“Since independence, the Moroccan government has failed to respect human rights, and its constitutional monarchy does not allow for any serious checks on the kings powers or actions. Due process and the rights of association and expression remain curtailed. Morocco has challenged the UN system in its blatant violation of the rights of Sahrawis. While there remains some small political space for criticism and expression in Morocco, there is no opportunity for this opposition to gain exposure in most of the mass media, which is controlled by the government. Morocco is widely criticized for its lack of freedom of expression. The government exerts significant control over the media and takes punitive actions against the few independent newspapers that exist. All broadcast media are entirely or partially state owned. Although there are many independent papers, self-censorship remains common due to the harsh punishments for libel or for coverage deemed inappropriate to the government. Newspapers that do attempt to report on sensitive issues, such as Le Journal, have been shut down or fined, and editors have been imprisoned. Le Journal has come under government criticism not only for its political coverage, but also for its coverage of corruption throughout the government. Although the reforms undertaken by Hassan II and Mohammed VI were seemingly impressive in their scope and openness, they covered up the fact that no real institutional changes to the constitutional monarchy have been made to date. The king retains full decision-making and policy-making powers, and the parliament served mainly as an advisory body. The king appoints all judges, the prime minister (with approval by the legislature), and security and military chiefs. Thus, after the terrorist bombings in 2003 in Casablanca killed more than 40 people, Mohammed VI detained over 1,000 suspects. Given the kings sweeping powers, there is nothing to stop Mohammed from carrying out such actions. Moreover, the king is entitled to declare a crisis or a state of emergency, or to dismiss the government, and his domination of the economy gives him enormous power to enforce his rule. The monarchys powers are also in full view when it comes to Western Sahara. Historically part of Morocco, the territory fell under Spanish control in 1884 and became a Spanish province in 1934. Although Spain relinquished control of Western Sahara in 1975, both Morocco and Mauritania annexed portions of the territory that same year, and in 1979, Morocco annexed the territory belonging to Mauritania. Since 1973, Polisario, an independence movement, has sought national self-determination for Western Sahara and fought a guerrilla war with Morocco until a peace agreement was reached in 1991 that called for a referendum to determine whether the territory would be granted independence from Morocco. Although a UN-brokered cease-fire has been in effect since 1991, efforts to resolve differences between the two sides have repeatedly failed. The Moroccan government has carried out human rights abuses in the territory and continues to repress Sahrawi nationalists as well as Moroccans who express disagreement about the governments policy toward Western Sahara. In 2005, demonstrators in El Aaiun demanding independence (an action called the Independence Intifada) were met with a severe crackdown.” [Democracy Web. Comparative Studies in Freedom]
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 10:22:18 +0000
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