It took Morocco decades of struggle and the end of the cold war with an ailing dictator who, having lost his geo-strategic clout and sensing his death approaching, finally decided to relinquish power and open up the system in an effort to guaranty a smooth transfer of authority to his son, to see the emergence of a new breed of irreverent journalism. The French language weekly news magazine Le Journal Hebdomadaire, founded in the mid-90s thanks to an unusual alliance of benevolent capital and highly skilled western trained journalists, initiated a long line of privately owned independent newspapers critical of the government and the Moroccan establishment at large. Targeting the Moroccan cosmopolitan elite, “Le Journal Hebdo” rapidly became iconic, embarking on a decade long confrontational quest for factual truths, challenging the most powerful tenants of the local regime, revisiting official history, flirting with the red lines imposed by the government and exploring many taboos.

There was a time when Arab dictatorships used to extra-judicially clampdown on dissenting voices in a gross demonstration of authority. The popular rumor would have it that in every house and every street, in every newsroom of every publication government had its eyes and ears ready to report on anyone who wasn't in line with the prescribed official discourse. Today, repression of independent voices goes through a protracted but sophisticated process of harassment by a judiciary system under orders from the executive and boycott from advertisers keen to please the authorities. That's what happened to Le Journal Hebdo, which now faces closure after a commercial court in Casablanca declared the publishing group behind the magazine bankrupt, crippled by a series of libel fines, by taxes and an insurmountable debt - a development which many interpreted as the final and deadly blow to the publication.

The New York-based media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the development and recaps the most recent judicial episode in a chain of condemnations and fines that eventually led to the administrative termination of the publication:

Le Journal Hebdomadaire was dealt a devastating financial blow in 2006 when a Moroccan court ordered that it pay 3 million dirhams (US$354,000) damages in a defamation case […] Jamaï (director and co-founder of the publication) left the country after the 2006 court decision and a series of government-inspired cases of harassment against the newsmagazine. Harassment of Le Journal Hebdomadaire appeared to ease for a time. But when Jamaï returned to Morocco in 2009 and resumed his critical journalism, he said, the government intensified its efforts to have advertisers boycott Le Journal Hebdomadaire. In September 2009, the Supreme Court upheld the damage award in the [defamation] case.

Issandr El Amrani writing on The Arabist blog says he received a message from Aboubakr Jamaï (Bou Bakr) announcing the official death of Le Journal Hebdomadaire. He writes:

I just received very sad news from Abou Bakr Jamai [Fr], the editor behind one of Morocco's most courageous publications and one that had been a symbol of the opening that began in the mid-1990s under King Hassan II and petered out under the rather aimless reign of his son, Muhammad VI. Bou Bakr wrote:

After all your prediction about the end of Le Journal has been proven on the money. Le Journal Hebdo has been shut down. Yesterday, 5, yes 5, bailiffs showed up armed with a court decision to take over Le Journal Hebdomadaire and the company behind it, Trimedia.. What is still unclear to us is the legal argument that led the judge from the receivership procedure of Mediatrust to act against trimedia. The only link is the title:”Le Journal Hebdomadaire” but the title is owned by the publisher himself not the company. Although we are waiting to get a clearer legal picture, we can already officially announce the death of Le Journal Hebdomaire.

El Amrani also wrote an op-ed about the issue on The Guardian/Observer British newspapers' online blogging platform, Comment Is Free. He mourns Le Journal and warns about a worrying pattern of repression and authoritarianism:

Most of all, Le Journal tried to keep officials honest about the democratisation that they promised in speeches. It relentlessly campaigned for constitutional reform that would shift political power from the palace to parliament. For many of my generation of Moroccans, it provided a political education and an inspiring example of outspokenness.
[…]The most worrying thing is that its closure comes amid other signs of a renewed authoritarianism. The methods originally used against Le Journal have become a commonplace method of disciplining the press. Other critics of the monarchy, for instance in Morocco's vibrant blogosphere, are now dealt with severely. Political reform has hit a standstill, and the regime's human rights record has regressed.
Le Journal's sad demise is now only one of many signals that something is rotten in the kingdom of Morocco.

Blogger Jillian C. York adds to Al Amrani's comment saying:

[T]he closure of Le Journal does not alone indicate Morocco’s slide backwards. The arrests of bloggers Bashir Hazzem, Mohammed Erraji, and Boubaker Al-Yadib, of Facebooker Fouad Mourtada, of countless journalists, should speak for themselves. Yet, Morocco continues to maintain an appearance of moving forward, especially to the United States, which proudly touts Morocco’s Mudawana (or family code) and subsequent other new rights to women as evidence.

