Fez Hit Hard by Tourism Slump

Since the beginning of 2016 overnight stays in Fez are down 20%. The downturn has hit not only business in the tourist sector of Morocco's spiritual capital, but local traders say that the effects are being felt right down to many local families and artisans working in the Fez Medina. In some cases guesthouses have been forced to either close or lay off staff

There are now fewer tourists in the Fez Medina

According to a statement from the Fès-Boulemane Regional Delegation of Tourism, until the end of June, 326,201 overnight stays were registered in the spiritual capital of the kingdom, against 407,243 in the same period of last year.

In the 3, 4 and 5 star guest houses, occupancy rates are as low as 29% as compared to 35% last year. In hotels the guest numbers were also down with only 166,427 arrivals as against 200,873 a year earlier.

Of equal concern is the average length of stay. While Fez and its surrounds can easily fill a week-long itinerary, tourists have been opting for far shorter stays with the average length of a stay in Fez being only two days. This suggests that much more work needs to be done in promoting the Medina and the local area with its many day-trip destinations.

The slump in tourist numbers is also having an effect on guest house owners with a number either having sold their businesses or contemplating doing so. The more informal backpacker market appears to be sustaining itself, but is not sufficient to boost the overall situation in Fez as backpackers have relatively low disposable income.

On the up side - there are many guest houses offering lower rates and with the beautiful Autumn weather arriving, it is a perfect time to visit Fez.

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Morocco's Increase in ATMs and E-Commerce

Morocco's ATM network now has 6,732 machines around the country with the installation of 203 new branches during the first half of 2016, an increase of 3.1% compared to the numbers in December 2015

According to the Centre For Interbank Electronic Banking (CMI) the network has seen an increase of 129.1 million dirhams in withdrawals by Moroccan and foreign bank cards for a total of 112.3 billion dirhams a growth of 8.7% in terms of withdrawals and 9.2% in value.

Cards issued by the Moroccan banks numbered 12.3 million, an increase of 3.9% compared to December 2015. The major cards are Visa, MasterCard and the national brand CMI. The growth is due to a significant increase the number of cards, with MasterCard up 10.4% and CMI also up 10.4% and a moderate increase in the number of private cards (+ 0.9%) and Visa (+ 0.7%) compared to the numbers at the end December 2015.

Prepaid (debit) cards, represent 1.6 million cards - 48.4% of CMI cards, 49.5% of Visa and MasterCard cards and 2.1% for store cards.

At the same time e-commerce is booming with 873.4 million dirhams generated in the first half of 2016, an increase of 35.4% compared to the same period last year. The activity totaled 1.7 million Moroccan and foreign transactions via bank cards, an increase of 51.6%. Moroccan bank cards stand out with strong growth in transactions, which reached 1.6 million (+ 52%), while the amount generated was $ 793 million DH (+ 38.1%). For their part, online payments, foreign cards represent 80.4 million dirhams (+ 13%), ie 59,556 transactions (+ 42%).

There has been a welcome change in the number of transactions that can now be done online, including car registration, police checks for resident cards and other government services.

However, the use of cheques has run into a few problems with 598,700 Moroccans having cheque facilities withdrawn because of misuse or bounced cheques which, according to the Bank of Morocco amount to a total of 72 billion 500 million dirhams.

The central services of the bank handled 2701 complaints in the past year, an increase of 11.5%, but they have lifted the ban on 196 cases deemed to be erroneous. Hopefully, with the increase in electronic payments, cheques will be a ting of the past.

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Moroccan News Briefs #126

Feature: Morocco's Counterterrorism Success Story

Our feature article is an important piece written by Ahmed Charai for The National Interest. Ahmed Charai is publisher of the weekly Moroccan newspaper L'Observateur and president of MED Radio, a national broadcast network in Morocco, MEDTV network and chairman of the board of Al-Ahdath al-Maghrebiya Arabic daily newspaper. As an expert on Morocco and North Africa, he sits on the Board of Trustees of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He is a member of The National Interest's Advisory Council.

It’s been a good week in the struggle against terrorism: Italy busted an ambitious plot by Islamic extremists to attack the Vatican; French police arrested a jihadist before he could attack Paris churches; and in Boston, the prosecution rested in the penalty phase of the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzokhar Tsarnaev. But the United States is on high alert—or should be—as ISIS sets its sights on American targets.  Meanwhile, from the mass killing of university students in Kenya to the bombing of the Spanish embassy in Libya to a rash of attacks in Egypt, reminders pour in across the Arab and Muslim world that whether you’re a functioning democracy, a military-led regime or a failing state, you are vulnerable.

Over a recent multileg trip from my home in Casablanca to Paris to Zambia, I met with actors in politics, civil society, the private sector and state government—and noticed that the April uptick in terror schemes, foiled and otherwise, has provoked a growing debate on the tools of counterterrorism. There has been a growing divide, moreover, in prescriptions for the developed democracies of Europe on the one hand and Muslims states in the developing world on the other. The former face popular pressure to ratchet up security measures and loosen the laws that restrain them. The latter, by contrast, encounter calls from friends in the West to do the opposite—press the “national security state” to relax its hold on the population, and bolster political reforms toward the rule of law and policies to alleviate poverty and marginalization.

As a participant in these conversations, I’ve found that nearly all parties were curious to know more about my own country, Morocco—which over the past ten years has proven to be one of the safest countries in the world.

With its new constitution guaranteeing a prominent and credible role of an elective government alongside the monarchy, it stands in between the variety of political structures found in countries East, West and South. As such, it bears relevance to all of the above, and merits scrutiny and an effort to extract some lessons.

In 2003, the country experienced its own “September 11”—a triple suicide bombing claiming forty-five lives; the deadliest in its history. The risk of further attacks was seen to be high: Morocco prides itself on being open to the world, and welcoming tourists from the West, migrant workers from the South and, alas, ideological overtures from the East. With its large population of poor and underprivileged citizens, prospects were great that outside jihadist elements could exploit domestic grievances and target the pro-Western establishment, local patriots and foreign visitors.

