News Briefs # 108

Aid Deal with Gulf States

Qatar and Morocco have signed an aid deal worth US $1.25 billion. It forms part of a package of financial assistance over five years from the wealthy Gulf states to Morocco, with the aim of helping it to weather the Arab Spring protests

The Emir of Qatar and King Mohammed VI have signed an aid deal

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to provide aid worth a total 5 billion dollars to Morocco until 2017 to build up its infrastructure, strengthen its economy and foster tourism.

Each of the four countries has committed 1.25 billion dollars to Morocco for the whole five year period.

King Mohammed VI signed an agreement last Friday with Emir of Qatar. The aid will be very welcome in order to reduce social discontent that helped to oust rulers elsewhere in North Africa, including Tunisia and Egypt.

Morocco is under heavy pressure from international lenders to reduce its budget deficit after spending heavily on food and energy subsidies and higher public sector salaries in 2011 and 2012, to help defuse social tensions.

Morocco has budgeted to receive a total 1 billion dollars in aid from the Gulf states for 2014. It hopes to cut its budget deficit to 4.9 percent of gross domestic product next year from an estimated 5.5 percent in 2013.

Qatar was the last of the four Gulf states to sign the aid accord with Morocco.

The Gulf states have agreed a similar package of aid, also worth a total 5 billion dollars over a five-year period, for Jordan.


China Plans Strategic Alliance with Morocco

China is also wooing Morocco - the latest in a line of US allies. Last Tuesday December 23 King Mohammed VI met with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, who is on an official visit, at the Royal palace in Rabat

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi meets King Mohammed VI in Rabat

Officials said China has been planning a summit with Morocco in an effort to establish a strategic alliance. Morocco has found relations with Washington under President Barack Obama less than congenial. There has been tension over the US support for Algeria as well as efforts to undermine Rabat's control of the disputed Western Sahara.

The officials said the alliance could be formally launched during a visit by Moroccan King Mohammed to Beijing. “We welcome this invitation,” a Moroccan official said. The date has not yet been named for the visit.

At least 20 Chinese companies are operating in Morocco, with trade in 2012 reported to be around 300 million euro.


Terrorist Cell Dismantled

Moroccan authorities said on Thursday they had dismantled a “terrorist cell” operating in several cities that included people trained in the use of firearms and explosives

North Africa has been on heightened alert in recent years as regional jihadist groups have grown more powerful and as the turmoil in Libya following Muammar Qaddafi’s 2011 overthrow has left the vast and mostly desert region awash with weapons.

Morocco’s interior ministry said the operation had netted an individual who had been detained in the past on terrorism charges and who was now coordinating nationwide operations, including fundraising and recruiting militants.

The ministry did not specify the number of people arrested nor the cities in which the operation took place.

Morocco has announced the dismantling of several alleged terrorist cells this year, and authorities have expressed concern about the proliferation of extremist groups.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the global terror network’s North Africa affiliate, released a video in September calling for jihad in Morocco, which it referred to as a “kingdom of corruption and despotism.”

SHARE THIS!

International Forum: Mediterranean Women's Rights in the Aftermath of the ‘Arab Uprisings’

An important International Forum will take place in Fez from June 21 to 23. The presence of women in the "Arab Uprisings" has not resulted in marked improvement of the position of women in society.  This forum will tackle big and important issues

The international forum is hosted by the Isis Center for Women and Development and the Rabat office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stftung. The forum takes place at the Palais des Congrès in Fez from June 21 to June 23.

Women’s rights in the south of the Mediterranean have been on the rise with ups and downs. There seems to be a backlash on these rights after the Arab uprisings. In reflecting on women’s rights two years after the uprisings, many paradoxes come to mind.

On the one hand, we have witnessed a spectacular presence of women of all ages, ideologies, ethnicities and social statuses during the political mobilization of the uprisings (as has been well documented by the media).

Yet, on the other hand, and here is the first paradox, in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Kuwait, the newly elected governments have a very weak, if not a zero, representation of women. Furthermore, the political Islamization of the MENA region is a fact (with the adjectives "moderate" and "salafist" added according to the Islamic dose involved).

However, and here is the second paradox, what most advocates of women’s rights (scholars and activists) had scored through decades were also “Islamic” gains. Women’s rights advocates in the region fought to improve, not replace, Sharia laws and they have targeted patriarchy, not Islam. These two paradoxes call for serious debate and action. The goal of the forum is to discuss the new challenges facing academics, activists and politicians.