This is an issue that cannot, must not be ignored. Morocco, in case I don’t say it enough, is a beautiful place. I spent more than two wonderful years there, and would still happily go back, despite its faults. But in order for Morocco, for any country, to continue down the road of progress, free expression is non-negotiable.

Moroccan online news magazine Hesspress [Ar] deplores the deafening silence and lack of solidarity in face of mounting repression:

Many bloggers have been commenting on the development like Anas Alaoui [Fr] who bemoans the loss of a unique news outlet:

J’aimerais tout simplement remercier Le Journal et les personnes y ayant travaillé. Je les remercie pour l’effort engagé dans cette première marocaine quand on a cru à une ouverture, une certaine ouverture tout du moins. Je les remercie pour le courage et le dévouement dans leur tâche d’informer le public. Ils ont été les premiers à briser des tabous. Ils ont été les premiers à dire des choses vraies. Nous pouvons être d’accord ou pas avec les éditos écrits dans ce magazine. Nous pouvons être d’accord ou pas avec les analyses qui y ont été publiées, mais nous ne pouvons nier le fait que le Journal Hebdo a changé la pratique journalistique marocaine. Désormais, il y a un avant Journal Hebdo et un après Journal Hebdo.

The end of Le Journal Hebdomadaire signals a dangerous setback for the state of freedoms in Morocco. It pulls a thorn out of the regime's side but it also sends a strong message to the remaining independent media still struggling to survive in an increasingly repressive environment. This leaves the question about whether the online media and citizen journalism will constitute a breathing space for voices of dissent in countries like Morocco to vent their grievances, convey the truth and hold their governments accountable.

The Charter for Environment and Sustainable Development, as it was officially dubbed, will lead among other things to the creation of 16 regional observatories that would provide the government with yearly reports and recommendations on environment and developmental issues. The initiative has now a website with interactive content and a blog in three different languages.

Mabrouk Benazzouz, writing [Fr] for the online regional news website Eljadida.com, explains how the new approach is in part about holding polluters to account. He writes:

L’idée de prise de conscience collective et notamment la prise de conscience nécessaire au niveau de tout un chacun et à commencer par les industriels, a imposé un principe nouveau dans notre pays, celui du pollueur /payeur. Madame la Ministre, explique que « ce principe est nouveau, mais tout le monde donc en a conscience, et nous travaillons progressivement pour le mettre en œuvre, à travers les lois et les décrets appropriés, pour faire en sorte que chacun assume ses responsabilités.”

Big Brother Morocco wonders [Fr] if the decision makers will be up to the task, praising the apparent open process initiated by the government:

Quand on sait qu'il y a très peu d'experts en Écologie au Maroc et Nos chers élus locaux s'y connaissent tellement en écologie que le débat sera, bien sur, soporifique. Dormir debout dans une conférence, ça va être possible avec ces débats sur la charte Nationale de l'environnement. Mais heureusement, le débat sera ouvert au Grand Public, à travers internet et le blog/site de la charte. Il y a même un forum -internet- ou Vous pourrez poster vos propositions et répondre à un formulaire. Ce qui est Louable dans tout cela, c'est que l'état “OUVRE” le débat : une première étape pour instaurer à la fois, un dialogue, et surtout de faire impliquer les Marocains dans les actions à entreprendre.

Tayyibi A., writing [Fr] on Architecture et Société - Architecture de terre au Maroc recaps the timetable for the project and explains how it was mainly inspired by the French experience:

Octobre/Novembre 2009 : Elaboration du projet de la charte.
Du 15 janvier au 20 février 2010 : Lancement de la concertation nationale à travers les 16 régions du Royaume.
Mars 2010 : Elaboration du projet final de la Charte.
Le 22 avril 2010 : Adoption officielle de la charte.
Le 25 avril 2010 : Célébration de la journée de la Terre.

Le texte de la Charte […] est fortement inspiré dans sa partie la plus importante (valeurs et principes), des articles de la Charte de l’Environnement adoptée dans la constitution Française en 2005!

Some bloggers however deplored a lack of consistency in the government policy and contradictions between what has been announced and the reality on the ground. Lbadikho posting on Sustainable Mediterranean Rif Now! [Fr], denounces what he describes as the outrageous environmental damage caused in the eastern city of Oujda by the decision of the local governor (unelected official, who's nominated by decree) to uproot a large number of trees. He writes:

Jusqu’à quand cette situation de Walis/Gouverneurs non élus avec plus de prérogatives et de pouvoir que le député ou le maire élu? […] Tout comme la démocratie et le développement vont de paire, le développement durable et la démocratie ne peuvent avoir lieu l’un sans l’autre de façon durable. Seule une réforme constitutionnelle profonde pourrait épargner à des régions comme l’orientale d’être à la merci d’un Wali exogène à leur choix, et encore mieux, d’une technocratie marocaine qui a prouvé ses limites avec tout le mal qu’elle a faite à Saîdia, dans le plus grand crime contre l’homme et la terre que cette région a connu depuis peut être la colonisation.

