News

Human Rights: Dying of Laughter (Agence France Presse)

Journalist Ali Lmbrabet, who refused food for 46 days in protest at his unfair sentencing, has ended his hunger strike, but remains imprisoned.

In our last issue we reported the growing interest his case was receiving, proving to be an embarrassment to the kingdom after high profile visitors such as an MEP and Moroccan Prince Moulay Hicham to Lmrabets’ bedside. The Prince, cousin to the King and second in line to the thrown, is known in Morocco as the ‘red prince’, notorious for criticising the Monarchy. He announced the end to Lmrabets hunger strike on June 23rd, and seemed to be taking the credit for persuading Lmrabet to stop. The Lmbrabet affair continues to attract international attention, as of course he is still serving his sentence.

During a TV interview the Moroccan Information Minister, Mohammed Nabil Benabdellah, denounced Ali Lmrabet as a ‘slanderer’ whose actions undermine the democratic progress of Morocco. He added that he believes Lmbrabet not to be a journalist, but rather someone with a grudge against the Kingdom. On hearing this accusation Ali Lmbrabet said: “I laughed”, adding that not only did the very same Information Minister signed his journalist’s work card, but also that he faced charges of libel in Casablanca Appeal Court in June. Lmrabet admitted that he was guilty “of having introduced satire and humour into a society that has great need of it”.

Meanwhile Ali Tamek, imprisoned member of the Forum for Truth and Justice and Amnesty ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ continues intermittent hunger strikes, while his health continues to deteriorate. The Amnesty International worldwide appeal for this month is dedicated to " Western Sahara civil society activists", in particular the political prisoners Moussaoui Dkhil (recently sentenced), Salek Bazaid and Ahmed Nasiri .

International conference on resources in Western Sahara (Arso)

A conference between SADR representatives, European solidarity groups and several international lawyers was held in Algiers the weekend of 26-28 June to discuss the exploitation of Western Sahara’s natural resources. The meeting criticised the multinational companies’ “projects of plunder of the resources of Western Sahara” and welcomed the decision of Norwegian company TGS-NOPEC to withdraw from the consortium of companies involved.

French multinational TotalFinaElf has reportedly put on hold its activity in Western Sahara. After completing the first stage of reconnaissance it has “taken a rain check” on any second stage, reports energy industry news service Upstream, although the company officially is still studying the data from the first seismic survey. Any delay is highly likely to be due to increased pressure mounting over the controversy around Morocco’s status as illegal occupying power.

Overview: Morocco’s Stasi show what they can do

A quite breathtaking document has been made public this week which reveals the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara for what it is – the rule of the police state. The Sahara Section of the human rights NGO Forum for Truth and Justice, legally dissolved by the Moroccan court on 18th June, is accused of being part of an “international plot to destabilise the Kingdom” [i.e. Morocco], led, not by the POLISARIO Front, but by president of the European Conference for Coordinating Solidarity with the Saharawi People (EUCOCO), Pierre Galand, who like a James Bond villain somehow controls the “shadow men” of the Sahara Section.

This piece of paranoia might be thought enough to make the report ludicrous – but the document is hardly started. The charges against the Forum are listed as follows:

- failure to include the word “Morocccan” in their name, as they are registed as a branch of the “Moroccan
Forum for Truth and Justice”
- encouraging young people to commit public order offences
- encouraging young people to carry arms on public demonstrations
- threatening the territorial integrity of the Kingdom
- having links with foreign organisations with the goal of threatening the territorial integrity of the Kingdom, particularly the affair of Ali Salem Tamek [the Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience...]
- plotting with persons and organisations hostile to Morocco in order to affect the Kingdom's diplomatic position
- using slogans hostile to territorial integrity
- making and distributing flags of the phantom Republic [a reference to the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, proclaimed in exile by the POLISARIO Front in 1976]
- distributing publications hostile to the territorial integrity of the Kingdom

The charges relating to public order offences are of course serious – but dubious. It may be true that some Saharawis did burn down a police station in Western Sahara last year, an attack claimed under the name "the Organisation of Hooded Saharawis". The Moroccan police say they have found the culprits. The evidence consists of some photos of pamphlets and petrol cans in someone's kitchen - "the HQ of the Organisation of Hooded Saharawis" it is claimed. Nowhere are these objects linked to any of the Sahara Section members.

Many of the other charges refer to the fact that individual members of the Sahara Section believe that Western Sahara is not part of Morocco – translated into being “hostile to the territorial integrity of the Kingdom”.

Firstly, this is a position shared by the UN International Court of Justice, and the UN Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs. So the heads of the UN legal apparatus had better watch out - Morocco may apply to extradite and imprison them!

Secondly, as the national executive of the Moroccan Forum for Truth and Justice has pointed out in an important statement of support for their colleagues, any advocacy for Western Saharan independence was carried out by the members speaking as individuals. They were careful not to use the name of the Forum/Sahara Section for this. So why has the Moroccan state targetted the Section? Is it because it is the human rights research it did that disturbs the state the most?

As for the dossier of “evidence”, most of it consists of actions which would be perfectly legal in a country where the state respected civil liberties and human rights. Among the activities which are listed like criminal offences are meeting “the English Luther Philip David of Amnesty International”, and even “Daviason Clatre” [sic]. We believe this refers to Claire Davison, an employee of the British PR company “The Policy Partnership”, who was hired by the Moroccan government to work in Western Sahara to present a positive picture of the Moroccan occupation to foreign journalists. Truly, in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara, literally anything you do can be taken down and used in evidence against you. Having met with these activists, she is lucky not to be in prison herself!

In short, the organisation is being punished for exercising it’s right to freedom of expression and association. That activities such as meeting a representative of Amnesty International, and presenting the case for an independent Western Sahara to an EU delegation can figure in the state prosecutor's evidence against the Sahara Section speaks volumes for the Moroccan regime’s standard of democracy and ideas of justice.

In particular, the language and style of the Moroccan prosecution recall the worst police states across the world. German MEP Margot Kessler, a Social Democrat from the former East Germany and chair of the Intergroup “Peace for the Saharawi People”, said: “this reminds me of the work of the Stasi”. Charter 77, the Czechoslovak human rights group, used to organise meetings with foreign human rights activists which the State Security police would break up, saying they were “systematic actions taken by Western reactionary circles aim[ed] at destabilizing the country”. *

In New Order Indonesia, “Insulting the President” was an offence punishable by up to 6 years in prison (www.insideindonesia.org); perhaps Ali Lmrabet is almost lucky to only get 3 years for “insulting the King” and “undermining territorial integrity” in modern day Morocco.

A few months ago, UK Foreign Office minister Mike O’Brien said (on “Newsnight”) that Morocco was a country on the road to democracy – although it still had “a long way to go”. Many people hoped this was true when King Mohamed VI came to power four years ago. But over the last 18 months the makhzen have gone into reverse, and are taking Morocco and Western Sahara back to the bad old “days of lead” again. This latest piece of police propaganda shows just how serious the situation is.