The Arab Spring and the Moroccan exception

Development in Morocco over the last few years has made this kingdom an exception in a North African region, which has witnessed dramatic changes recently through the so-called "Arab Spring". It could be said that Morocco has enjoyed the advantages of the Arab Spring despite the fact that the unrest didn't reach it. Morocco overcame the Arab Spring by launching a new constitution a year ago. The constitution led to a democratic election which resulted in the formation of an Islamist government led by Mr Abdelilah Benkiran, leader of the Justice and Development Party, known by its French acronym (PJD). However, the early steps of reforms in Morocco were taken much earlier, nearly 13 years ago, when King Mohammed VI stepped up to the throne and decided to reconcile the ruling regime with the kingdom's foundations. He even opened the gates of the Royal Palace to those who spent long periods of their lives in prisons for their political views. It’s true that whoever visits Morocco in 2012 will soon realise that this kingdom is looking more humane than ever. In a speech last week marking the 13th anniversary of his coronation, King Mohammed II stated that Morocco's main asset was its own people, which included every race, religion and gender. He also stressed the necessity of guarantying freedoms and launching economic reforms that could pave the way for establishing a modern state in Morocco. Morocco's Monarch always believed that the core of reforms is that everybody should bear their own responsibility which is why he was not reluctant in agreeing a new constitution that granted extensive powers to the prime minister. The latest parliamentary election which took place nearly a year ago and resulted in Islamist dominance, has unveiled the problems with traditional political parties in Morocco. These parties now have to adapt to the new atmosphere in the country and must reorganised in order to be capable of addressing the new political, social, and economic developments in the Kingdom. These parties have to tackle the significant issues which King Mohammed VI used to mention in his speeches, most recently his Throne Day speech last Monday. The King talked about the independence of the Judiciary, decentralisation, human development, women rights, getting over the economic recession, finding a solution to the drought and communicating with Moroccan expatriates. He also talked about preserving the environment, improving tourism, developing medical insurance, focusing on the renewable resources of energy, particularly solar and wind energy and developing the bilateral relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council states. King Mohammed II speaks a modern language, different to the wooden language preferred by many of the Arab leaders. He shows no reluctance in calling everything what it is, or saying: "We will do everything for Morocco and stick to the principles of moderate Sunni Islam.  Extremism, fanaticism, intolerance and seclusion will not be part of our beliefs." It is undeniable that Morocco suffers from a lot of problems, including poverty and religious extremism, but the King’s main advantage is that he is brave enough to admit these problems openly, because he believes that they are all linked together. He knows that Morocco will never defeat extremism without ending the sufferings of the people who live in slums first. The Moroccan monarch is well aware of the regional situation too.  It inspires him seek new solutions for the regional problems, different to the traditional Arab slogans. The King says: "The major changes occurring in the Maghreb region provide a historic opportunity to take the Maghreb Union from the current state of inertia to a more dynamic status that can help us achieve sustainable, integrated development." This clear declaration from King Mohammed VI should be met with a true desire from the other Maghreb states, particularly Algeria, to take advantage of these "major changes" in order to "reach a final solution to the artificial dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, upon the basis of the ‘autonomy proposal’ made by Morocco," as the King said. The Kings statement is just reasonable. The Maghreb Union will never work effectively unless a final solution is agreed for the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. Taking into consideration that the Maghreb Union state are currently exposed to serious security threats due to al-Qaeda's success in taking control over the northern region of Mali. Extremism will not be defeated in the Sahara region unless all the Maghreb states work in full coordination, especially Morocco and Algeria, and this coordination wouldn't be achieved unless the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara is sorted out. It has to be acknowledged that the Polisario Front, which is actually an Algerian-made group, has been a major obstacle to fighting al Qaeda. The strong ties made by this group with al-Qaeda and the smuggling networks which extends from south of Mauritania to the state of South Sudan, is just a clear evidence that Polisario is a major ally of terrorism in the Sahara region. Morocco shows a certain desire to sort out its regional disputes and to contribute to the development of the Arab joint cooperation, in addition to being more opened to its closest European neighbour, Spain. Morocco has withstood the Arab Spring. It is a state reconciled with itself, but it also seeks reconciliation with its neighbours, and that is why Morocco has started talking about "free movement of persons, goods, capitals and services," especially as Arab Maghreb states are geographically too close to Europe, so those Maghreb states have to draw some lessons from the European Union. They can ask themselves why they can't open their borders to their neighbours rather than sticking to the illusions of the ‘regional influence’ they have to make. This regional influence would be the main reason for foiling the fight against extremism, which is currently threatening every single state of the Maghreb and Sahara regions. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.