The forum is organized around nine major axes:

1. Equality of sexes in the new constitutions
2. Feminist discourses in the region (secular/liberal and Islamic feminisms)
3. Feminine and feminist activisms
4. Women’s political participation in the eve of the Arab uprisings
5. Women and economic empowerment
6. Women and cultural Rights
7. Rural Women
8. Women’s rights and public/individual freedoms, masculinites
9. Women and transnational networking

The languages of the forum will be : Arabic, French and English.

For more information please contact: Contact: Prof. Dr. Fatima Sadiqi (ISIS), Academic Director sadiqi_fatima@yahoo.fr

To read the full programme and all the details: CLICK HERE

SHARE THIS!

Moroccan News Briefs #85

Shipwreck. 1 dead and 2 missing in the sinking of a boat off Safi

At least one sailor was killed this week in the sinking of a fishing boat near the coastal town of Lalla Fatna, about 10 kilometers north of the port of Safi. His body was recovered the same day, informed the local salvage services, noting that two other sailors are still missing. The sinking of the boat, which occurred in the morning was probably due to the "strong swell that hit the coast of the region," says one local sopurce. The sailors had been warned of the risk on Tuesday by the port of Safi authorities.

French utility GDF Suez to build and operate Africa's largest wind farm in Morocco

GDF Suez and local company Nareva Holding plan to complete the 300-megawatt Tarfaya project in the southern coastal desert, by the end of 2014, the Paris- based utility said today in a statement. The partners, using a 360 million-euro ($488 million) loan from Moroccan banks and 90 million euros of their own capital, will share development costs equally. The banks contributing to the scheme are: Attijariwafa Bank, Banque Centrale Populaire and Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur

The Tarfaya wind park will have an output of 300 megawatts, representing around two-fifths of the country's total wind energy capacity. GDF Suez and Nareva have signed a 20-year agreement to sell the power generated at their project to Morocco’s Office National de l’Electricite & de l’Eau Potable. “Optimal” wind conditions will give the site a utilization rate of 45 percent, GDF Suez said.

Several African countries including Kenya and Ethiopia in the east are starting to harness wind power as their energy demands increase.

Morocco, where demand for electricity has risen 6 percent a year on average over the last 15 years, wants to produce 42 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020, GDF said. With rising electricity demand and untapped wind resources, Morocco is luring developers including Enel Green Power SpA and Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. to build clean-energy projects. Morocco aims to build 2,000 megawatts of wind capacity by 2020 to curb dependence on fossil fuels.

“There’s no uncertainty about power prices or volumes,” GDF Suez Chief Executive Officer Gerard Mestrallet said. “There’s no risk.”


Moroccan Centre for Human Rights calls for investigation into student death in Fez

Youssef El Kaidi, writing for Moroccan World News, reports that he death of Mohamed El-Fizazi last Saturday, January 26th, in the University Hospital Hassan II in Fez continues to stir different reactions and responses. The Moroccan Center for Human Rights called for an independent and impartial investigation into the death of Moahmmed El-Fizazi.

In a statement to the public, the Moroccan Centre for Human Rights stressed that Mohammed El-Fizazi died “as a result of the intervention of Quick Response Forces on January 14th and 15th, 2013 against students living in the university campus of Sais-Fez. The intervention was described by many observers as excessively violent.”

The Human Right Centre as called called for a transparent investigation to clarify the circumstances leading to the death of Mohammed El-Fizazi and take the necessary legal action against all those involved in his murder.

The regional board of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights in Taher Souk, 60 miles north east of fez, the birth place of the deceased, issued a statement to the public opinion condemning in the strongest terms the repressive actions which resulted in the death of the student Moahmmed El-Fizazi.” The board also holds the security forces responsible for the death of Al-Fizazi and “demands a thorough investigation into the tragedy and the trial of the criminals.”

The 20th February Movement in Fez issued a strongly worded statement, obtained by Morocco World News. The movement, which has been asking for political change in Morocco since February 20th, 2011 strongly “condemns the brutal intervention against the students who were struggling for their most basic rights (food and lodging).” The movement also calls for “the prosecution of all those involved in the crime of January 14th and 15th which led to the martyrdom of the student.”

The latest news coming from Taher Souk say that the delay in delivering the corpse of the deceased to the family created a state of indignation and anger, not just in the family, but in the whole village. This delay is attributed to the fact that the corpse is taken to another hospital for a forensic autopsy to investigate the real causes of death.

