By Alejandro López
3 February 2011
As millions of people march in Egyptian cities and protests continue in Tunisia after the ouster of former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the Moroccan monarchy fears that it may be the next to face mass protests.
According to reports on Spanish public television, Moroccan troops are being sent towards major Moroccan cities, including Casablanca and Rabat, from their bases in the Western Sahara. The Moroccan embassy in Madrid denounced this report.
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February 2011 Update on Western Sahara >>

Suzanne Scholte, president of the US-Western Sahara Foundation has written an article on Wikileaks cables from the US embassy in Rabat which show Polisario Front are the good guys in this conflict, she says. See:
http://dailycaller.com/2010/12/20/wikileaks-documents-support-polisarios-goal-of-self-determination/

A Mixed Picture of Human Rights in the Kingdom

Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2011, please visit:
https://admin.hrw.org/world-report-2011(New York, January 24, 2011) – Morocco imprisoned government critics and dissidents for their peaceful expression during 2010, despite the image it enjoys as a regional leader on human rights, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2011.

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Daniel F. Rivera
Published in The Majalla,  Monday 24 January 2011
Morocco’s November assault on the Saharan refugee camp known as Gadaym Izik marked a new phase in the US and EU policies toward Morocco. As the conflict in the Western Sahara moves to the forefront of Morocco’s priorities, international opinion has become more critical of Rabat than ever.

THE RFK CENTER FINDS EVIDENCE OF ESCALATING ABUSE, TORTURE, AND ARBITRARY IMPRISONMENT IN WESTERN SAHARA
1/19/2011

WASHINGTON (January 18, 2011) – Torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, failure to follow criminal procedures, and repression of civilians by Moroccan government forces are all too common in Western Sahara, according to the findings of a recent visit to El Aaiun by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.

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Morocco/Western Sahara: Rights Trampled: Protests, violence and repression in Western Sahara
Violent confrontations broke out in November 2010 when Moroccan security forces sought to forcibly remove people from a tented “protest camp.”

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Press Release: 3rd December, 2010 – IMMEDIATE
“Sun, sea, sand and torture”
Western Sahara activists launch ‘Don’t Go To Morocco’ campaign

Following the Moroccan government’s announcement this week that it plans to double its tourism in the next 10 years activists today launched a new campaign aimed at highlighting human rights abuses in occupied Western Sahara and asking tourists to boycott holidaying in Morocco. The new action – Don’t Go Morocco – was launched in London today
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Holding company run by King Mohammed VI extracts bribes and concessions from real estate developers, businesses complain

Ian Black, Middle East editor , guardian.co.uk, Monday 6 December 2010

Mohammed VI has worked to weed out corruption in the royal family but through their interests they retain a powerful grip on big business in the country, the WikiLeaks cables say. Photograph: Jalil Bounhar/AP

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Our friends in the desert, by David Keene – 12/06/10 

Americans like to imagine that most conflicts are waged by good guys against bad guys and respond to trigger words to decide who falls into which camp. Linking one’s opponents to terrorism, Osama bin Laden or Muslim extremism is a sure way to win the sympathy and support of many who remain unwilling or unable to look beyond the complexities of a high-school football game.

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