Global Voices Online

Arabisc: Moroccan Authorities Lack Humour, says Blogger

Amira Al Hussaini · 16:31 · Middle East & North Africa

In Morocco, a newspaper is being sued for publishing an article on jokes which Moroccans enjoy.

Blogger Hjiouij thinks its not discussing religious issues that the authorities object to in print but rather any attempt to ridicule Moroccan King Mohammed the Fifth.

قبل دقائق خمس أعلنت التلفزة الرسمية أن الوزير الأول المغربي قد أمر بتنفيذ الفصل السادس والستين من قانون الصحافة على مجلة “نيشان” وتحويل مديرها “ادريس كسيكس” والصحفية بذات المجلة “سناء العاجي” للمحاكمة، على خلفية الملف الذي نشرته المجلة في عددها الـ 91 حول النكت التي يتبادلها المغاربة.
الفصل 66 من قانون الصحافة ينص على منع عرض أي منشور ينافي الأخلاق العامة، في الطرقات والأماكن العامة، بقرار من الوزير الأول. ويتيح للمجلة أربعا وعشرين ساعة فقط للتقدم بطعن في هذا القرار.
التعليل الذي جاء في القصاصة الإخبارية الرسمية يقول بأن المجلة ستحاكم لنشرها ما يسيء إلى الدين الإسلامي والأخلاق العامة. وهنا نلاحظ أن الدولة بدأت تتخلى عن شجاعتها في مواجهة الصحافة التي تضايقها. لأنها لو كانت فعلا تريد محاكمة المجلة بدعوى الدين والآخلاق لفعلت ذلك منذ أسابيع بعد نشر المجلة لملفين واحد حول الحجاب وآخر حول العاهرات، تضمنا صورًا خادشة للحياء. لكن الدافع الرئيسي الذي أراه قد حرك الملف هذه المرة هو تلك النكت التي تعرضت بالسخرية من شخص الملك.

“Five minutes ago, official television stations announced that the First (Premier?) Moroccan Minister have ordered to implement clause 66 of the Press Law on Neyshan magazine and refer its editor-in-chief Idrees Kissekiss and reporter Sana Al Aji to court for publishing in issue 91 jokes common among Moroccans. Clause 66 of the Press Law stipulates banning any publication which goes again social moral values, following an order of the First Moroccan Minister. It also gives the publication 24 hours to appeal the decision. The explanation given in the news article covering the issue states that the magazine will be put on trial for publishing articles which are against Islam and public morals. And here we notice that the authorities have started to give up some of the courage they had in confronting publications they don't agree with. If it really wanted to put the magazine on trial under the pretext of religion, then it should have done this a few weeks ago when it published an article on the Hijab and another one on prostitutes, which also contained photographs with adult content. I think that the main motive for putting the magazine on trial was that it published jokes which ridiculed the King,” he wrote.

But this isn't the case in Egypt, where blogger Abdulkareem Nabeel Sulaiman is still being detained in custody for articles which appeared on his blog, which were deemed to be anti-governmental and anti-Islam.

Fellow blogger Alaa Abdelfattah wonders about the fate of his jailed colleague, whose stay behind bars has been extended for another 45 days after already spending 45 days - under investigation.

عبد الكريم نبيل سليمان، المدون المصري الشاب اللي محبوس بقاله أكثر من شهر المفروض على ذمة تحقيق مبيحصلش أصلا اتحولت قضيته لنيابة أمن الدولة.
و نيابة أمن الدولة أول حاجة عملتها أنها حبسته 45 يوم كمان، أصل التحقيق يا عيني صعب قوي لأن الواد عبد الكريم ده لئيم و جامد و صعب عليهم يكتشفوا خبايا مؤامرته بسرعة.
عبد الكريم اللي كان بيتمني يتنقل من التخشيبة لسجن عشان تتحسن حالته حالته بقيت أسوأ، محبوس حبس انفرادي بدون سبب و منعوا أهله من الزيارة، و طبعا صعوبات في أنه يقابل محاميته.
كل ده ليه؟ عشان كتب على مدونته.