King Mohammed VI, who had recently taken the helm from his late father, vowed a three-pronged approach to fighting the scourge of political violence: On the one hand, he would beef up security measures. At the same time, he would institute systemic reforms to enhance the rule of law. Meanwhile, he committed to employing aggressive anti-poverty measures, including razing the shantytowns, fighting unemployment and the corruption that exacerbates it and upping educational opportunity. And finally, he would reform the religious establishment—by evicting jihadist preachers from the country’s mosques and investing heavily in the spiritual, Sufi strand of Islam—its traditions deeply rooted in Morocco’s history and culture.

Twelve years later, the effect can be seen at any division of the Central Bureau of Investigation (BCIJ), the country’s equivalent of the FBI, which has gone through a major overhaul over the course of the monarch’s ongoing rule. Together, its investigators—both men and women—pursue a holistic approach of probing terror groups alongside other criminal networks, such as those that traffic in drugs and people. They know intimately the symbols and rites of the different religio-political streams, both inside the country and in the broader region. They have cultivated sources, moreover, in a variety of institutions and from the big cities to the villages to the border areas. But they have been schooled to perform their sleuthing in accordance with new laws that are almost as severe on security officers as they are on the criminals they pursue. Human-rights education being an integral part of cadets’ training, today’s enforcers follow these laws not just because they have been instructed to do so, but because they believe in them.

And the population knows it: Morocco is perhaps the only country in the world in which counterterror agents interact with the population in a manner structured like the model of “community policing.” These officials know that by establishing a warm rapport with locals, trust between the BCIJ and the local population will grow and the locals may even serve informally as the BCIJ’s eyes and ears. Considerably more than in the past, these citizens feel enfranchised: They know that their needs matter to the government, and their votes select and check the people who lead it. More of them are educated. More of them are working. And fewer than ever before identify with jihadist elements in the region that would threaten the country’s security.

Moroccans feel that their country can serve the counterterrorism struggles now being waged in Western countries, the Arab world and countries south of the Sahara in two important ways: as a model and as a partner.

Though the countries of the West are wealthier and their police units more technologically advanced, they tend to lack the nuance necessary to patrol Muslim citizens with the dignity that is due them. They are still home, moreover, to underprivileged communities—the lion’s share of whom are Muslim—who badly need their living conditions to improve and to feel enfranchised in the system. And while their grievances are no excuse for terrorism, they are victims of the poisonous ideals taught to them by religious preachers that their host governments have long permitted to lead and instruct. For Europe’s police and policy planners, Moroccans can share knowledge and expertise and also become an exporter of enlightened clerics.

The same applied in the developing world. But in addition to similar security, public policy and cultural-religious needs, these countries badly need to enhance the rule of law—a necessary condition to keep the police in check and build confidence between civilians and the establishment. On this score, Western states are further along than Morocco, but do not provide a model that developing countries can readily apply. The gradual steps Morocco has taken, by contrast, show how a poor country with similar struggles has made considerable strides in a short period of time. The takeaways are more relevant—and the potential outcomes more promising.

General News and Gossip

Morocco Expecting Record Grain Harvest

Morocco expects its cereal harvest to hit a record 11 million tonnes after good rains this year, up from 6.7 million in 2014, the agriculture minister said on Monday. Agriculture accounts for more than 15 percent of the north African country's gross domestic product (GDP).

In 2013, the harvest hit 9.7 million tonnes, including 5.2 million tonnes of soft wheat.

"This campaign is exceptional on all levels," agriculture minister Aziz Akhannouch (pictured above) said at the opening of the annual agriculture fair in Meknes.

Morocco will raise the custom duty on soft wheat imports to 75 percent from 17.5 percent, from May 1 to Oct. 31, to protect the local harvest, the government announced this month.

Morocco's GDP is expected to grow by 5 percent this year, up from a previous forecast of 4.4 percent and against 2.5 percent in 2014, as the government expects farm output to expand.

Agricultural output rose by 12.5 percent in the first quarter of 2015, including growth of 8.8 percent in the cereal production, according to Morocco's Planning Agency.

World Bank Backs Morocco's Health and Energy Goals with Cash

The World Bank has approved two loans totalling US$248.95 million to support Morocco in its national health strategy and to promote clean energy and energy efficiency.

In the health sector, a US$100-million loan will finance increased access to and improved quality of public services for poor and rural populations in disadvantaged regions, the institution said in a statement.

Investment in the energy sector will support the country's ongoing efforts to reduce its dependency on imported fossil fuels.

"This project will help to strengthen primary care across nine regions to address disparities in health outcomes and upgrade management information systems and sector accountability," said Enis Baris, World Bank's health, nutrition and population practice manager for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region.

Morocco has achieved significant improvements in health outcomes, with reduction in child and maternal mortality rates of 64 percent and 66 percent respectively over the past 20 years.

The World Bank said inequality in access to health services coupled with limited resources allocated to the sector called for a strategy to improve the distribution and quality of health services.

The Health Sector Support Programme for Results Project is designed to underpin that strategy.

The second project -- Clean and Efficient Energy Project -- will be co-financed by a US$125-million loan from World Bank and a US$23.95-million loan from the Clean Technology Fund.

This project will support Morocco's state-owned electricity and water company to develop its first set of three mid-sized decentralised solar photovoltaic plants.

Since 2011, the World Bank's private sector arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC) has stepped up its engagement in the country and invested US$590 million to support private sector development.

Moroccan Real Estate Set to Boom

The real estate market is one of the best indicators to monitor the health of a national economy and in Morocco this sector appears to be gearing up for a season of full recovery after a crisis from which it has undeniably not recovered yet.

The weak signs registered a few months ago are growing stronger and British think tank Oxford Business Group in its report - partly published by the website La Vie éco - described the real estate market in the Kingdom as going through a positive phase for sales, especially in the so-called residential segment.

