, and above a all and pat on the back when it came to the autonomy offer , remember " serious and credible"? As of now I have not heard Obama nor Hillary saying a thing if our offer is serious, credible, or whatever wording they may chose. Let's just hope that they will speak soon on the issue because their UN ambassador seems to me too neutral and neutral as you all know is no good in our situation. Neutral means you are both right and you are both wrong. That should be a no no for our diplomats firhri ond others. I do Sympathize with Fassi Fihri, our minister of foreign affairs, can you imagine that everywhere he goes, he needs to brown nose to get other countries on our side? that guy needs a serious pay raise. |
Moha
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Why Iran? Why not Egypt, Jordan or saudi arabia The US has no credibility when it comes to foreign policy. And journalists like Anne Applebaum have an agenda they re trying to advance. It goes like this: if you are with US, you're good no matter what you do to your population (case of Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestinian ex-president Abbas and the other so called moderate governments). If you stand up to our policies then you're evil and we'll take every opportunity to discredit you (case of Iran, Syria, Hamas ...). The torture and oppression going on in Egypt and Jordan has no equivalent in Iran and still these countries are fine as long as they play the US game. I'm sick and tired of the hypocrisy of journalists like Anne Applebaum. |
Moroccan Patriot
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This article is one big lie. Nothing this woman wrote is accurate. She might as well be a reporter for FOX news. Morocco has serious issues that do not need 100 years to solve. They need those who are currently in charge to simply decide that they want to ENFORCE the current laws on the books. There is NO accountability and NO uniform enforcement of the laws currently on the books. This is not an accident, this is by design. While certain degrees of this exist in all societies, it is seldom as blatent and in your face as it is in Morocco. When you say things like, "think whistfully of the shah of Iran and what might have been", you become very clear about your stated goal, the demonizing of Iran. |
Slawi
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Half of the truth is not the truth! "If you want an antidote to the photographs of police officers beating demonstrators and girls dying on the streets of the Iranian capital, take a drive through the streets of the Moroccan capital. You might see demonstrators, but not under attack:" Well, this is what we call compare the incomparable, the two situations in my opinion are different. The Iranian situation is millions of people descended onto the street to protest what they believe is an election fraud. In the Moroccan capital is couple hundreds of peaceful people who are protesting in front of the parliament to get jobs. In Morocco, The situation would be certainly different if millions of people descend to the street to protest for example an election fraud or an increase in the good prices that have a negative impact of on their purchase power. I bet, you will see helicopters and tanks in the street with firing squads ready to break down the uprising. "Yet in at least one sense, Morocco truly stands out: Alone in the region, the Moroccan government has admitted to carrying out political crimes, and it has set up a "Truth Commission" along South African and South American lines. Beginning in 2004, the commission investigated crimes, held televised hearings and paid compensation to some 23,000 victims and their families." Well, this is half of the truth, while in fact King Med 6 acknowledged his father wrongdoing and compensated some victim families, lot of heavy "dossiers" still unfolded and many were undermined. Moreover, if we add to that the fact that the regime in Morocco still torture and abuse its own citizens, and the same regime under King Med 6 participated in the CIA program called rendition. "Still, watching the extraordinary range of clothing and skin colors on the Moroccan streets, one takes away at least one thought: Transformation from authoritarianism to democracy is possible, even in an avowedly Islamic state, even with an ethnically mixed population, even with the presence of a jihadist fringe. More importantly: It is possible to acknowledge and discuss human rights violations in this culture, just as they can be discussed elsewhere. Just because much of the Arab world lacks the political will to change doesn't mean that change is always and forever impossible." Finaly, I would say that change and democracy will be better served in a country like Morocco if we, journalists, observers, and common people tell the truth not half of it. And the article wrote by Ms. Anne Applebaum would be more credible if she talks about the incarceration of activists such Mr. Lahcen Berhoun or Mr. Chakib El Khayari for example. I wanna end by this quote Nixon said about the brutal Nicaraguan dictator Somoza: "He's a bastard, but he's our bastard." I hope that my comment will be published and thank you for reading it. Slawi |