“The case of the young Egyptian blogger Abdulkareem Nabeel Sulaiman, who has been in prison for more than a month, has been transferred to the State Security Prosecution. And the first thing they did was extend his detention in custody for another 45 days. Investigating him is too difficult because this boy Abdulkareem is very evil and stubborn and uncovering the conspiracies he is hiding takes a long time,” wrote a sarcastic Alaa.
“Abdulkareem who was hoping to be transfered from the detention centre to an actual prison in order for his condition to improve, is now in a much worse condition. He is being held in solitary confinment for no reason, his family is banned from visiting him and it is almost impossible for him to meet with his lawyer. And what is all this for? Writing in a blog?” he continued.

Still in Egypt, MrGemmyHood informs us about the launch of a new pro-government movement which aims to drum up support for President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power since 1981.

و قد قامت تلك الحركة بأستخدام الطرق المبتكرة فى الدعايا عن نفسها
حيث قاموا منذ ايام قليلة بتدشين موقعهم على الانترنت و الذى يحمل أسم
www.FreeEgypt.org
الذى صدروه بأحدى مقولات رئيس الدولة
وبعدين إنك تبقى رئيس مصر دي إرادة شعب
، إذا الشعب مش عاوزك لما تعمل إيه ما فيش فايدة
والشعب إذا كان عاوزك مش حتقدر تمشي ، ومش بسهولة تمشي

“This movement is using innovative ways to advertise for itself. They also launched a website, which can be accessed via www.FreeEgypt.org, which is flagged with a saying by the President. It says: ‘After all, it is the will of people which allows you to become the President of Egypt. If the people don't want you, you will not be able to stay whatever you do but if the people want you, you will not be able to leave at all,'” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Subzero Blue from nearby Tunisia tells us about a new Saudi film which has just been released. If what I have read is true, it is the first Saudi Arabian feature film to hit the big screen - ever.

تدور أحداث الفيلم في قالب من الكوميديا الخفيفة حيث يتناول حياة أُسرة سعودية تجمع بين ثلاثة أجيال:
هناك الجد الذي يصوره الفيلم في صورة رجل متقدم في السن إلا أنه يتمتع بخفة ظل وروح مرح واضحة، بعيد كل البعد عن التزمت، ويشجع حفيده الذي يريد أن يصبح مخرجا عالميا على تصوير فيلمه.
أما الأب فهو متفتح يؤمن بحق ابنته في التعليم و العمل، ويتيح لها قدرا كبيرا من الحرية، ويناقش زوجته في هدوء، ويبدو معتدلا في دينه.
غير أن للاسرة ابنا متزمتا يميل إلى العزلة والانطواء، يرغب في تزويج اخته من صديق له من أصحاب الأفكار المتشددة.
الفلم خفيف و بعيد عن التعقيد، القصة سلسة و بسيطة، و أظن أنّه تجربة أولى ناجحة لسينما سعودية شابة.
طبعا الفلم لا يعكس صورة كاملة أو دقيقة عن كل المجتمع السعودي و لكنه يتطرق لاحدى الصور الموجودة و عن طريقها يخرج بعض المواضيع الشائكة في المجتمع السعودي اليوم كعمل المرأة، حقها في قيادة السيارة، التشدد أكثر من اللازم، الوقوف في وجه الفن بأنواعه، …الخ.

“This film is a comedy which deals with the life of a Saudi family which has members of three generations. The grandfather is an old man with an obvious sense of humour, who encourages his grandson to become an international movie director. The father is also open-minded who believes his daughter has the right to pursue an education and work and who gives her a lot of freedom. He also discusses matters with his wife in a civil manner and seems to be moderate in observing his religion. This family however has a religious son, who prefers to keep to himself, and who wants to marry his sister to one of his extremist friends. The movie is simple and not complex and the story line is easy to follow. I believe it is a successful start to the young Saudi cinema industry. The truth however remains that the film doesn't reflect a true picture of the entire Saudi society but discusses one model available, discussing a number of issues (like the right of women to work and drive cars, religious extremism and fighting different types of art) through it,” he wrote.