What is occurring, paradoxically, finds an explanation in the economic crisis which, as is always the case, pushes down real estate prices, leading buyers to invest in different types of real estate acquisitions. A confirmation comes from data concerning sale contracts last year, which registered a 17% increase for apartments while commercial spaces jumped 13.5%.

The sector, however, suffered from housing policies brought forward by the government, which increased social housing (with highly competitive prices compared to traditional ones), thus limiting the number of those willing to buy.

In addition, the government's fiscal policies had a positive impact in this circumstance, including partial tax cuts and lower VAT for low incomes.

Now - and this is the most positive aspect - the market appears to have stabilized, after the boom registered in 2007 (before the start of a worldwide economic crisis) and subsequent years of recession.

Thus the sector is once again enticing buyers, including foreigners who have established themselves in Morocco over the past few years and are highly courted by the market.

Another Fatal Bus Crash

According to a report carried by Maghreb Arab Presse (MAP) there has been another major road accident. This follows the fatal road accident of Tantan that claimed the lives of 34 people. aThe latest accident occurred this morning near Ouarzazate and took the lives of 14 people with 21 injured.

A passenger bus travelling between Meknes and Ouarzazate overturned in a dangerous winding road of Torjaddal area, about 45 kilometres from Ouarzazate.

Civil protection teams and local authorities were dispatched to the scene of the accident to rescue the victims.

Every year between 60,000 and 70,000 traffic accidents occur in the country, which result in the death of an average of 4000 people, the equivalent to about 11 every day. The estimated cost of these accidents to the State’s budget is 11 billion dirhams ($1,5 billion), which represents between 2 and 2%5 of the country’s GDP.

Morocco - Party Destination of the Stars

Former footballer David Beckham turns 40 on May 2 and is reportedly planning to celebrate his birthday in Marrakech, where he and wife Victoria Beckham renewed their wedding vows in 2008.

Guests are likely to include Gordon Ramsay and Tom Cruise, as well as Guy Ritchie, Liv Tyler and her boyfriend Dave Gardner, as well as Beckham's former Manchester United teammate Gary Neville.

Last weekend there was another lavish party in Marrakech. Lebanese billionaire and former prime minister Najib Mikati celebrated his son’s wedding on Saturday at the El Badi Palace.

Sources say over 1,000 people attended Malick Mikati’s wedding, including Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab and Egyptian singer Amr Diab.

The Mikati family also hosted a brunch party at the La Mamounia luxurious hotel on Sunday.

Morocco and New Zealand Top Film Locations

The UK Guardian newspaper has ranked Morocco and New Zealand among the top 10 film destinations for international film-makers in the world.

The Guardian reports that Morocco is currently “the first choice of American film-makers seeking a safe stand-in for the Middle East – a common demand these days, with Iraq war films still in heavy demand.”

Following the likes of Body of Lies and Green Zone, Morocco’s capital Rabat was also the choice of American director Clint Eastwood to film his movie American Sniper.

Eastwood turned Rabat into “a reasonable substitute for the shrapnel-strewn streets of Fallujah,” the Guardian said.

According to the newspaper, Morocco has also successfully “masqueraded” as Somalia (Black Hawk Down), Tibet (Kundun), ancient Rome (Gladiator) and even Games of Thrones’s imaginary Westeros.

Morocco was in first place followed by New Zealand, Cape Town, Greystone Mansion, Prague, London, Monument Valley, Utah (United States), Griffith Park, Los Angeles, and Almeria, Spain

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African Blue ~ A New Niche Market for Morocco

Moroccan berry growers have begun developing Australian blueberry varieties in order to fill a gap in global production.  The two month window between the end of Chilean production and the commencement of Spanish berries gives Morocco a unique opportunity to enter the European market

The Australian blueberry varieties developed for plantings in Morocco have shown that the interaction between the fruit and the Moroccan soil and climate produces a high quality yield.

“Moroccan blueberry production is well-positioned and can offer fruit during a unique window,” explained Jean Cesar, supply chain manager for African Blue. “Chile finishes its season by February, and the next country that can supply blueberries in the Northern Hemisphere is Spain, which starts around mid-April. From February 15 to April 15 no other country can offer quality Kirra blueberries during this period.”

Kirra blueberries are African Blue exclusivity, they have excellent size, colour, sugar and texture, noted Jean Cesar, making them an attractive option for consumers. While local consumption skews toward strawberries, demand for blueberries abroad has been robust.

“Demand is very high, and it will continue to grow as more consumers become aware of the healthy benefits of blueberries,” said Jean Cesar. “African blue will offer 3000 tons of berries this season, and we should reach 7,000 tons by 2017.”

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Moroccan Economy ~ Mixed Messages for the Year Ahead

Morocco will experience strong economic growth in 2015 based on expectation of a bountiful harvest and the drop in oil prices, authorities said on Tuesday

Ahmed Lahlimi Alami, the high planning commissioner, told journalists that growth was expected to be 4.8 percent in 2015, a dramatic increase over 2.6 percent the previous year, which was marked by a poor harvest. "2015 will be a good year because we are counting on predictions of a good agricultural year," Alami said. "We will also profit from the fall in the price for oil."

However, other reports suggest that the weather will play a part in lowering expectations of some agricultural products, particularly citrus and industry insiders say adverse weather toward the end of 2014 led the Moroccan citrus industry to substantially revise its production estimate for the season.

The Moroccan Citrus Producers’ Association (ASPAM) now believed total volumes would not exceed 500,000 metric tons (MT), down from the initial forecast of 600,000MT.

Heavy rainfall and strong winds in November last year are said to have caused extensive crop damage, particularly in the southern region of Souss where more than half of the country’s export volumes are produced.

Although the weather took its toll on citrus production, the rainfall did provide some relief to drought conditions in the country.

With a current estimated production of some 1.9 million MT, it is now believed no more than 30% will be fit for export.

Energy Subsidies

Unlike neighbouring Algeria whose economy depends almost entirely on oil, Morocco imports nearly all of its energy and has experienced a windfall from the dramatic fall in prices.

Morocco's Islamist-led government has pursued austerity programs since coming to power in 2012, freezing government hiring, cutting sensitive fuel subsidies and spending.

