Comments on: Of Course There is No Real Freedom of Expression in Morocco

By: Syassator

Syassator — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:02:05 +0000

“and yet other sects”
come on, do you really think we are sectarists ?

By: Álvaro

Álvaro — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 10:45:20 +0000

Keep the discussion friendly, I would say. Even though the issues are very sensitive and charged with strong emotions.

Talk Marocco rocks!

As a place to debate openly and to express what the authors consider important.

Congratulations to the founders and supporters.

By: van kaas

van kaas — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:10:50 +0000

Ibn Kafka: This blog is about Morocco and Morocco is all over Western Sahara. No reason to not mention it. Now I know Western Sahara is taboo in Morocco. It is in fact at the CORE of Moroccan censorship. When you propose to shut up about Western Sahara you are propagating censorship.
Please stop telling people to shut up. Please do invite people to open their mouth and speak their minds.

By: Ibn Kafka

Ibn Kafka — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:43:27 +0000

You’re right, it’s certainly more complicated in the case of the PSU, an aggregation of spin-offs from the USFP (Fidélité à la démocratie) and the OADP (the legalist spin-off of the Mouvement du 23 mars, itself a spin-off of the Parti communiste marocain if I’m not mistaken) and yet other sects (I think that part of Ilal Amam joined the PSU), than in that of the PADS, a clean break-off from the USFP.

By: Ibn Kafka

Ibn Kafka — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:39:42 +0000

Van Kaas: As this site is not set up in Tindouf or Algiers you will not be able to impose your own agenda. I’m sure that the issue of the Moroccan Sahara will be discussed eventually, if Jillian and Hisham decide so, but not necessarily to fit in with your agenda.

By: lbadikho

lbadikho — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:21:22 +0000

to ibnkafka, you said “the socialist PSU and PADS, both spin-offs of the USFP”

are you sure the PSU is a spin-off of the USFP? Fidélité à la Démocratie is the only current in the PSU coming from the USFP all others are not and FD is far from being majority in the PSU

à moins que pour toi USFP=UNFP…..

By: van kaas

van kaas — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:57:33 +0000

On this nice website I did not find the words “Western Sahara” or “Aminatou Haidar” or “the wall” or “refugee camps” or “Polisario”.
There should be a least a topic on the subject somewhere here?
What’s up?

By: Jillian York

Jillian York — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:17:06 +0000

Hi Fly,

We’d be happy to dedicate one of our forums to other freedoms – let me know what ideas you have in mind and we’ll try to implement them.

-Jillian (jillian@talkmorocco.net)

By: Innocent

Innocent — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:16:42 +0000

That’s the core contradiction in Morocco!

What can you think of a country that still practices large-scale torture, and at the same time, allows the pree to report it? (but the authorities don’t give a damn…)

What can you think of a country where the press is allowed to expose the king’s gigantic wealth, publishing precise figures, alongside with comments on the “immorality” of the head of state being a businessman… and at the same time, bans a magazine because it ran an opinion poll showing that 91% of Moroccans approve the king?

Dictatorship?

Democracy?

“Absurdistan” is the word…

By: fly

fly — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:47:45 +0000

@Innocent:

Scary!

The obvious question now is, why are we talking about freedom of the press when even more fundamental freedoms are being denied? Shouldn’t we start from the ground up? Surely, what the media talk about is irrelevant when ideas themselves are made illegal.

By: Innocent

Innocent — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:19:58 +0000

Actually, Fly, a tricky incident happened recently.

Hicham Ayouch is a young film director and an artist living in Casablanca. He’s got a car, that he decided to paint with lively, vivid colours, and to cover with tags. One of these tags consisted in two words : “politics” and “republic”. Another said “long live me”.

Last week-end, about 30 policemen rushed in Ayouch’s house, seized the car, took the man to the police station, held him in custody and interrogated him for hours. “Are you republican?” ; “when you write ‘long live me’ instead of ‘long live the king’, what do you imply? – and what’s the link with the republic thing? – do you do politics? – are you affiliated with a political movement?”, etc., etc.

This about “normal citizens”… and Ayouch is not even “normal”. He’s the son a famous lobbyist, whom the royal palace knows well and appreciates. What if it was a nobody?

Well, nobody would have heard of the story, and the guy would have ended up in jail for years…

By: fly

fly — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:41:20 +0000

“parliamentarians may be prosecuted, arrested and imprisoned for votes and opinions cast or expressed in Parliament, “when the opinions expressed may be injurious to the monarchical system and the religion of Islam or derogatory to the respect owed the King””

Jesus! What of normal citizens? Do they get shot for being loud republicans?