Moroccan Ambassador Plays Coy

By Weston Sager | Tuesday, April 10, 2007

For the better half of a decade, Americans have turned their eyes to the Middle East. After Muslim terrorists conducted shocking attacks on American soil, news outlets have been continuously covering the events of the Middle East as the American presence in the region has increased. From the ongoing quagmire in Iraq, to Ahmadinejad’s frequent anti-Western threats, to last summer’s Israeli-Lebanese conflict, there has not been a shortage of events to cover. Now the previously ignored Arab World has taken center stage in America’s newsroom, taking the place of the U.S.S.R. as America’s preeminent enemy du jour. This newfound interest in the Arab World on a national level has similarly manifested itself within the Dartmouth community. The Arabic department has seen a spike in student class enrollment since 2001, which prompted the creation of a new Arabic Language Study Abroad Program that debuted this past summer. The Dickey Center for International Understanding has also shifted its focus to the Middle East; it has invited a significant number of Middle Eastern experts to speak at Dartmouth. The most recent of these Middle Eastern experts to visit Dartmouth was the Moroccan Ambassador to the United States, Aziz Mekouar.

Despite being the closest Arab country to America and Southern Europe, Morocco is the oft-forgotten member of the expansive Arab World, perhaps because it is the least problematic Muslim country for the United States’ foreign policy. Morocco is one of America’s most trusted allies in the overarching War on Terror, and has actively combated terrorist activity within the country, particularly after suffering their own set of terrorist attacks in May 2003. Morocco is also a free trade partner with both the United States and Europe.

Aziz Mekouar.

Due to the buddy-buddy relationship between the United States and Morocco, Ambassador Aziz’s role as Moroccan Ambassador to the United States is less that of a negotiator and more of a salesman. And his speech reflected his role, providing little insight into Moroccan society beyond what one would see in a tourist brochure. Despite being exceptionally knowledgeable, Aziz gave a one-sided picture of Moroccan society; his picture of Morocco’s future was as rosy as Morocco’s shocking red flag, in the face of evidence to the contrary.

Admittedly, there are many pro-democratic reforms that are occurring in the Moroccan government under the new king, Mohammad VI. Aziz spoke at length about these new reforms, including the recent retooling of the Family Code, so that, at least on paper, men and women are now equal under Moroccan law.

Aziz explained, “Beside each change in the Family Code, you have a verse from the Koran or a teaching from the Prophet, so there is no contradiction between Islam and the equality between men and women.” However, despite reforming the law in a tactful fashion, the Moroccan government has virtually no power to enforce these changes. Cultural constructs supporting the old Family Code, both within the household and within the police force still remain, and domestic abuse continues as before.

Another innocuous reform that Aziz spoke highly of was the recent establishment of The Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Much like the human rights commissions of South Africa and Chile, the Moroccan version held public hearings addressing human rights atrocities that occurred in the past. But the three were not identical. Aziz cited one major difference, “All other countries that have had [human rights commissions] such as South Africa, Chile, there was regime change, but in Morocco, there was no regime change, and we took responsibility for what happened.” And while this sounds noble, there was one major caveat with having the administration in power taking responsibility for their wrongdoings: the administration in power has the power to not take responsibility for their wrongdoings. In South Africa and Chile the new regime convicted and sentenced the human rights violators of the old regime, as one would expect from a public trial. In Morocco, the new regime and the old regime were one and the same, and the Moroccan administration obviously did not convict itself. As a consequence, the same people who violated human rights suffered no major repercussions, and many remain in the same posts within the government as before. While many people were compensated monetarily for the government’s egregious violations of human rights, real change in the form of personnel adjustment never occurred.Morocco now faces new problems. Even though Morocco boasts one of the most progressive, if ineffectual, agendas in the Arab World, that could all change after this upcoming September. The main Islamic party in Morocco, the PJD, is expected to garner sweeping victories in the parliament. When asked about the possibility of this victory, and whether it would affect the fabric of Moroccan society and its relations with the United States, Aziz first denied that the PJD was an Islamist party, which is patently false. Then he went on to say, “I don’t think they will change a lot, in terms of the life in Morocco. Morocco is a tourist country. Let’s see what happens.” Again, Aziz skirted reality.

Eventually, the Ambassador and the Moroccan administration will have to stop playing coy. There is a strong possibility of an Islamist takeover in Morocco. Wahhabist schools, funded by the Saudi government, are becoming more and more prevalent with the country. While the Moroccan establishment is content with its status as an ally with the West, many of the lower-classes are restless and are looking towards radical Islam as an alternative. Smart, competent men like Ambassador Aziz must cease to only acknowledge the smoke and mirror reforms of Morocco. Though Morocco is a trusted ally now, that status could easily change if true reforms within the government are not taken and radical Islam is allowed to flourish.

Moroccan Ambassador Plays Coy

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