Political stability in Morocco cannot silence the murmurs of discontent

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/09/morocco-reform-protest-arab-spring

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The further into chaos north Africa sinks, the more Morocco asserts its difference. Well away from the war in Libya, the tumult of Tunisia’s democratic transition or the Egyptian clampdown, the kingdom is quick to publicise its stability. It is, as the authorities repeat, an “exception” in the Arab world and its Islamist prime minister, Abdelilah Benkirane, was back at the Davos economic forum this year to promote the “secrets of Morocco’s success”.

But the country has nevertheless had its share of unrest. In 2011, following the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, tens of thousands of Moroccans took to the streets to demand greater social justice and democracy. There were no calls to oust the regime among the slogans of the “20 February movement”, as it is known, simply the will to restrict royal powers under a constitutional monarchy.

In March that year the “palace” announced plans to frame a new constitution. A general election led to a historic victory for the Islamist Justice and Development party (PJD). After three years in power, the party claims still to be on good terms with King Mohammed VI and has certainly made no visible efforts to question his authority.

“We have opted for a model based on cooperation, not confrontation,” says Abdelali Hamidine, a member of the PJD’s general secretariat. It has proved a subtle exercise in power-sharing. “The party’s priority is to establish itself as a leading political player. The palace is anxious to avoid being accused of preventing the government from doing its job,” says a commentator versed in Moroccan politics.

The strategy has paid off in terms of political stability. Of all the Islamist parties to have been voted into power since the Arab spring, the PJD is the only one still in office. Moreover, the government’s approval ratings are excellent. The prime minister has focused his attention on rooting out corruption, albeit with very limited results so far, as he himself acknowledges. He has also set a new political style, closer to the people, and successfully completed several difficult reforms, including a shakeup at the Caisse de Compensation, a public body responsible for stabilising the price of essential goods.

But any hopes that the new constitution would lead to a more balanced distribution of powers have been dashed. “So far, the authorities’ proposals fall short of the mark,” says Omar Iherchane, one of the leaders of the Islamist organisation al-Adl wal-Ihsane (Justice and Good Deeds), which is tolerated but not officially recognised by the regime. “The 2011 constitution? We are drifting further and further away from its content. As for the government, it is not really governing. The important projects are still in the hands of the king and his councillors,” he adds.

Over the past three years the pace of reform has been extremely slow. The 20 or so “organic” laws, needed for the new constitution to be promulgated, have been passed laboriously. As for the notion of a separation of powers, everyone agrees that the makhzen, the institution centring on the crown, remains the real seat of decision-making. The king still chairs cabinet meetings. The PJD can now appoint certain senior officials, but the palace has a say in all the key jobs. Above all, opposition activists and members of civil society condemn the persistence of practices wholly at odds with the new freedoms set forth in the 2011 constitution.

For months the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH) has been protesting at the “systematic ban” on its activities. “The state does not tolerate dissident voices,” says the organisation’s head, Ahmed el-Haij. Historian Maati Monjib has finally closed the research centre he headed, exhausted by endless harassment. He believes that the aim of all this obstruction is “to silence those whom the regime sees as the last remaining pillars of the 20 February movement”.

Four years after it coalesced the movement has faded away. The sudden withdrawal of al-Adl wal-Ihsane in June 2011 was a severe blow. Then several dozen of its members, mostly young militants, were rounded up. “At present there is no apparent conflict, but that doesn’t mean that the frustration has gone,” says economist Jaidi Larabi. “Events elsewhere in the region have prompted some campaigners to tone down their criticism. It’s as if they were petrified. As for the political parties and trade unions, they’re in no position to mobilise support.”

So does this mean that everything is back to square one? “The 20 February movement no longer exists as such, but its spirit lives on,” says company director Karim Tazi, echoing a view shared by many others. “Society is changing. The youth of Morocco wants to enjoy full civic rights, not just to be treated as subjects. Just look at the demonstrations in 2013.”

That summer thousands of people took to the streets to dispute the royal pardon granted to a convicted paedophile. It was the first time that the population had questioned a decision by the king.

“We avoided a collision in 2011, because the regime gave signs of making concessions, but the potential is still there,” Tazi says. Although no one is calling for an end to the regime, there is still widespread economic hardship, with the youth unemployment rate nudging 30% and a long way to go towards combating corruption.

This article appeared in Guardian Weekly, which incorporates material from Le Monde