Students from the University of Fez told Morocco World News that the university is expected to be on a ‘hot tin’ the coming weeks if students decide to boycott classes or protest against the violence that led to the death of their friend.


Another new shopping mall for Casablanca

The "Anfaplace Shopping Center" was inaugurated on Thursday in Casablanca, during a ceremony presided over by Abderkader Amara, Minister of Trade, Industry and new technologies, and Lahcen Haddad, Minister of Tourism. Carried out on an area of 3.6 hectares, for a total investment of 829 million dirhams, the mall is home to more than 80 international brands of ready-to-wear, accessories.

The mall will generate more than 3,000 direct and indirect jobs. In addition to 1,200 parking spaces, it will house several medical and financial services as well as leisure facilities including a space for children.

Managing the new center has been entrusted to CB Richard Ellis. The company has nearly 39,000 employees and more than 447 offices worldwide in over 60 different countries. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011 and achieved a turnover of 5.9 billion dollars.

This new mall is part of a tourist, residential and business which includes a 5 star hotel (scheduled to open in 2014), a residential area of 240 homes, tourist residences and office floors. Several personalities attended the ceremony inauguarion, including the Mayor of Casablanca, Mohamed Sajid, and the Spanish ambassador in Rabat, Alberto Navarro.


Youth unemployment in the Arab region is the highest in the world

A report by the U.N. International Labour Organization (ILO) says stated that the Arab uprisings have exposed skewed development policies, social justice deficits and over twenty years of poorly managed economic liberalization.

“As a region, youth unemployment is the highest globally at 23.2 percent, compared to a world average of 13.9 percent, and varies significantly within sub-regions,” said the report named “Rethinking Economic Growth: Towards Productive and Inclusive Arab Societies.”

“Arab region youth unemployment is the highest globally"

The report does however have some positive assessments of the situation in the Middle East. The Arab region has achieved near universal primary education enrolment since the 1970’s. Furthermore the youth literacy rate is now 92 percent in North Africa and 99 per cent in the Middle East and the Gulf Cooperation Council, reported the Saudi Press Agency.

Countries in the region were able to tackle debt and inflation during the 1990’s and 2000’s, they also managed to spur economic growth and create jobs. However, growth lagged behind global standards and the newly created jobs were focused in the arena of low productivity sectors. Governments paid scant attention to the social consequences of their economic policies.

Meanwhile, the private sector has remained among the least competitive globally due to low rates of investment as well as a poor regulatory environment. There is also the noted issue of widespread nepotism and corruption.

Mohammad Pournik, Poverty Practice Leader at the United Nations Development Fund’s (UNDP) regional centre in Cairo, noted that one of the demands of Arab youth was attaining jobs without the need for intermediaries. “The real issue is the need for jobs with social dignity rather than jobs that come at the expense of dignity,” said Pournik.

According to the report, economic growth in the next decade is dependent on good governance – which must improve to attract higher rates of investment and enable structural and institutional reforms. “Arabs need an inclusive development model that is grounded in social justice,” said Nada al-Nashif, Regional Director for the Arab States, International Labour Organisation.


Smart phones 4Africa

Microsoft, taking aim at the world's fastest-growing smartphone market, said on Monday that it would team up with Huawei of China to sell a low-cost Windows smartphone in Africa.

Huawei 4Afrika Windows Phone (photo AFP)

The phone, called the Huawei 4Afrika Windows Phone, will cost $US150 ($A144) and initially be sold in seven countries. Microsoft's Windows Phone software is fourth among smartphone operating systems, with just 2 per cent of the worldwide market in September, according to Canalys, a British research firm.

"Microsoft is a small player in smartphones and it needs as many partners as it can get," said Pete Cunningham, an analyst at Canalys. "And Africa is one of Huawei's strongest markets outside of China."

Microsoft's choice of Huawei, a leading maker of mobile networking equipment for African operators, does not detract from Microsoft's commitment to Nokia, which is relying on Windows Phone software to lift its new line of smartphones and return the company to profitability.

Fernando de Sousa, the general manager for Microsoft Africa, said that in the next few months, Microsoft and Nokia planned to introduce two new Windows phones for the African market.
Africa has an average sales growth of 43 per cent a year since 2000, according to the GSM Association, an industry trade group based in London.