According to Alami, the amount spent on subsidies fell from nearly $6 billion in 2012 to $3.5 billion in 2014.

Faced with the pro-democracy Arab Spring demonstrations in 2011, Morocco's previous government incurred a great deal of debt by dramatically raising salaries and increased government spending in 2011.

Tourism

On the tourism front, things are looking good for Morocco. The country experienced a good result over the Christmas and New Year period and although tourist numbers are low at the moment they are expected to rise again by the end of January.

Dspite the decline in the number of French tourists, Marrakech achieved a 6% growth both in arrivals as nights, especially with strong growth of the British and German markets.

As an example of the trends, tourism in Marrakesh managed to stay on course for growth in 2014. Tourism in the Red City performed well with 1.89 million arrivals and growth of 6% for overnight stays and indicators arrivals.

According to statistics obtained from the Regional Tourism Council (CRT) of Marrakech, in late December 2014 and all markets, the city recorded a cumulative 1.89 million arrivals (+ 6%) and 6088 000 overnight stays (+ 6%) with an occupancy rate reaching 53%.

French market decline

In terms of growth, the English and the Germans are leading the pack with growth rates between 30 and 40%. The French market has experienced significant declines - 6% for arrivals and - 5% for overnight stays in 2014.

This performance, exceeding the global growth rate of 4.5% forecast by the World Tourism Organisation for the year 2014 and that recorded nationally, are explained by several factors, including the growth in airline flights. Marrakech has improved by 33 additional air services to and from European markets, bringing the offer to 280 rotations week performed by thirty companies. With the launch of new lines, particularly from Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria, Marrakech Menara Airport has achieved a 4 million passenger record, up 5% in one year.

The steady growth of the tourism sector in Marrakech in recent years is also due to the development of the activity related to business tourism, conferences and events. With three convention centres, Marrakesh confirms its leadership in the national and continental congress tourism.


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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.”

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Morocco's New Budget ~ Austerity is the Key

The Moroccan parliament has approved an "austerity budget" for 2014

The new budget, which is based on a growth forecast of 4.2 percent, aims to bring Morocco’s deficit to 4.9 percent of GDP.  The Moroccan lawmakers approval on Wednesday of  the budget was overshadowed by clashes between police and unemployed graduates outside parliament.

The draft budget, approved by a vote of 164-95, includes a 3.1 percent cut in public spending aimed at reducing the deficit to 4.9 percent of GDP.

Police clash with protestors in Rabat

Jobless graduates, who frequently march in the streets of Rabat demanding work, protested outside the parliament, and several dozen of them clashed with the police, an AFP journalist reported.

Some 15 of them who tried to climb over the fence were arrested, the official MAP news agency reported, adding that six members of the security forces were injured.

Morocco needs to reassure international lenders by plugging its budget deficit.

Since coming to power in 2011, the Islamist-led government has battled to fix the country's ailing finances and reduce its ballooning deficit, which topped seven percent two years ago.

The central bank governor said in September that the government should achieve its deficit target of 5.5 percent by the end of 2013.

The new budget, which is based on a growth forecast of 4.2 percent, an exchange rate of 8.5 dirhams to the dollar and an average oil price of 105 dollars per barrel, aims to bring the deficit to below 5.0 percent of GDP.

High youth unemployment, an unaffordable subsidies system and the crisis in the euro zone, Morocco's top trade partner, have compounded the economic challenges facing the cash-strapped government of Abdelilah Benkirane.

In a bid to rein in fuel subsidies, the government began implementing a controversial fuel price indexation system in September.

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New Moroccan Banknotes To Be Released On August 15th

The Moroccan Bank Al Maghreb is to release a new series of banknotes. According to Youssef El Kaidi writing for the authorative, Morocco World News, the new notes will be on the streets starting from August 15. The series of banknotes included notes of 200, 100, 50 and 20 dirhams

In a press conference held Wednesday in Salé, Mr. Lahcen Hadaoun, director of Dar As-Sikkah announced the issuance of approximately 20 million new banknotes by Bank Al Maghreb (Moroccan central banlk to strengthen security, improve the durability of the notes, optimize the flow by looking for a better control of the costs of production and processing, as well as improving the readability of the notes by the controllers and machines.

The new notes will ultimately be safer and more difficult to fake according by the director of Dar As-Sikkah. As for the general themes that characterize the design and printing of the new banknotes series, values such as development and modernity, solidarity, diversity and openness were apparently promoted through different symbols.

The new banknotes also reflect Morocco’s cultural and geographic diversity by featuring cities of Casablanca and Rabat in the MAD 20 note, the Argan tree of the Sous region and Ouzoud waterfalls of Azilal in the MAD 50 note, the sand dunes and desert life referring to the Moroccan Sahara in the MAD100 note and Tangier-Med port and Cape Spartel Lighthouse in the MAD 200 note.

The MAD 200 note will be circulated as soon as August 15, 2013 on the occasion of the Feast of the Throne, while the issue of the MAD 100 is planned in conjunction with the celebration of Youth Day. As for the MAD 50 note, it will be circulated on the occasion of the anniversary of the Green March. The last note of this series, the MAD 20 will be issued on the occasion of the Independence Day.

Article from Morocco World News reposted with permission

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Moroccan News Briefs #98

In this edition:

Airline News
France and Morocco to bolster cyber security cooperation
Design Study Trip to Fez this September
Discovery of Moroccan Plesiosaur Zarafasaura oceanis
Archaeological-Tourism?
Morocco and the question of "kif"
Morocco's economic growth set to rise
Two Moroccan police officers sentenced
More Art on Fes Festival Fringe
The Little Prince - a new museum

Airline News

Qatar Airways is increasing its capacity between Qatar and North Africa with its flights to Tripoli and Casablanca going non-stop, from this weekend. Effective 1 June 2013, scheduled services to the Libyan capital Tripoli will be de-linked from the Egyptian city of Alexandria ,offering additional seats to both cities.

