Day 118: Morrocco

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mo.html

[minionofmidas]

Great country, great people, great hashish, my sort of rich-actually-but-not-western-style-insanely-rich place; but quite a horrible dictatorship actually.

[WMS]

Great country, great people, great hashish, my sort of rich-actually-but-not-western-style-insanely-rich place; but quite a horrible dictatorship actually.

Well, somewhat of a dictatorship. Free and fair elections for the legislature, yes, but with a mostly absolute-monarchy attached. Odd...

[minionofmidas]

Great country, great people, great hashish, my sort of rich-actually-but-not-western-style-insanely-rich place; but quite a horrible dictatorship actually.

Well, somewhat of a dictatorship. Free and fair elections for the legislature, yes, but with a mostly absolute-monarchy attached. Odd...

There's no free speech whatsoever, and the Royal Dynasty owns an incredibly large share of the country.
Of course, the main opposition parties don't dare put up too many candidates, for fear of losing the free elections should they ever gain control of Parliament.

[WMS]

Great country, great people, great hashish, my sort of rich-actually-but-not-western-style-insanely-rich place; but quite a horrible dictatorship actually.

Well, somewhat of a dictatorship. Free and fair elections for the legislature, yes, but with a mostly absolute-monarchy attached. Odd...

There's no free speech whatsoever, and the Royal Dynasty owns an incredibly large share of the country.
Of course, the main opposition parties don't dare put up too many candidates, for fear of losing the free elections should they ever gain control of Parliament.

None at all? I know there's not a lot but I'm going off of what I can dig up from FH (hmm, 2006 ratings out...what's going on in Guyana?) - it's not very nice on that front (press freedom comes out as "high Not Free"), but they're not on the level of North Korea or Sudan or Libya or Tunisia or you-fill-in-the-blank-Stan.  "Absolute Monarchy", yep. And that's an interesting point about the opposition parties...from the 2005 FH version:

"Moroccans' right to change their government democratically is limited. The monarch retains ultimate authority and may appoint or dismiss cabinet members, dissolve parliament, and rule by decree. Legislative powers are shared by the king and a bicameral legislature that includes a directly elected lower house. The 2002 parliamentary elections and municipal elections held in 2003 were regarded as the most representative in the country's history.

Opposition parties remain weak. The government crackdown on Islamic extremists has deterred moderate Islamist elements from political participation. The single most effective opposition party, the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), was pressured by the government into running only a few candidates in the municipal elections. In an effort to improve its image, the party elected a new leader in 2004, known for his moderate views. Secular opposition parties have yet to make significant inroads at the grassroots level.

Press freedom remains somewhat restricted. There is a lively press, but under a 2002 law, journalists are subject to prison sentences and fines for defamation and libel, especially regarding the royal family, Islam, and the Western Sahara.

Academic freedom was somewhat restricted, with no open debates allowed on the monarchy, Islam or the status of the Western Sahara. Government informers monitored Islamist activity on campuses, and the interior ministry approved the appointment of rectors.

Freedom of association is somewhat limited. Nongovernmental organizations need government permission to operate, but in practice few groups have been rejected or subjected to funding controls in place. A royal pardon in January 2004 included some 20 political prisoners and detainees, among them activists working on human rights in the Western Sahara. Freedom of assembly is limited and public gatherings require Interior Ministry permission, although peaceful protests are generally tolerated."

Sound about right to you, Lewis?

[minionofmidas]

None at all? I know there's not a lot but I'm going off of what I can dig up from FH (hmm, 2006 ratings out...what's going on in Guyana?) - it's not very nice on that front (press freedom comes out as "high Not Free"), but they're not on the level of North Korea or Sudan or Libya or Tunisia or you-fill-in-the-blank-Stan. [/quote]Well, yeah. (Sudan though? I'm sure Sudan tries to ban all free speech but I wasn't aware that they were much successful in their endeavours. Morocco is under pretty tight control.)

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I remember flipping through some magazines; a lifestyle thingy, back issues of some magazine on photography. There were big photos of the king congratulating him on the birth of his son, on so-and-so-many-years rule etc etc in every issue.

As to freedom of association etc ... I wouldn't know all that. Although I did know that University rectors are political appointees in Morocco.
Lots of Sub-Saharan Africans studying at Moroccan unis, btw.

[WMS]

None at all? I know there's not a lot but I'm going off of what I can dig up from FH (hmm, 2006 ratings out...what's going on in Guyana?) - it's not very nice on that front (press freedom comes out as "high Not Free"), but they're not on the level of North Korea or Sudan or Libya or Tunisia or you-fill-in-the-blank-Stan. 

Well, yeah. (Sudan though? I'm sure Sudan tries to ban all free speech but I wasn't aware that they were much successful in their endeavours. Morocco is under pretty tight control.)

Well, in Sudan you can get killed on the spot for speaking the wrong thing freely, so that tends to sink their rating. I'm not 100% on how much different things are in rebel-held areas...

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I remember flipping through some magazines; a lifestyle thingy, back issues of some magazine on photography. There were big photos of the king congratulating him on the birth of his son, on so-and-so-many-years rule etc etc in every issue.

As to freedom of association etc ... I wouldn't know all that. Although I did know that University rectors are political appointees in Morocco.
Lots of Sub-Saharan Africans studying at Moroccan unis, btw.
[/quote] Well, sycophancy is universal. And since I quoted a source clearly I didn't have the status of "freedom of association etc" memorized either. Interesting info BTW.