In sub-Saharan Africa alone, 10 per cent of the 445 million mobile phone users have smartphones, but that is expected to increase rapidly as operators expand high-speed networks.

By 2017, most consumers in South Africa will be using smartphones, up from 20 per cent last year, according to the GSM Association. In Nigeria, the continent's most populous country, the outlook for sustained growth is even greater, with smartphone penetration projected to reach 30 per cent by 2017.

The World Bank says that roughly a quarter of the 1 billion people on the continent are middle-class wage earners, the target group that Microsoft will try to reach with the Huawei phone, de Sousa said. "Africans are generally quite conscious of brand, quality and image," he said. "We are being very clear that we are not going to be building something cheap for this market. What we want to do is deliver real quality innovation at an affordable price. Compared to some smartphones that cost $600 here, this is very affordable."

Microsoft plans to introduce the Huawei 4Afrika phone on Tuesday at events in Lagos, Nigeria; Cairo, Nairobi, Kenya; Johannesburg and Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It will also be sold in Morocco and Angola.

The phone, which will run the Windows Phone 8 operating system, will be sold with applications designed for African consumers. Some apps give easy access to African soccer results. Others, like in Nigeria, focus on the country's entertainment and film industries. An application developed in Egypt allows a woman who feels she is being harassed to alert the authorities to her location with one touch of her phone.

By targeting Africa, Microsoft is trying to build on momentum it recently gained through its partnership with Nokia. The company sold 4.4 million Lumia Windows smartphones in the fourth quarter of last year, up from 2.9 million the previous quarter.

In November, the Microsoft chief executive, Steven Ballmer, said Microsoft had sold four times as many Windows phones at that point as it had a year earlier. A month later, Microsoft said sales of Windows phones over the holidays were five times those of a year ago.

Combined, Google's Android and Apple's iOS operating systems run about 7 in 10 smartphones worldwide, with BlackBerry at 15 per cent. But by 2016, Canalys expects Windows to overtake BlackBerry to become the No.3 operating system, with a 15 per cent share, compared with 5 per cent for BlackBerry.

Microsoft is not alone in its focus on Africa. Samsung, the largest seller of smartphones and mobile phones, has recently expanded the less expensive range of Galaxy smartphones to market in Africa and other emerging markets, said Anshul Gupta, an analyst at Gartner in Mumbai, India. Gupta said there was pent-up demand among African consumers for a smartphone costing $100 or less. He said several smaller Chinese phone makers, including TCL, ZTE and Lenovo, were working on developing simpler smartphones that sold for $50.


On the lighter side...

Sidi Fouad, aged 92, and Fatima Zahra, age 89, live in Fez. Recently they decided that it was time for them to get married. They became extremely excited about their decision tand decided to start making the arrangements. 

They go for a stroll to discuss the wedding, and on the way they pass a pharmacy. Sidi Fouad suggests they go in.

Sidi Fouad addresses the man behind the counter: "Are you the owner?"
The chemist answers, "Yes."

Sidi Fouad: "We're about to get married. Do you sell heart medication?"
Chemist: "Of course we do."

Sidi Fouad: "Medicine for rheumatism?"
Chemist: "Definitely."

Sidi Fouad: "Medicine for memory problems, arthritis, and Alzheimer's?"
Chemist: "Yes, a large variety. The works."

Sidi Fouad: "What about vitamins, sleeping pills, Geritol, antidotes for Parkinson's disease?"
Chemist: "Absolutely.."

Sidi Fouad: "Everything for heartburn and indigestion?"
Chemist: "We sure do."

Sidi Fouad: "You sell wheelchairs and walkers and canes?"
Chemist: "All speeds and sizes."

Sidi Fouad: And do you have viagra?
Chemist: Of course.

Sidi Fouad: "In that case, we'd like to use this pharmacy store for our wedding presents list."


SHARE THIS!

Photographer's Eye on Arab Spring in Morocco

Join Rabat based photographer Daniel Donnelly on Friday July 20 at 5pm as he talks about his work during the Arab Spring. Waiting for Spring has been organised by the ALC-ALIF Photo Club and will include a discussion.

Daniel Donnelly was born in the UK in 1981 and now lives in Rabat.

Since graduating in 2003 with a degree in Cultural Communications he has worked in Egypt, South Korea, India, England, and now Morocco.

Most recently he has been working on documenting change in developing countries and "the displays of power that exist on the streets of these places".