On the same day, Morocco’s biggest city Casablanca will have direct non-stop services from the airline’s Doha hub. Currently the route is served via the Tunisian capital of Tunis. With the de-linking and re-introduction of non-stop flights, Qatar Airways is giving passengers travelling to the four North African cities with more choice and flexibility when planning their travels.

Passengers from the Asia Pacific, South Asia and Middle East and can now take advantage of a seamless one-stop connection to Tripoli and Casablanca via Doha. The Casablanca route is operated with an Airbus A330 in a two-class configuration of up to 248 seats in Economy and up to 36 seats in Business Class.

The Ukranians are coming - to Agadir

Another new airline route is causing a few concerns over visa requirements. Morocco has been asked to cancel visas for Ukrainian tourists. The Ukrainian Ambassador to Morocco, Yaroslav Koval, appealed to the Moroccan authorities with a request to optimize the procedure for issuing tourist visas to citizens of Ukraine in connection with the opening in June of direct charter air flights from Kyiv to Agadir.

During the meeting of the ambassador with the director of the consular department of the Moroccan Foreign Minister, the parties also noted the desirability of the abolition of visas for Ukrainian tourists.

The Ukrainian ambassador also expressed his gratitude for the decision of the Moroccan authorities to simplify the procedure for issuing residence permits to citizens of Ukraine, who permanently reside in Morocco.


Cyber attacks on the rise - France and Morocco to bolster cyber security cooperation.

At a time cyber attacks and cyber-spying are making the headlines almost every day and at a time cyber theft is rampant, France and Morocco have agreed to bolster their cooperation in cyber security matters and to enhance the capacity of national authorities in charge of information systems security.

The broad lines of this enhanced cooperation were set in a Memorandum of Understanding that was signed earlier this week not by the officials in charge of new information technologies but by the Moroccan junior Minister in charge of the national defense administration, Abdeltif Loudyi, and the Secretary General of France’s Defense and National Security, Francis Delon.

The MoU provides, in the context of a long-term cooperation, for the exchange of experiences, information and expertise and will also contribute to enhance the capacity building of the department in charge of the security of the State’s information systems and vital infrastructures. This department is under the tutorship of the national defense department.

The provisions of the agreement will be implemented on the basis of annual action plans convened by the two sides.

While France and Morocco were signing their agreement, press reports incidentally disclosed that Chinese cyber-spies have reportedly laid hands on designs of more than two dozen US major weapons systems, including advanced technology and programs critical to U.S. missile defenses and combat aircraft and ships. The Chinese cyber-thieves are also said to have stolen the plans of a new building designed to house Australia’s top counterintelligence organization.


Design Study Trip to Fez this September

Art of Islamic Pattern’s 2013 study trip is to Fez, and will comprise a four day intensive. Classes will take place in Dar Seffarine in the Medina.  Dar Seffarine has splendid examples of carved plaster, woodwork, zellij and zouaq (painted wood).

This study trip will include visits to some of the most remarkable architectural masterpieces in the Islamic world: the Bou Inania Madrasa (1356) and the Al-Attarine Madrasa (1331) and to other important hidden gems.

The course offers the opportunity to experience making geometric and biomorphic designs using traditional methods, on-site. There will also be a zellij (mosaic tiles) class at a local workshop in-which participants can produce their own pieces.

This is a mixed level course and open to both beginners and returning students. The venue is also booked for participants to lodge, although places are strictly limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis. Participants should plan to arrive by Tuesday evening 17th September for a Wednesday 18th September morning start. The course ends on evening of Saturday 21st.

Details and info: http://artofislamicpattern.com/study-trips/fez-morocco/


Discovery of Moroccan Plesiosaur Zarafasaura oceanis

Sergio Prostak writing in Sci News says that paleontologists writing in the journal Paludicola report the discovery of exceptionally well-preserved skull and skeletal remains of the elasmosaurid plesiosaur Zarafasaura oceanis, the most complete specimen of this species ever described.

This is a life reconstruction of the elasmosaurid plesiosaur Zarafasaura oceanis (© Nobumichi Tamura

Plesiosaurs (‘near to lizard’ in Greek) are an intriguing group of extinct marine reptiles that roamed the vast seas of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods from 235 to 66 million years ago. Their fossils have been found on every continent on Earth, with key discoveries made in Australia, Europe and North America. There are several different families of plesiosaurs, including the Elasmosauridae, Microcleididae and Plesiosauridae.

Zarafasaura oceanis belongs to the family Elasmosauridae. The generic name Zarafasaura derives from zarafa, an Arabic word for ‘giraffe,’ and saurus, Greek for ‘lizard.’ The specific name means ‘daughter of the sea’ in Latin. Paleontologist Dr Peggy Vincent from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, and her colleagues first described the species in 2011 from incomplete skull remains found in Morocco.

Zarafasaura oceanis was approximately 23 feet (7 meters) long and lived around 72 to 66 million years ago.

The new, well-preserved specimen of Zarafasaura oceanis was unearthed in a phosphate mine near the Moroccan city of Oued-Zem. But the specimen did not remain in Morocco and is now mounted on display at the Wyoming Dinosaur Centre in the USA.


Archaeological-Tourism?

Is the development of archaeological discoveries, a way to boost tourism? Moroccan archaeologists think so according to a report in The Economist - "a country like Morocco, which offers a variety of tourism products, can also benefit from cultural tourism mainly around archaeological sites some of which are internationally renowned." Indeed, important discoveries of human remains have been made ​​in the country. Last September, archaeologists discovered two human skeletons, aged between 6 000 and 14 000 years in the cave "El Kehf Hallouf 2" near Ain Taoujdate.

Such discoveries may attract tourists with an interest in science to Morocco . At the same time many "archaeologists and paleoanthropologists who wish to better understand some of the history of the direct ancestors of the North African population could possibly favour Morocco for their research," says Abdeljalil Bouzzougar, archaeologist and specialist in cave Pigeons.