“Are you the BOMB?”

Two-time nominee The View from Fez writes of the BOMBies:

The voting has begun for The Best of Moroccan Blog Awards. There are five categories: Best Overall, Travel, News, Culture, and Personal.

Who will win the first annual BOMBies? Are you the BOMB?

Eatbees, an American who lives in Morocco, mentions his nomination, and says of blogging in the kingdom:

When I started in 2006, there were just a handful of bloggers writing about Morocco in English. Now there are culture blogs, travel blogs, personal blogs, blogs about news and politics — both by Moroccans and others by lovers of Morocco.

The Good Life in Morocco and The Elephant Cloud have also blogged about their BOMBie nominations.

The logo of the Maroc Blog Awards (which reads "Maroc Blog Awards: an annual online event" in French and Arabic)

The Maroc Blog Awards

Robin des Blogs is the winner of last year's “Blog of the Year” award in the Maroc Blog Awards.  This year, he has been nominated again; speaking of the honor, he says [fr]:

Je suis reconnaissant à tous ceux et celles qui ont voté pour moi l’année dernière, et ceux qui ont l’intention de le faire cette année aussi. Ce témoignage d’amour est une fierté pour moi, car il s’agit d’abord d’amour et non de compétition, puisque ceux qui nous choisissent nous rendent une partie de ce qu’on a partagé avec eux, dans un geste de reconnaissance.

Eljadida.com and Blogipedia, among others, blogged about their nominations for the Maroc Blog Awards.

May the best blogs win!

2010 CAN in Angola

This year Africa’s in the sports arena for all the right reasons. First to shine the spotlight is definitely the Confederation of Africa's (CAF) African Cup of Nations being held in Angola which is just a stone’s throw away from South Africa, which hosts the World Cup in June later on this year.

As expected in many respects, this is a dress rehearsal for most of the teams which qualified for the World Cup from Africa.

But not everyone is celebrating Africa’s premiere football showcase as Mark Murphy notes:

If this year’s African Cup of Nations in Angola has entered the psyche of English football fans at all, it is because of the cataclysmic effect on Chelsea’s Premier League title hopes of a month without Didier Drogba

David James also wonders aloud in an article for Sports Blog:

With Chelsea flying there is plenty of speculation as to how they will cope without Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and Mikel John Obi

Quite a number of English clubs will lose their players to the tournament with Chelsea and Portsmouth being the biggest casualties. Plagued by financial difficulties, Portsmouth has been living from hand to mouth and currently lie last in the English Premier League.

www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/dec/20/african-cup-nations-david-james”>David James again:

‘African Cup of Nations will hit us but who wouldn’t want to be there?’
…we have had so many other things to worry about – not getting paid, having another change of manager, being bottom of the league – that the thought of players going missing in a few weeks' time has not yet come to the fore. Of course it will be a big blow to us. We don't have the biggest of squads, and to lose some of our best players will have a huge impact. When our players do return there could be a host of other problems, such as mental and physical fatigue, adjusting to the difference in temperature, and injuries. So what do the Portsmouth players themselves think? To gauge opinion I had a chat with some of them over dinner, and the only thing anyone wanted to talk about was who would win the competition

The hosts, Angola will be hoping to save their blushes after failing to qualify for the World Cup after a promising period in 2008 as noted by Oliver:

After a successful stint in the 2008 African cup of nations, Angola were awarded the rights to host the tournament for the first time in its twenty six year history. Angola, who have only featured in the competition four times, preceded to the quarter finals in 2008”
But going by the first game against Mali they must wish the fortunes are better and pray (and play too) hoping to make it through the knock-out rounds of the quarter-finals and looking forward to replicating Egypt’s success of hosting the Cup and winning 1986/2006(along with other nations such as Sudan-1970,Ghana -1978, Algeria-1990, South Africa-1996);

Another country hoping to change their fortunes is last tournament’s hosts, Ghana. Should Ghana be taken seriously?:

Should Ghana be taken seriously?”– It goes on to ask if they shall find comfort with “John Mensah, John Pantsil, Stephen Appiah, Laryea Kingston are all nursing injuries while Muntari was famously overlooked”
It goes on further to say,
“Soon after the draw for the CAN several media pundits installed Ghana as joint favourites together with La Cote D’ivoire. Well that was before the injury crisis, but still that is the expectation this young team is up against-to at least make the final

The Indomitable Lions- as the Cameroonians have their old but vastly experienced players to put through their case as their iconic players look to hang the boots in pride. Cameroon is led by Rigobert Song who plays in his eighth African Cup of Nations tournament:

Cameroon promise to be strong. Their manager, Paul Le Guen, has found a way of ensuring star striker Samuel Eto'o does not feel the need to scamper all over the pitch in search of the ball, and the skilful Betis midfielder Achille Emana has become the prime conduit to the Inter star. In the centre of defence Cameroon boast one of the hottest prospects in African football, the 20-year-old Monaco centre-back Nicolas N'Koulou, who has been compared to a young Franco Baresi. What is more, in a tournament where few of the teams have top-class goalkeepers, Cameroon are an exception: Carlos Kameni is excellent

The other countries expected to make run-ins in the title chase include past winners Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria and the West African states of Mali and Burkina Faso. Togo team decided to go back home following the attack on the team bus in Cabinda:

The heartbreaking attack on the Togo team bus in rural Cabinda, an Angolan territory geographically separated from the rest of the nation, on the eve of the 2010 African Nations Cup upset me deeply. Foremost, I’m upset about the dead and wounded; I’m upset that the vile geo-political mix of oil, land, terrorism, and inequality claimed innocent lives and injured the travelling party of a soccer team that was interested in nothing more than a game. But I’m also upset about the potential for the ambush to detract from what should be a great year for African soccer—and to further distort perceptions of Africa

Cameroonian blogger George Fominyen discusses the incident in a post titled “Death in the Africa Cup's group of death”:

When four West African neighbours were drawn to play in group “B” of the African Cup of Nations in the enclave of Cabinda, pundits named it the “group of death”. But they were far from imagining that someone will die from gun-shot wounds two days before the kick-off of the tournament.

Ethan Zuckerman discusses the incident in a wider context arguing that “what happens in Cabinda doesn't stay in Cabinda”:

Actually, hosting Africa’s biggest football tournament – that is, up until the World Cup later this year – was probably a good branding move for Angola, which has made vast strides since the Angolan civil war ended in 2002. The mistake was in holding one of four sets of matches in Cabinda. It proved to be a tragic, deadly mistake: Separatist guerillas attacked a convoy of team buses, led by Angolan military, as they travelled from Congo-Brazaville into Cabinda, killing three members of the Togolese national team’s entourage and wounding nine others.

On a lighter note, Brucio offers American viewers options of viewing the African Cup of Nations:

No regular USA cable or dish packages have the games. You need the African or Middle East package. If you have no idea how to see the games then I would suggest calling all the African restaurants and bars in your town to find out who is showing them

Dary, however, has tips on how to watch the tournament from the US, UK and Australia:

Unless you have a ticket to an Angola 2010 game, there are basically three ways to watch the African Cup of Nations 2010. Option One is to watch it on TV. Option Two, you can watch a legal, high quality internet stream. Option Three, you take your chances with a barely legal pirated internet stream.

Cup of African Nations

There are also some interesting facts about this year’s African Cup of Nations which now has 17 countries competing:

Did you know? The youngest player is Zambia’s defender Emmanuel Mbola, only 16 at the kick off of the African Cup of Nations. The oldest is Mozambique’s midfielder Nelinho, aged 38. Each squad has called up 23 players, save from Burkina Faso who arrived in Angola with only 22. Forward Aristide Bancé had a fallout with his coach Paulo Duarte and refused to play.  66 of the 367 players play in France, the African Cup’s number 1 provider. OGC Nice reluctantly sent 8 of its players to Angola: Poté (Benin), Bamogo (Burkina Faso), Faé (Ivory Coast), Mouloungui (Gabon), Traoré and Bagayoko (Mali), Apam (Nigeria), Ben Saada (Tunisia).

Dary has compiled a list of 11 players to watch:

Everyone knows about Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba and Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o. The superstars of African football. Most will know about Mali’s Fredi Kanoute and Seydou Keita too. You don’t need WorldCupBlog to tell you about them. So we thought we’d compile a list of 10 players to watch at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, featuring talented youngsters and other players with slightly lower profiles than those listed above.

Mamadou Gaye discusses the match between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso and says, “The best is yet to come”:

Hello and welcome to my first blog on SuperSport.com. I look forward to exchanging views and ideas with you through this medium. You can also catch me on Soccer Africa and during SuperSports' coverage of the Afcon on SS3 and SS4.
I think the game between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso was a good one. It was pacey and very tactical.

As a practicing medical doctor based in France, “Hisham” (Hisham Khribchi) is one of the founding members of the site Talk Morocco, which aims to be forum to “encourage intelligent, open, and honest debate on issues relating to Morocco and the diaspora.

In addition to writing in his own personal blog The Mirror, Hisham contributes to Global Voices Online where he has written about Morocco since April 2009. He can also be found on Twitter at @Hisham_G