Donnelly was selected by the British Journal of Photography, the Photographers’ Gallery) and Panos Pictures as one of the Magenta Flash Forward Emerging Photographers of 2012.

When: Friday July 20 at 5pm
Where: ALIF Riad, near Batha (If you don't know how to find it, give Omar a call on 065966102.)


SHARE THIS!

Media Freedom in Morocco Takes a Backward Step.

“Islamist ministers are having trouble casting off their religious clothes and dealing with their ministerial jobs” 

That statement from a Moroccan news website was in response to the rather foolish comments by a newly elected Moroccan Justice Minister, Mustafa Ramid, who upset almost everybody by claiming tourists went to Marrakech in order to sin. Now another minister has created an unholy row by attempting to make public TV and Radio stations more religious. It is unfortunate to have come at a time when the media in Morocco are seeking greater press freedom. Ibn Warraq reports.

Communications Minister Mustapha Khalfi

"Khalfi is the minister of communications and a government official, not an imam or a mufti to say what is licit or illicit," Mohammed Ouzzine, Minister of Sport

Somehow it has escaped the Communications Minister Mustapha Khalfi from the newly elected moderate Islamist party that he is a servant of the people and not an imam.  His new guidelines for public broadcasters include petty measures such as banning lottery advertisements and mandating the broadcast of the call to prayer five times a day.

In another controversial section the detailed guidelines also call for reducing the amount of French on public television and including programs about youth and social issues that must include a mufti, or Muslim cleric.

"These channels are performing a public service and so they must submit to certain minimum requirements," Khalifi told L'Economiste daily last Thursday.

The state channels previously had little overtly religious programming.

The furor over the guidelines' religious aspects has grown over the last few weeks as the heads of the normally docile public TV stations have publicly criticized the measures as a threat to their independence.

Observers say the controversy is also about a newly elected government attempting to assert itself against the all-powerful palace and king that have traditionally controlled the media.

In an interview on Friday, the news director for Channel 2M said the guidelines represent "a will to kill the programming on Channel Two. This is not a license agreement. It is a programing list, and logic and our profession says that politics should not dictate TV programing," Samira Sitail told the daily Al-Ahdath Al-Maghrebiya.

The head of public broadcasting, Faisal Laraachi, said: "Our editorial independence is sacred."

Members of Khalfi's own Justice and Development Party have fired back, with one parliamentarian threatening street demonstrations against the heads of state media, if the measures aren't adopted.
"These figures fighting against our party are the same ones resisting reform," Abdallah Bouanou told the daily Akhbar al-Maghrebiya.

The influential Morocco World News is reporting that Abdelilalh Benkirane, head of the government, is believed to be heading towards dismissing both Samira Sitail, head of the news department of 2M channel, as well as Salim Sheikh, director of the channel.

PM Abdelilah Benkirane and Samira Sitail head of news at 2M-TV

Backed by constitutional amendments that give the government greater powers, the Islamist-led government has been flexing its muscles. Yet, if PM Benkirane does not bring a little more common sense to his ministers' proclamations, he may find he is leading a one-term government. Or, in the short term may even forfeit its majority, because, while the Islamists are the dominant party in the coalition, it shares power with three other parties.

Many of these coalition partners are uneasy with the Islamist party's reform efforts and a number of ministers have been vocally critical of the media guidelines.  Nabil Benabdellah, the minister of housing and former communications minister from the left-wing Party of Progress and Socialism, even threatened to quit the government over the guidelines before backing down in a later radio interview.

There is also opposition to the guidelines from the public who who fear the Islamization of the media. At a time when the Arab Spring could have headed to a glorious Arab Summer, these developments could be an indication of an early and unpleasant Autumn. 

SHARE THIS!

Arab League Foreign Ministers Gather in Rabat to Discuss Syria

Following the Arab League's dramatic decision to suspend Syria from the organization, on Wednesday  there will be an extraordinary meeting in Rabat. 

More pressure mounted on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad yesterday as Turkey evacuated nationals from its diplomatic mission. The Syrian authorities called for the meeting of foreign ministers as Mr Assad's neighbours, in some cases former friends, reacted with fury to attacks on their embassies and consulates by mobs of his supporters denouncing the League's decision.