For its part, the Ministry of Tourism seems to seriously consider this approach. The department headed by Lahcen Haddad is also in the process of integrating cultural and archaeological options in its Vision 2020. Mr. Haddad has placed particular emphasis on the importance of valuing archaeological assets of the region as a way of promoting Morocco. Currently, Moroccan and foreign anthropologists are working to make the Cave of Pigeons, located Tafouralt, a global benchmark. This is one of the most valuable archaeological discoveries. It contains prehistoric ornaments among the oldest in the world (more than 82 000 years) that make it a must for a better understanding of human history in general and North Africa in particular. Its development could attract many tourists.


Morocco and the question of "kif".

"If you try to grow other crops here they will fail," says Ahmed, surrounded by lush green fields of cannabis, the illegal plant he and thousands of other poor farmers in Morocco's Rif Mountains depend on.

90,000 households depend on the crop

The country's cannabis export has been cultivated in the traditionally rebellious northern region for centuries, where the climate for growing cannabis, or "kif", is considered ideal.

Along the stunning valley that runs between the towns of Taounate and Issaguen, women work in the fields tending this year's emerging crop, while young dealers ply the 70km road in their cars looking for customers. But after a massive bust in Spain this month, the attention of European drug agencies is likely to focus again on the continent's main source of hashish - and on Moroccan efforts to stem the supply.

Spanish police found 32 tons of the drug in a truck carrying melons from Morocco at the end of last month, and this month they discovered 52 tons at a warehouse in the southern Spanish city of Cordoba, setting a European record.

Morocco's interior ministry insists it has spent heavily on tightening border controls and combating trafficking, while deploying "enormous human and material resources" to eliminating cannabis cultivation.

The International Narcotics Control Board said in its latest report that 72% of cannabis resin seized by customs authorities worldwide in 2011 originated in Morocco.

"Implementing a policy of alternative development is the cornerstone of our strategy in the fight against the supply of drugs," the ministry said.

But an estimated 90000 households depend on kif production. Cannabis advocate Aberrahmane Hamoudani quips: "Kif doesn't kill you, but hunger does."


Morocco's economic growth set to rise.

Morocco’s economic growth may accelerate to about 5 percent this year, driven by a bumper harvest, Finance Minister Nizar Baraka said.

“Since the cereals harvest exceeded our initial forecast by 50 percent, this should reflect positively on overall economic growth that should hover around 5 percent this year,” Baraka said in an interview at an African Development Bank meeting in Marrakesh.

The economy grew 2.4 percent last year, Baraka said last month, and the government had earlier projected growth of 4.5 percent for 2013. Morocco has escaped the uprisings that swept across North Africa in 2011. The government last year negotiated a $6.2 billion credit line from the International Monetary Fund, and it’s seeking to reduce subsidies in order to rein in a widening budget deficit.


Two Moroccan police officers sentenced to 10 years in prison for forgery

According to a report by Youssef Sourgo in Morocco World News, on My 28th the Court of Appeal in Kenitra sentenced two police officers to 10 years in prison for the forgery of an official report. The two officers were mainly accused of being illegally acquainted with a suspicious person, for whom they forged fake testimonies and altered official reports.

Accordingly to daily Aujourd’hui Le Maroc, the two convicted police officers were prosecuted after numerous complaints from several residents of a village adjacent to the area where they both work.

Last year the criminal division of the same court sentenced the head of the brigade of the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie and his deputy, in the area of Lalla Maimouna (Province of Kenitra), to ten years in prison.


More Art on Fes Festival Fringe

According to Jess Stephens from Culture Vultures (see our story here) Palais Mokri will be featuring an exhibition and show by Michel D'yve. The venture will present a collaborative mural and "the Muzoo". The Muzoo (a contraction of ‘museum’ and ‘zoo’) is a travelling museum presented by a group of artists called Sinéangulo. It was initiated by the Caza de Oro artist’s residence in Ariege, in the French Pyrenees. Le Muzoo moves between the UK and Morocco, and will be pitching its tent at the Palais Mokri during the Sacred Music Festival.

The Sinéangulo artists group was founded some time ago on the banks of the Niger, the product of a meeting between travellers from Gibraltar, Morocco and Mali. As they describe it, "Sinéangulo is made up of about sixty artists both professional and amateur (with no distinction between them), musicians and fine artists from Africa, Europe and elsewhere. Sinéangulo is not an artists’ collective and in fact has no definite programme or manifesto; it’s more of a spiritual state that invites creators with diverse artistic talents to return to experimentation; a spiritual state arising out of a mélange of the curiosity, research and cross-disciplinary experience of each person. The objective is to master the contingencies of today’s innovations. A new generation of artists has begun to re-think our world, allowing us to rediscover the physical world and analogue creation. The purpose of Sinéangulo is to integrate with, to graft onto and to fuse with complementary entities to allow the creation of simple art".

The Mural

The mural will be created on the arcade wall of Palais Mokri and throughout the festival, the public will be able to watch the development of a mural created in the spirit of Sinéangulo.

Artists invited to contribute to the mural include Youssef el Yedidi, fine artist known for his murals (for example, at Asilah) who regularly exhibits in Europe. He says that he comes from the strait, a nod to his dual nationality of Moroccan/Spanish. His work is tinged with humanism and wavers between graphic and organic.

Aziz Amrani , art teacher from Chefchaouen. In his painting, Amrani retraces the roots of calligraphy. This action translates into immediate action, making us oscillate between a state of contemplation and that of primordial energy. Amrani believes that the experience of painting is just as important as the physical work.

Charley Case, rambling artist from Brussels, sings of his connection to the world through his drawings. We recognise the characters from his brush strokes that he develops with a tree-like structure. His work materials are simply a brush and a pot of Chinese ink.


The Little Prince - a new museum

Battling the wind in his World War I biplane, a French pilot landed on a sandy Moroccan airstrip. Nearly 90 years on, a museum honours his stay and the world-renowned book it inspired.

