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The rapist is free, the rapper is in jail

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Politics in my country are plain boring; the rules are rigged from the beginning, so the game is no fun watching, and missing it, doesn’t seem to make a difference. But indifference is really hard to sustain when cheating results in crime and violations of basic freedoms.   Amina Filali and Moad El Haked. Both … Continue reading »

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  • Morocco to hold "early vote in mid-November: "RABAT — Morocco announced plans Sunday to hold early parliamentary elections in mid-November, as the Arab world's longest serving monarchy pursues reforms in response to protests inspired by the Arab Spring. During long overnight negotiations with the interior ministry, officials from some 20 political parties in the north African nation agreed in principle for the election to be held in mid-November"
  • By Hisham Almiraat via Global Voices: "Younes wrote a moving letter that he shared via the Internet, in which he explained his background and how he went from being a skeptic of the movement to one of its staunch supporters. The document spread like wildfire in the Moroccan blogosphere and was quickly echoed by several platforms including the militant group blog Mamfakinch!"
  • Via Global Voices - Reform With the Taste of an Unfinished Business: "After several months of street protests, King Mohammed VI, submitted a draft constitution to a popular referendum on Friday. According to official results, the proposed document received a 98 per cent approval rating, in a poll that drove massive turnout (73%) among registered voters...."
  • "June 30 (Reuters) - Morocco holds a referendum on Friday on a revised constitution that King Mohammed has offered to placate "Arab Spring" street protesters. Here is a timeline on Morocco since the king came to the throne."
  • When asked, what if you have dual citizenship, you're not registered at a Moroccan Consulate and your Moroccan passport is expired....to cast a vote on the upcoming Constitutional Referendum, is your expired Moroccan passport sufficient? And would you need your foreign ID as additional proof?  Consulate's response (in New York):  "You can’t use a foreign ID, your passport will be good." See also: Moroccans abroad CAN vote on the Constitutional Referendum too
  • Professor Driss Ben Ali [article in French]: "We have a country that has every opportunity to make a qualitative leap towards democracy without too much damage. Unfortunately, I see that things are moving to the contrary and it pains me immensely. I'm a little pessimistic about the turn of events!"  Hat tip Transparency Maroc
  • The unknown Moroccan Islamists: "In Morocco, as in every country in the region, Islamists represent a diverse, evolving, and messy field. The term "Islamist" could reasonably be applied to the banned JSO; or to the legal political party, the Party of Justice and Development (PJD); or to a bevy of illegal Salafi oriented groups. It could even pertain to the monarchy itself..."
  • Four Moroccans from different political backgrounds share their opinions on the state of the monarchy and key elements playing a role in determining the course of events: Abdellah El Harrif (Annahj Addimocrati), Mohamed Aghna (Al Adl Wal Ihsane), Omar Balafrej (Fondation Bouabid), Toumader Aouidi (Mouvement du 20 février) - All agree that Feb20 must continue the course.  
  • Morocco's Uprising: What's Missing?:"Our nation is plagued by a large misconception: that political change comes from large gatherings of individuals. Yet, crowds and large protests alone are not enough. They are certainly central to attracting attention of political institutions and the media, but they fail to catalyze interactions within smaller units of society..." [read more]
  • Watch Tariq Ramadan discuss women's role in Arab Spring, but in Islamic context and in terms of revolution, and not in terms of freedom, democracy or reform: Video Part 1 & Video Part 2  In the end, Tariq ramadan closes the discussion by thanking his guest, saying: "Thank you so much for your energy and pushing the women to be involved in this revolution and this struggle for freedom"...
  • Morocco's Youth Want Their Own Form of Change: "They achieved one success when the king appointed Abdesselam Aboudrar, founder of the Moroccan branch of Transparency International, to be the president of a government agency that will take action against corruption."  This important detail threw us off a little, thinking did we miss the news somehow?  Turns out it's old news, but still great to know.
  • Spain's Tahrir Square: "A silent revolution has begun in Spain, a nonviolent revolution which seeks democracy through democratic means, justice through just means, and peace through peaceful means has finally captivated the imagination of the Spanish people, and now there is no turning back."
  • On Twitter: @mouvement20fev On Facebook: The February 20th Movement: "We Have a Dream" & Jeunes 20 Février 20th February Youth & Mouvement 20 février 
  • Cat's out of the bag now, this GCC new deal is mainly an alliance of Sunnis against Shiites : "This vision is supported by Fahd Kheitan, chief editor of the independent Alarab Alyawm daily newspaper, who considers the expansion of the GCC to include Jordan and Morocco as a 'type of strategic alliance designed to deal with the winds of change that blow in the region.'"
  • Divining the Future in Morocco:  "Lalla Aisha, who says she thinks she must be 62 but doesn’t know for sure, can read the turbulence of the Arab Spring on palms, and in the cards, and above all hear it in the questions of her clients..."
  • Casablanca, Morocco (CNN) -- Single mothers in Morocco are breaking records. A recent study published by a Casablanca support group for single mothers says the number of Morocco's unmarried mothers in 2009 is at least double those in 2008 -- 27,200 compared with 11,016 the year before, according to the Institution Nationale de Solidarite Avec Les Femmes en Distresse.
  • Should a democracy have a King Wills and Queen Kate? : "There are damagingly undemocratic elements in the British political system – above all, the House of Lords – but the monarchy is not high among them. If we are talking about the power of a single unelected individual, Rupert Murdoch is a far greater threat to British democracy than our hereditary head of state"
  • Blast in Morocco tourist cafe kills 14: (Reuters) - An explosion killed 14 people, including foreigners, on Thursday in a busy cafe in the Moroccan tourist destination of Marrakesh, and authorities said the initial signs were that it was a criminal act. [read more]
  • Inside scoop on Saudi Arabia from an independent source, Dr Qanta Ahmed: "...panic-button tactics undermine decades of work by the Saudi government that is little seen by the outside world. Saudi authorities would do well to regain a perspective best expressed by their own even-keeled citizens."
  • Early elections in Morocco?: "The Moroccan Prime Minister, Abbas El Fassi, has called for holding the upcoming legislative elections immediately after a referendum on constitutional reforms this year in response to protests against corruption and against his government"
  • Via Mamfakinch: Moroccan protesters in Casablanca are contemplating whether they should stage a permanent sit-in a la Egypt's Tahreer Square.
  • Video from Zineb
  • Moroccan Auxiliary Forces (Mkhaznis) will get a raise: "RABAT, April 20 (Reuters) - Morocco will raise wages and ease access to housing for its auxiliary forces, a cabinet minister said on Wednesday"
  • "Women’s rights must be recognized and  promoted as human rights. Women were and continue to be leaders of the  revolutions, but far too often post-revolutionary powers exclude women’s realities and needs." [read more]
  • Artists have been deeply involved in the grassroots uprising across the Middle East over the past months...[read more]
  • According to Arabic daily Al Quds Al Arabi, King Mohamed VI has decided to share a portion of his business profits to help finance projects for unemployed youth. The information has not yet been confirmed by the royal palace.
  • Corrupt officials caught on camera by a Moroccan group calling themselves "Snipers".
  • Morocco royal pardon an encouraging step

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