One group of supporters broke into the Saudi embassy in Damascus, smashing windows, while another tore down the flag on the embassy of Qatar. Both were leading voices in the move to suspend Syria. There were also attacks on Turkish and French consulates and missions in provincial cities, leading to a decision by the Turkish government to send planes to ferry its diplomats and their families home. The loss of the support of Turkey, once seen as a key strategic ally, has been a particular blow to Mr Assad.

Ministers are already gathering in Rabat for a forum on Arab-Turkish cooperation and the Ministry said yesterday that the meeting will take place on the margins. Among the measures that will be discussed are possible ways of providing protection for civilians in Syria, the Arab League's secretary general, Nabil Elaraby, told reporters.

He said the league may turn to the U.N. Security Council for help, a step that would echo the push toward military intervention against Libya this year. It also suggested that Arab leaders are serious about implementing the decision to suspend Syria's membership and seek ways to halt the violent crackdown against the country's protest movement.

In a further setback for Damascus, Turkey said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu would meet with the Arab foreign ministers attending the gathering in Morocco, a sign that the region is closing ranks against Assad after he failed to implement an Arab League peace plan.

The League's decision to suspend Syria from the organization followed the government's crackdown on an eight-month old uprising that the U.N. estimates has killed more than 3,500 people since mid-March. The vote leaves Syria increasingly isolated. The surprise vote Saturday by 18 of the Arab League's 22 member states to suspend Syria's membership and open talks with the Syrian opposition about a post-Assad transition triggered a furious reaction in Damascus.

However, while a majority of the Arab League Foreign Ministers appear to condemn Syria, there is uncertainty as to what further action can be taken. Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr is reported as saying that the goal was to avoid international intervention in Syria. On the other hand, Qatar and the Saudis are suggesting that suspension and sanctions do not go far enough and are actively engaged in talks with the Syrian opposition in exile.

King Abdullah of Jordan has suggested that even a change in the leadership is not enough to solve the Syrian tensions. The installation of another Baath Party figure or Assad's much despised brother would solve nothing, he says. Instead, he favours a "new democracy based not on clan, tribe or religious extremes, but a real political choice of Left, Right or Centre".

Of the Arab League countries, only Iran is standing by the Syrians.

The Syrian Government is feeling the heat and must also be worried by the change of heart from the Chinese. Up until now they have opposed UN sanctions, but are now talking about engaging with the opposition parties and ceasing to back Bashar Assad's brutal regime.

SHARE THIS!

Morocco Referendum: TV debate in the US

Moroccans go to the polls tomorrow, Friday 1 July, to vote in a referendum on the King's proposed new constitution. Moroccans living abroad are also able to vote.

In Washington DC yesterday, the Morocco Board organised a televised debate on the question, where some Moroccan Americans called for a boycott and others plan to vote 'yes'.

The Morocco Board News sends this report:
Mr. Hajjouji Ahmad spoke about the process of producing the new constitution. "This draft is an improvement, no doubt, but this package was put on the table and we were told to vote on it in two weeks, there was essentially no debate, no chance for people with conflicting views to come to the table, and discuss and inform the voters. You want that vote to be based on solid information..."

Mr. Masiky, a writer and a former spokesman for Amnesty International USA, said "the new constitution includes some important reforms that will improve things, particularly reforms relating to Justice, providing that they are implemented properly."

Mr Adil Naji , an entrepreneur and community activist, said "The majority of Moroccans, most political parties, have accepted the new constitution, they want to move forward, they regard this as the foundation for more reforms in the future".


The program was produced by Said Zairi and hosted by Mostapha Saout, editor of the Morocco Board News. The program will be broadcast on line and on Morocco Board TV. You can watch the YouTube video here.

Fes Forum asks the questions

Katherine Marshall has long been involved with the Fes Forum at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. She is a
Senior Fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University.

In the following article published in the Huffington Post, Katherine explains just what the Fes Forum tackled at this year's Fes Festival. The Forum is a debating platform that takes place over the first four days of the Festival - this year the theme was a Debate on Wisdoms. Influential people from all walks of life are invited to take part in discussing important world problems.

A SPIRITUAL TAKE ON THE PALESTINE-ISRAEL CONFLICT & THE ARAB SPRING

The Fes Festival faced pouring rain early this week but that did not dampen the spirits of the tens of thousands of people who mill around this beautiful old city in search of beauty and the inspiration that comes from a rich menu of sacred music. In a world where interfaith dialogue rarely makes headlines and provokes not a few cynical asides, it is heartening to see both large audiences and a forest of cameras and recorders at the Festival's "idea" segment, the Fes Forum. Why? The notion of linking the world's cultural diversity and its challenge meets a strong echo. And the inspiration of music frees people from set patterns of communications, opening the path to fresh exchange and a lively dialogue.