"Antoine de Saint-Exupery the writer was partly born here, in Tarfaya, where he spent two years as station manager of Aeropostale," says Sadat Shaibat Mrabihrabou, opening the doors to the small museum in Morocco's far south, where the sea and the desert meet. "It's here that he began writing his books, under the stars," he says. "We're at the birthplace of a writer known worldwide."

Saint-Exupery is a name inseparable from his book "The Little Prince", a series of self-illustrated parables in which a boy prince from a tiny asteroid recounts his adventures among the stars to a pilot who has crash landed in the desert.

First published almost exactly 70 years ago in New York, in English and French, it became one of the best-selling books of all time with more than 140 million copies sold, and has been translated into 270 languages and dialects.

Prior to his stellar literary achievements, Saint-Exupery was a pioneer aviator posted to Tarfaya in 1927, a wind-swept outpost that served as an important refuelling station for the Aeropostale aviation company linking France to its colonies in Africa.

Today, even with new building projects rising from the sands, this sleepy port town formerly known as Cape Juby gives the impression that it's hardly changed. In front of Tarfaya stands a derelict fortress built by the British in the late 19th century, and the Atlantic Ocean stretching to the horizon. Behind it lies the Sahara desert.

Saint-Exupery packed his bags and flew his World War I-era Breguet 14 biplane to the Moroccan coast to take up his new job, whose duties included negotiating for the release of downed pilots captured by hostile local tribes.

During his 18-month posting in the dramatic isolation of Tarfaya, he wrote his first novel "Southern Mail", "whose title was suggested by another pioneering French airman, Jean Mermoz," according to the museum's curator.

There too was suggested the desert landscape that the Little Prince discovers when he falls to Earth, although that book was written more than a decade later.

In 2004, the Tarfaya museum opened, dedicated to preserving this key episode in the life of one of France's best-loved writers, whose Little Prince also has a museum in Japan.

"This patrimony represents an oral culture that risks disappearing with time. Saint-Exupery's last mechanic-caretaker died two years ago," says the museum's Mrabihrabou. "It was at this man's home that I heard for the first time the name of Saint-Exupery, when I was five to six years old," he adds.

The life of the celebrated aviator-author is told on the walls of the museum, from his birth in Lyon in 1900 to his mysterious death in 1944 during a reconnaissance mission in the Mediterranean, after having survived a Sahara desert crash in 1935.

"I really loved the Sahara. I spent nights in total seclusion. I woke up in this yellow expanse blown by gusts of wind as if at sea," Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

In the corner hangs an original picture of the Little Prince scribbled by its author.


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Moroccan News Briefs #95

Gabonese President in Morocco

President of the Gabonese Republic, Haj Ali Bongo Ondimba and his wife Sylvia Bongo, arrived in Fez on Monday ahead of a visit the opening of the 6th edition of the foundations of Agriculture exhibition in Meknes. His Majesty King Mohammed VI presided over the opening ceremony on Tuesday.

HM The King and the President 

During the ceremony, the Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries, Aziz Akhannouch, gave a speech  in which he presented the results of the plan "Green Morocco" and laid out the future development paths for Moroccan agriculture. The minister pointed out that the agricultural gross domestic product recorded during the period 2008-2012 showed an increase of nearly 32% compared to the period 2005-2007.

While the president of Gabon is visiting the agricultural show in Meknes, Princess Lalla Salma and the First Lady of Gabon visited the Oncology Hospital CHU Hassan II in Fez. HRH Princess Lalla Salma, Chairwoman of the Lalla Salma-Prevention Foundation for cancer treatment, accompanied  Sylvia Bongo.

The hospital serves a population of over three million inhabitants of the Fès-Boulemane region and other regions of the North and East of the Kingdom. With a medical oncology, a nuclear medicine department and one radiotherapy department, the hospital has a medical staff of 15 specialist doctors, 45 nurses and five physiotherapists. It focuses on the medical care of cancer patients using chemotherapy, hormonal therapies, immunotherapies and palliative care.


Morocco Cancels "War Games"

Morocco has cancelled its annual military exercises with the United States after the Obama administration supported adding human rights monitoring to the U.N. mission to the disputed Western Sahara territory, U.S. officials said.

African Lion exercise in 2012

The 13th annual "African Lion" exercise — involving 1,400 U.S. servicemen and 900 Moroccan troops — had been set to start Wednesday with many personnel already in place and international observers invited.

The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because there has not yet been a formal announcement of the cancellation. Morocco's government spokesman declined to comment.

Mustapha Khalfi, the spokesman who doubles as the minister of communication, did summon journalists on Tuesday to express his government's anger over initiatives to broaden the U.N. mission's mandate to include human rights monitoring.

"It is an attack on the national sovereignty of Morocco and will have negative consequences on the stability of the whole region," he warned. "We count on the wisdom of the members of the Security Council to avoid such initiatives."

"Morocco rejects any proposals to expand the mandate of the MINUS or establish an alternative international mechanism for monitoring human rights in the southern provinces," Moroccan Foreign Minister Saad Dine El Otmani said on yesterday.

The manoeuvres have been a part of an annual joint exercise carried out since the 1990s.

NOTE: Also see the opinion piece at the end of this post for more background


Weather warning

The unusual amount of wind in Fez over the last few days may well be advanced warning of some bad weather. Violent rainstorms have been predicted for Morocco's western Mediterranean region. According to the weather channel heavy rains and thunderstorms are possible until Friday. The North East of Morocco will be most threatened along with northern Algeria and a large part of the Spanish coast areas.It is predicted that if the rains arrive they could be as heavy as 150 mm of rain in a few hours. A short lull is expected on Friday. Europe will be affected in turn by these disturbances with dropping temperatures.


The Moroccan economy grew by 4.8% in the first quarter of 2013

Morocco has recorded economic growth of 4.8% for the first quarter of 2013 against 2.7% in the first quarter of 2012, according to a statement of the Planning High Commissioner to Plan. This result highlights an agricultural activity enhanced by abundant rainfall, well distributed during the winter and spring period and noted a slight improvement in industrial activity. However, household consumption would have posted a smaller increase over the same period, estimated at 2.8% against 4.8% last year, due to a rise in consumer prices.


