Algeria: President Bouteflika's condition grave, Intelligence Chief reportedly ill

HASSAN MASIKY

05/18/13

Washington / Morocco News Board--- General Mohamed Mediene, also known as Toufik, Algeria’s secret services boss and the real power broker and the engineer who runs the country’s political system, is reportedly ill. News of Département du renseignement et de la sécurité (DRS) chief poor health, as reported by the well-informed website Slate Afrique, comes at the worst possible time for Algeria.

Morocco New Diplomatic Postures Unnerve Algeria

HASSAN MASIKY

05/14/13

Washington/Morocco News Board-Morocco, a key US ally in the Arab and Muslim worlds, is reviewing “certain” aspects of its relationship with Washington.  If the exchange of letters between King Mohamed VI and President Obama and their subsequent phone conversations have effectively put the recent Moroccan-American diplomatic misunderstanding over the Western Sahara behind, Moroccan officials are sober in their assessment of this incident. 

Morocco: A Royal Lesson in Washington

HASSAN MASIKY

04/26/13

Washington / Morocco News Board--The Report of the United Nations Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara, released yesterday, is a decisive win for Morocco. This diplomatic triumph came about because of actions and efforts undertaken by King Mohammed VI, some observers noted. The mild text of the resolution demonstrates the extent of Morocco’s success in diluting American attempts to amend the U.N. mission in Western Sahara to include human rights monitoring.  

UN New Report on Western Sahara: A Blueprint for Moroccan Diplomacy

HASSAN MASIKY

04/25/13

Washington / Morocco News Board--The much-excepted Report of the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) on the situation concerning Western Sahara was released today to all parties to review and digest. At first glance, the document seems to bring the UN proposals for “a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara” closer to the Moroccan positions.

Algeria: Tension in kabylie Adds to Social Unrest

HASSAN MASIKY

04/24/13

Washington / Morocco News Board---  Talk of self-determination for the Kabylie region is back again in full force. Celebrating the 33th anniversary of the Amazigh Spring, the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie (MAK) organized several important marches across the Kabylie region in Algeria demanding the right to hold a referendum for self-determination.

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.

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.

Western Sahara: UN Chief Discounts Independence

HASSAN MASIKY

04/14/13

Washington  / Morocco News Board- Never in the history of the Western Sahara conflict has the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) “unequivocally” correlated political events in the Grand Sahara with finding a resolution to this long simmering territorial dispute. The language in Mr. Ban Ki-moon recent report to the United Nations Security Council and the timing of its release are signs of a new U.N. line in its mediation efforts to end the Algerian-Moroccan showdown over control of the former Spanish colony.

Morocco's Diplomacy In Latin America

HASSAN MASIKY

04/10/13

Washington  / Morocco News Board- Morocco’s diplomatic ship in South America keeps floating without a captain. The death of the Bolivarian leader Hugo Chavez  and the recent inauguration of Mexico’s new President are two major  political events that the Moroccan Foreign Ministry should utilize to review and assess, once again, Morocco’s ailing and meek diplomatic efforts in Latin America. 

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.

Algeria's Campaign On Human Rights In Western Sahara

HASSAN MASIKY

03/30/13

The Algerian authorities’ decision to prevent a group of Algerian civil rights activists from leaving the country to attend the World Social Forum in Tunis is drawing criticism from local and international human rights organizations. The United Nations Human Rights Committee and the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Mr. Christopher Ross , should be concerned with the Algerian government actions.

Morocco: Outreach To Sub-Saharan Africa

HASSAN MASIKY

03/29/13

Washington  / Morocco News Board --  Morocco's King, King Mohammed VI, timely trip to West Africa has been by all accounts a success. His economic, political and religious activities during his stops in Gabon, Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire gave the Moroccan diplomacy a much needed boost in Africa and expanded the economic presence of Moroccan businesses in the region. In fact, despite Morocco’s absence from the African Union, the Moroccan-African relationships never ceased to develop and extend.

Western Sahara Separatists Clash with Mauritania Miners

HASSAN MASIKY

03/22/13

Algeria: Contradictory Policies on Mali and Western Sahara

HASSAN MASIKY

03/21/13

Washington  /  Morocco News  Board --   When less-developed countries work hard to entice their diasporas to return to the old country to assist with local development projects, the Algerian government faced with a myriad of socio-economic problems is spending its petrodollars to lobby Algerians aboard to “defend the Sahrawi cause”.  As Algeria confronts unprecedented social unrests in its own Sahara, the Algerian government sponsored a visit by a “caravan of 70 young Algerians of France” to the Western Sahara Separatists refugee camps not far from areas where Algerian citizens continue to protest asking for better living conditions.

Morocco To facilitate Autonomy For Northern Mali

HASSAN MASIKY

03/20/13

Washington  /  Morocco News  Board --   After months of advocating for a more engaged Moroccan diplomacy in the Malian conflict and for including the The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in any future resolution to the conflict in the North, I am pleased to report that Morocco’ Party of Ethnicity and Modernity (known as PAM) has decided to organize a reconciliation meeting between the Malian government and the Touareg rebels.

Cuba's HR Abuses and Western Sahara

HASSAN MASIKY

03/18/13

Washington  /  Morocco News  Board --   Amidst recurrent diplomatic setbacks, the most frustrating aspect of Morocco’s foreign policy remains its inability to capitalize on its foes’ mistakes. Rabat’s failure to draw on the suspicious death of Cuba’s leading dissident and on Spain’s shameful silence over reports of the illegal arrest and mistreatment of a member of Spain’s ruling Popular Party (PP) at the hands of Cuban intelligence are two particular instances of a Moroccan diplomcay lacking a global vision.