On Sunday and Monday (June 5 and 6) the Forum plunged into hot waters, with two morning sessions devoted first to the conflict in the Middle East, and second to the turbulent events that have shattered apathy and perhaps complacency in North Africa. The youth uprisings inspire great hopes here, and real apprehension. Here in Fes, there is a sense of sitting near the epicenter of the seismic changes that are transforming not only politics but also culture and social norms.

Beginning on an artistic note, Sunday's discussion began with a reflection by Dr. Katia Legeret Manochhaya (professor at the Sorbonne) on India's traditions of wisdom. Wisdom is so tightly connected to spirituality that the two are inseparable. Asked about wisdom, many Indians look up to the seven great sages who they see in the constellation of the Great Bear. "Ri" evokes the three actions that are attributed to the wise: to situate, to participate, and to act. In India, the rich spirituality of wisdom is conveyed above all through stories and art, legends and parables drawn from the great texts, and above all the Bhagavad Gita. That is how the young learn and the traditions are transmitted.

We moved swiftly from Indian spirituality to the turbulent present realities of the contemporary Arab world and the Near East, with the geographic and spiritual focus shifting rapidly through the morning's discussion. The rhythm and tempo of discussion rose: emotions ran deep as sensitive, often taboo, topics were evoked. However, one participant's reflection was that the capacity to discuss and exchange frankly on these issues marked an opening.

What is the "Near East"? Majid Rahnema, reflecting on Iran's revolutionary history, painted a large canvass for the day's discussion. He tied the "surprises" of political uprisings to the world's social injustices, especially today the four billion people who are poor. Then Mahmoud Hussein (pseudonym for two French Egyptian scholars and activists) read passages from their work that traced the daily evolution of Egypt's political transition, again evoking the themes of surprise set against the deep forces at work which explain this year's events. Edgar Morin saw many parallels between the French Revolution and today's changes and challenges: the blend of hope and anger, in the face of arbitrary dictatorships and corruption. Symbols bring people together and mobilize them to move beyond paralysis and apathy, whether the young Tunisians and Egyptians confronted by arbitrary, cruel power, or the Bastille in the France of 1789. The principle of liberty is the thread that links these political earthquakes.

With so many injustices and conflicts in the world, why, asked Edgar Morin, does the Palestine-Israel conflict assume such a central role? Is it a cancer that has metastasized to the world? This theme of cancer and of the open wound of conflict touched off exchanges that evoked many unresolved debates. What are the causes of conflict, what leads to their transmission, and where can we find the balance between the very local elements of conflict and their global ricochet effects in today's fast moving world? Where are the solutions?

Nabil Ayouch brought a deeply personal element that transformed the discussion. His own family and upbringing -- Muslim and Jewish -- led him to question deeply both identity and assumptions. He came then to work with film, and specifically travelled to the tragic refugee camps in Lebanon and to Israel and its dynamic and connected young generation. Religion and politics, geography and culture, all are part of the paradox of the present. His conclusion: that the worst enemy today is not hate but indifference -- the capacity of Israel, especially, to cut itself off from the history and present realities of its neighbors. Yet he recalled the wise words of a young girl who said it is not the land that is too small, but people's hearts.

The latter discussion and the intense questioning from the audience centered on the Palestine Israel conflict. The paradox was evoked again and again: the solutions to the conflict appear to be well known, yet the current situation is blocked, hopelessly it seems. Borders, Jerusalem, refugees, come up again and again in an endless cycle. The discussion and above all the emotional undercurrents are hard to capture, but among the points of concern, and hope, are prospects that in September the United Nations will recognize Palestine as a state, the failures of the Quartet (the UN, European Union, the United States, and Russia) and the hopes and disappointments surrounding the role of the United States and President Obama.

Indian spirituality seems far removed from the troubling cycle of discussions about politics in the Near East, but the elements of wisdom evoked in the opening ran through the discussion. To situate and ground, in both realities and perceptions, is a first imperative. A second imperative, to participate, is the essence of the new revolution and the re-engagement of people in shaping their future. And to act is also part of wisdom. So, the Forum is left with the challenge of its vision: can the "spirit of Fes" help in breaking the vicious cycle of hate and indifference? Can it restore human dignity to the stalemate and hurt? Can this blend of history and present, spiritual and material, help bring solutions?