More migrant deaths

Eleven migrants trying to reach Europe died after their boat capsized off the north coast of Morocco, medical sources and a human rights group said on Wednesday.

Of the 34 people travelling in the boat, reached up by the Moroccan navy at midday on Tuesday, two children, three women and six men died, and another 12 were hospitalised, a doctor in the coastal town of Hoceima reported. All but one of the victims drowned, the other dying while being transported to Hoceima hospital, according to Faisal Oussard, local representative for the Moroccan Association of Human Rights.

They were all sub-Saharan migrants but their nationalities were not known.

Oussard said the boat capsized nine kilometres (six miles) off Hoceima, having set off from Nador, 130 kilometres to the east, either headed for the north African Spanish enclave of Melilla, or mainland Spain. The sea was calm when the accident took place, but the boat, a rigid inflatable, or RIB, was far too small for the number of people it was carrying, he added.

The condition of those those hospitalised in Hoceima and the fate of the 11 people who escaped without injury were not known.

The Moroccan authorities frequently expel sub-Saharan migrants across the Algerian border, which is their main point of entry.

The tiny Spanish occupied enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, perched on the coast of north Africa and both claimed by Morocco, are key launching pads for clandestine migration to Europe.

Melilla received 2,224 illegal immigrants last year, 262 more than in 2011, according to Spain's Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz. He blamed instability in Africa's Sahel region, and especially in Mali, for the rise in illegal immigrants trying to enter the territory.

Local associations estimate that Morocco was hosting between 20,000 and 25,000 migrants from sub-Saharan countries in 2012 hoping for access to Europe through Spain.


Solar boat in Morocco 

After last year's visit of the solar powered aircraft, Solar Impulse, now it is the turn of the Swiss boat "Tûranor Planet Solar" (Power of the Sun) to anchor Morocco. The largest solar boat in the world visited the Marina Bouregreg. The crew chose Rabat as a starting point for its second transatlantic crossing which will begin in May. At a press conference on April 18 at the Marina, Didier Rabo communication director at the University of Geneva, partner of the event, said that the expedition will collect measurements along the Gulf Stream, as ocean current that is of paramount importance in regulating the climate in the northern hemisphere.

MS Tûranor Planet Solar is the largest solar-powered boat in the world. The vessel was designed by LOMOcean Design, built by Knierim Yachtbau in Kiel, Germany and launched on 31 March 2010. In May 2012 it became the first ever solar electric vehicle to circumnavigate the globe.


Opinion -

W Lebed writes on the US Morocco News Board about the background to the US - Morocco war games fiasco

US-Morocco: The Blunder & The 200 Year Relationship

There are days when reality parodies better what the likes of Mark Burnett in Expedition Impossible can come up with. Take 1,400 U.S. military personnel, ship tons of heavy military equipment to Agadir and Marrakech, add more than 900 Moroccan RAF staff to the mix and invite 14 partner nations from NATO, but then as they are about to kick-start their pre-planned annual war games, blow the whistle and call the whole thing off because a clumsy US bureaucrat at the United Nations decided to put the kibosh, albeit briefly, on the longest peace and friendship treaty that the US have with a foreign power.

You could not make it up, really. That's what actually happened this week when Susan Rice hatched a plot supposedly on her own or more likely with the wink and nudge of some malevolent hand to undermine Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.

The result is a hand grenade in the Moroccan royal palace that no one really anticipated even in the most far-fetched of Hollywood scenarios. That definitely got everybody's hackles up in Morocco from your average Omar and Nadia to the most seasoned diplomats. What's more upsetting is to see senior US security and military officials have eggs on their face in Agadir and Marrakech. And, believe me, it was not a pretty picture either. They were all left dashing left, right and centre wondering what on earth has possessed their Moroccan counterpart. Sunstroke. Definitely not.

The answer is to be found hidden in Susan Rice's drawer. Her draft document was a pernicious and malicious idea meant to remove bit by bit Morocco's authority over Western Sahara to satisfy the greed and voracity of the anti-Moroccan lobby, which operates in Washington and New York on behalf of the cack-handed but brutal military junta of Algeria.

Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman of Casablanca may possibly have applauded the ingenuity and creativity of these graceless co-conspirators. However, this gauche idea would definitely not have pleased a former US diplomat who runs the show at Rick's Cafe in Casablanca. Just imagine the pretty place packed with Russian spies, Iranian agents, North Korean loonies and Chinese businessmen plotting together to take over lock, stock and barrel the running of the show in this sensitive and strategic part of the world.

Western powers would rue the day a certain Susan Rice had been promoted above her station under Obama's administration. Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, Susan Rice walks into the minefields of North Africa and the Middle East. Unprepared, unready, unaware and more significantly unsuspecting of the trap that the moustached and evil-minded generals of Algiers were laying for her.

Luckily, the wise men and women of the Obama administration in Washington who know the ins and outs of this tricky part of the world came alive in time and swept clean Rice's mess far away from the U.N. headquarters. Now is the time for the US military personnel to enjoy the golden beaches of Agadir where they can have some rest and relaxation, play football with the local kids and enjoy Moroccan hospitality despite the blues that befell them once they were told that what their commander in chief sent them to do was postponed to a later date.

The sages at the Pentagon know very well that Morocco is the only safe place in the whole Muslim world where their soldiers can walk, talk and interact with the local population without fear of being stabbed or murdered by some crazed person sent by a mad mullah, and more interestingly without staying inside some green zones or high fortification.

What's more, the wise heads of the Central Intelligence Agency are also well aware that Morocco is the only safe place in North Africa and the Middle East where their future intelligence officers can be sent to live with a local Muslim family to learn the language and culture of this troubled parts of the world.

Many a Peace Corps volunteers who spent time in Morocco working in projects for technological, agricultural and educational improvement are now in office across the MENA region serving their homeland with professional aplomb.

Let's hope for the sake of more than 200 years of US-Morocco peace and friendship a mediocre person is not allowed once again to blemish this pristine record. Amen!


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