Our last stop in this round up is in Jordan, where Bater Wardam tells us about a gang fight which rocked Yarmook University, in the province of Irbid, the previous week.

أصدرت جامعة اليرموك مجموعة من العقوبات التأديبية بحق الطلبة الذين تسببوا في المشاجرة الجماعية التي وقعت في الجامعة الأسبوع الماضي على خلفيات عشائرية وليس إنتخابية كما حاول البعض تصويرها للطعن في النشاط السياسي والعمل العام في الجامعات. هذه العقوبات كانت أسهل من المطلوب إذ أنها في النهاية تسمح للطلبة المتسببين في المشاجرة بالعودة إلى مقاعد الدراسة ولو بعد حين وربما يكون هناك دافع تأديبي وليس عقابي وراء إعطائهم فرصة أخرى علما بأن الذي يحول حرمة الجامعة إلى ساحة معركة مكانه ليس في الجامعة.وعلى كل حال فإن الطلبة المتسببين بالمشاجرة ليسوا هم الوحيدين الذين يتحملون المسؤولية ويستحقون نوعا من العقاب لأن هناك أطرافا أخرى خارج الجامعة والوسط الطلابي تسببت في هذه المشاجرة ومعظم المشاجرات السابقة.

“Yarmook University issued a number of disciplinary actions against students who caused a group fight on campus last week, which was fueled by tribalism and not elections as some writers would want us to think in a bid to tarnish political activism and public work in universities. These punishments are very flexible because they enable the effected students from returning to their benches in classrooms after a while. This might be a disciplinary act more than punishment because those who turn the campus into a war zone don't deserve to remain in a university. At any rate, the students who caused the fight aren't the only ones who should bear the responsibility and take the punishment. There are other factors outside the university and who are not students who are the cause for this fight and all the other fights before it,” he wrote.

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Philippines: US Soldier Convicted of Rape

Mong Palatino · 09:11 · East Asia

Early this month, US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith was found guilty by a local court of raping a Filipina woman while three other co-accused soldiers were acquitted. This was the first time a US soldier was tried by a local court ever since the government allowed the entry of US troops in the Philippine islands. The battle continues to this day whether the United States Embassy can request custody for the convicted soldier.
Rasheed’s World thinks the verdict was fair:

“The conviction was fair in my opinion because of the overwhelming amount of physical evidence collected and presented during the trial….Many commentators, myself included, initially cast doubt on the story of Nicole (the rape victim), saying that she willingly went to a bar with the soldiers, drank heavily with them, flirted and danced sexily with Smith. She even left the bar voluntarily with them, though she was extremely drunk. It was while she was in the van making out with Smith that their two stories diverge. Smith says that she wanted to have sex with him, and even helped him guide his penis into her vagina. She denies this, saying she struggled, said no repeatedly and then passed out. When she awoke, she found herself abandoned on a roadside, her panties and jeans pulled down around her ankles.”

Out of my mind somewhat disapproves the raising of political issues during the trial period but believes that the three other soldiers were guilty of something else:

“What I found really infuriating and galling about the circumstances around the rape case was the way they treated the victim after the supposed crime was committed. As it is, rape is a crime that cannot be justified or excused. But there is absolutely no defense for the way they carried the victim out of the van like a pig, dumped her unceremoniously on the sidewalk, and left her there like a piece of trash…So while the three other servicemen may not have been found guilty of rape there is no doubt in my mind that they are guilty of something else—something just as terrible, depraved, and atrocious. They are guilty of barbarity of the highest order.”

Notes of Marichu Lambino pens her opinion on where to detain Smith:
(more…)

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