On Tuesday, Fes Forum moved closer to home, plunging directly into a spirited discussion of the immediate realities facing the Maghreb. The large panel -- nine participants -- from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and France, veered from history and reflections on the deeper causes that inspired and provoked the uprisings and demands for change to what all acknowledged was speculation about what will come next. Youth, women, employment, poor governance, and links between Europe and the Arab world were constant themes.

Despite the element of surprise, even shock, of what one participant characterized as an earthquake, a clear set of deeper causes lay behind the waves of reaction and action that followed the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia. While each country is very different, there are important common threads. Today's youth, the young people at the forefront of the incessant demands for change, are the product of demography: a baby boom that has tripled the region's population in 30 years, the changing age pyramid accentuated by declining births. Thus youth have burst onto the scene demanding attention. Images and preconceptions to the contrary, the societies have been fundamentally feminized: women are there, and they want to share power and responsibility. In societies where community was a historical norm, the individual has emerged as an actor, not only in the visible Facebook and Twitter transformation but in what lies behind it, in human terms. Many recognize now that small groups can bring large changes. And the benefits of massive increases in education across the region, whatever its shortcomings, are apparent in a much broader and deeper political discourse and participation. A result is that all institutions, top to bottom, face new challenges. The conclusion? If people had looked behind the façade, the makings of revolution were quite apparent. Change was and is inevitable.

While Sunday's discussions about Palestine and Israel spilled over into Monday's reflections, still the absence of focus on that conflict belies the image of a region obsessed and blocked by the unresolved tensions further to the east. The question lingers and arouses passions and concerns, but it is not at the center. What is more immediate is the economy. Youth need jobs, a huge challenge that is not being met. The ultra-liberal free market model has not delivered. Neither has the trimming of the state that came with it. Better, not less, government is what is needed now.

Then on to the revolution itself and its character and its future. This revolution is proudly seen as non-violent at its heart, a rejection of old ideologies, whether of Marx or of Islamism. New values are emerging -- shaped in part, Amel Arfaoui suggested, by the important role of women who challenge the paradigms of dominance and power of the past. The new generation is allergic to all forms of corruption. But against this hopeful picture, the counsel of wisdom obliges us to question how far this is truly a new kind of revolution, or pattern of social change, or will the historical patterns of hope, turbulence, anarchy, dictatorship emerge? The risks are real and great.

The role of Islam, Islamism, and Islamania (fear of Islam or, more truly, obsession) was woven through the discussion. The culture of Islam deserves as much focus as the politics of Islam, argued Veronique Rieffel. A hard new look at both culture and religion are essential, in Europe and in the Maghreb.

The revolution affects both the southern and northern banks of the Mediterranean and brings home both common interests and differences. Some of these differences have stymied the ideals of the Mediterranean Union project. But what is striking, the group argued, is the common interests. What young people everywhere want, Bariza Khiari emphasized, is really exactly the same. The hope is that the Arab spring can break through preconceptions -- the old Orientalism that has colored and distorted Western images of the east, lending it both a passive and an aggressive character. There is hope in the new visions and understanding that are an essential part of the events of recent months. Linking north and south, Europe and the Maghreb and the Arab world, make sense and indeed such reinforced links essential for both. But there is plenty to debate: how far do these geographic spaces make sense as a central organizing principle? Where does a Mediterranean focus leave Iraq? The Baltic? Africa? Plenty of issues and obstacles emerged. However, a hard new look at what seems an eminently sensible and important idea, even a vision of rebuilding ties, is needed now more than ever.

The future? It will be difficult and there is much that is highly uncertain. It will surely be exhausting and demanding, yet full of hope and exhilaration. Civil society's role and the establishment of a state of law and justice, including fair distribution of wealth, and building on the emerging pluralism, in many senses of the term, need to be at the center. Education and jobs need urgent attention and action. There is no option but to hope, for peaceful, intelligent, wise change. An alliance of positive forces can help avert the risks and shape a positive destiny. Nations, alliances, and solid regional groupings, one concluding remark emphasized, are forged far less by common elements and even interests but more by a common vision that unites across differences. The Arab Spring thus promises to this very diverse region the new position in the world that it has long desired and deserved. The region's political leaders and its elites face great responsibilities, a collective challenge, and an opportunity to translate their ideals and promise into reality.