| Poor Alternatives |
| JILLIAN C. YORK | ||||||||||
 Anne Applebaum, liberal-ish Washington Post and Slate correspondent, former-USSR expert, and wife of the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, recently published the most ridiculous op-ed of all time, entitled “Morocco, an Alternative to Iran.” On Slate, it was published as “Morocco Makes Peace With Its Past” (perhaps even more proposterous), and I perhaps wouldn’t have noticed it had it not linked to a piece of mine on Global Voices which, quite neutrally, reported on the recent election of Marrakesh’s first female mayor.Applebaum’s piece is problematic for a number of reasons aside from the obvious (which is to say that, while shooting protesters and clamping down on free speech are fundamentally wrong, the elections themselves are still contested). From the opening paragraph, in which she invokes the all-too-common cliché of non-headscarf wearing Muslims “[not looking] out of place in New York or Paris” to her claims of Morocco entering a new era of democracy, Applebaum demonstrates her total ignorance of the Maghreb and the Arab world on the whole. Take this sentence, for example: “…unlike most of its Arab neighbors, the country has over the last 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 strives to be compatible both with sharia and international conventions on human rights.” Anyone with an iota of knowledge on Moroccan politics can see the flaws in this paragraph; from the recent elections, in which the newly created Modernity and Authenticity Party, or P.A.M. (dubbed the “King’s Party”), closely linked to the royal palace, managed to sweep 22,158 seats to the three journalists arrested and fined for insulting the tyrannical leader of Libya, it doesn’t take a genius to see that Morocco is not a prime example of democracy, nor a model for Iranian reform. In fact, Morocco’s own human rights record is deeply flawed. Despite substantial changes from the “Years of Lead,” Morocco continues to oppress Saharawi citizens (be their true nationality Moroccan or Saharawi, it should be relatively undisputed that they are not treated well by the state), suppress Amazigh activists by outlawing their language in schools and requiring their children be given Arab names even abroad, and persecute converts to other religions. Furthermore, Morocco almost certainly harbors CIA rendition sites, as has been testified by former Guantanamo inmates, and almost always turns the other cheek to Israeli and United States imperialism. Applebaum also brazenly suggests that perhaps, had the Iranian revolution not occurred, perhaps Iran could have followed a similar path to Morocco, saying, “One thinks wistfully of the shah of Iran and of what might have been.” It’s as if she forgets, or is completely unaware, of the human rights violations and general atmosphere of oppression under Pahlavi. Lastly, Applebaum’s assertion that “the Arab world lacks the political will to change” reeks of Obamania. Doubtless there are a number of Arab countries in which rigged elections, oppression of citizenry, and lack of freedoms are rampant, but the meme that democracy and capitalism are the only way (not to mention the United States’ hypocritical views toward democratic elections in the Middle East) is getting old. Change, if it is to happen, needs to come from within, and will not occur thanks to Western journalists, nor Twitter users changingtheir icons green, nor United States imperialism.
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Moroccan Patriot
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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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mazagen,,,, the healthy debate has always existed. There is healthy debate in Iraq, Afghanistan, somalia, Western china, healthy debate goes on as Islam and brown people are attacked and disenfranchised. |
Jillian C. York
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To Mazagan Mazagan, I feel that the points I chose to express were limited by Ms. Applebaum's column. Aside from the few errors in wording and facts that I made (thank you for pointing them out), I was simply responding to Ms. Applebaum, and by no means meant to imply that there is not wide discourse happening on the ground. Though there's no need in my responding to each one individually, I want to note that my piece was reactionary, and not intended at all to be the final word on anything. Best, Jillian |
mazagan
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Left wing tiers mondiste vs. soft neocon view of Morocco I would like to discuss some of the facts listed by Jillian’s very passionate piece to drive her point. -The three journalists sued by Khaddafi were never arrested, but they were found guilty of defamation and heavily fined. They were used as political pawns in the inter Arab alliance games. That is a worst breach for the freedom of the press, now the media have to resort to self censorship to avoid being dragged to court and bankruptcy. -The Moroccan government does not “oppress the Sahrawi citizens” , verbiage very reminiscent of the West Bank situation. There is no denial, Sahrawi independantists and Islamic militants are not treated well by the state. -The Amazigh names are now routinely accepted by the administration, still not in an official manner. Amazigh is taught in Berber majority areas -Although the official religion of the country is Islam, currently you will find dozens of evangelists roaming douars and shantytowns of Morocco. -“Morocco turns the other cheek to Israeli and US imperialism”. Beside the new “axis of evil” (N.Korea, Iran, Venezuela) who does not nowadays? -Morocco is not the alternative to Iran ( the concept is for the US domestic consumption ), but we fail to mention a better example in the Arab world. Anne Applebaum and Jillian York have two opposed world views, both well meaning and paternalistic, understanding auntie vs. rebellious sister, the New World Order vs. Venceremos. In one, Morocco is the picture perfect Oriental student in line with the West marching orders and the FMI directions, in the other it is simply the lackey of the Imperialism and the oppressor of peoples’ freedom. Moroccos’ reality does not fit perfectly in either prism. The electoral process has suffered a major setback, being recuperated by the oligarchy. Still within the country, there is still very healthy civic and political debate taking place. |
Moroccan Patriot
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Great Job Jillian Jillian, I completely agree with your assessment. However, I do believe that Amazigh is now allowed to be taught in school. This policy of allowing it to be taught in school has the support of roughly half the population, the Berber half. :) |
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