mazagan
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... It really appears that Morocco is stalling in some areas: -Yes there is freedom of the press, but with strings of lawsuits and heavy fines, they have been intimidated into restrain and self regulation. Even Khaddafi learned that it was the most effective way to slow down the Moroccan media. Why isn’t he suing Bakchich in a French court, those guys made pretty humiliating allegations against him? According to Bakchich, the supreme leader is the illegitimate son of a French pilot that was stationed in the Fezzan . http://www.bakchich.info/-Kadh...0069-.html . Can you imagine Al Zaim al Gawri? Yet he did not dare take any action. -What does the PAM stands for besides being an effective electoral machine? I just hope that the Moroccan public does not get jaded and give up on the newly acquired freedom and democratic process. |
Hmimarmad
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... We cannot compare the US to Morocco. The US elected Obama not because he was black but because he was the better choice for Americans. America was democratic before Obama and will stay that way after Obama. Saying that it is ok to wait 100 years for a democratic Morocco does not make sense. Why would Moroccans have to endure injustice, abuse, poverty, illiteracy, corruption, disease, malnutrition, lack of education, extermination of freedom when they do not have to? Why would those journalists have to pay $370,000 + because they criticized Qaddafi? These dumb things should not happen, it only make Morocco look stupid. First they arrested a Facebook impersonator, then a blogger, then and Barcelona fan, then a journalist, these are only the one that made the news, how about the one that will never see the light to make any news? Moroccans are not asking for too much, they are simply asking to be treated fairly. Let's not start analogies that do not make sense, otherwise why don't we go ahead and tell people " Dude, Obama is black and it took black people 200 years to have one of their own as president, so wait and suffer another 100 year until your turn is up" My 5 cents! |
Khalid Sidi-Baba
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Morocco, an Alternative to Iran First I would like to thank Anne Applebaum for bringing this issue to the American readers. Yes, for us as Moroccans and Moroccan Americans it is old news but it is Good old news that we can bank on. It took over two hundred years to have a black president here in the US, what is the problem if it takes Morocco 100 years to have a fully democratic government that is a model for the Arab and African countries. I believe we are on the right direction and the train has already left the station either you are on or you are not democracy is coming. Way to go Marrakech, first democratically elected female Mayor in Morocco. I love it! The glass is half full my friends. |
Hmimarmad
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... It is undeniable that the present situation in Morocco is lot better when it comes to rights issues. Those of us who grew up when Hassan II was the monarch can see the change, a real change I might add. But that does not necessarily mean that we are out of the wood. A multitude of reforms still need to take place, we do make baby steps and right we get up and start walking, there is always that someone who comes push us back to the ground. A vivid example is Qaddafi sued 3 gentlemen from the Moroccan news media because their critique and believe it or not he won, the Moroccan judges sided with him. I am thinking that Qaddafi is chairing the African Union (AU), so perhaps Morocco gave him this victory to be nice with us, when Algeria and South Africa will certainly start derailing the talks of the AU to include the Sahara issue. Qaddafi also sent his son to Sahara when M6 was visiting Layoune which did not go well with Algeria. Morocco is playing it safe with Qaddafi because you never know what he will come up with if he lost the case. It is unfortunate that these journalists will have to pay for an issue that is more political than anything else. If qddafi' lawsuit has any merit then he will have to sue billions of people that criticize him day in and day out. Why he picked the Moroccan Journalists, well you do not have to be a genius to figure it out. For as long as the Sahara issue is not solved , we always have to be nice to those who do not deserve it. Let's just hope that Algeria and Morocco sit down and talk think out, Morocco will not be the only winner here, All Maghreb countries will win. As for the article above, this is old and ancient news. The moudawana, truth and reconciliation, Mini freedom of the press, somewhat free elections. We need to move to the next level because we seem to be stuck in 2004. |
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