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NEWS
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 Washington, 01/15/10- -On Sunday, January 10, 2010, the Washington Moroccan American Club held a leadership meeting of for its upcoming “20/20” project which is planning to hold 20 Morocco Related events next March to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Club and its two decades of service for the Moroccan American community.
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By Dr. Mohsine El Ahmadi
Thursday, January 14th
12-1 PM
MEI Boardman Room
1761 N Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
The Middle East Institute will host Moroccan scholar and author Dr. Mohsine El Ahmadi. Dr. El Ahmadi has written extensively on Islamist movements in Morocco and will examine the government’s efforts to fight radical Islamist movements in the wake of the Casablanca bombings of 2003.
Since then, the Moroccan government has undertaken a vigorous effort to reform the country’s religious institutions and thinking by seeking to occupy a space once dominated by radical Islamist movements. It has sought to gain full control of religious activities throughout Morocco as well as to reintroduce Sufi religiosity in politics. Dr. El Ahmadi will give a general overview of the religious and political debate between the state and Islamist movements in Morocco while examining the efficiency of such policies in the mid- and long-term. |
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NEWS
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 In recent weeks, car traffic downtown in the Moroccan City of Casablanca was more congested than normal and for a good reason, the construction work for the first tramway line in Casablanca, Morocco has reached the city center.
Water, electricity, sewage, public lighting, telecom deviation is underway in six corridors in the city. “The deviation works in the boulevard Mekka and the first part of the boulevard Okba-Bnou-Nafi (2 km each), which began last... |
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NEWS
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 Washington, King Mohammed VI of Morocco has announced plans to give the Western Sahara region autonomy. He promised the people in this region “freedom to administer their own local affairs.” The result, he said, would lead to the renovation and modernization of the Moroccan state.
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NEWS
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Travis Andersen
A scene from Tiznit. |
Mayor Joseph Curtatone is in Tiznit, Morocco, to establish a sister city relationship with the leaders of that community.
Curtatone is traveling at his own expense with several local business leaders and artists, city spokesman Tom Champion said, adding that Tiznit representatives contacted Somerville, since the city has ties to the University of the Middle East campus in Boston.
Before Tiznit becomes Somerville's third sister city, a delegation has to visit Somerville, and both cities' legislative bodies must pass resolutions. |
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the Western Sahara polisario separatist, Aminatou Haidar, who was on hunger strike for a month was allowed to fly back home to the Southern Moroccan city of Layoun.
Aminatou Haidar was flown out of Lanzarote island airport in the Canary Islands after 10:30 p.m. bound for Layoun. Aminatou Haidar was taken to a hospital earlier on Wednesday for weakness.
Her return caps, for now, a charged and emotional struggle between Spain and Morocco.
An announcement by French President's Nicolas Sarkozy said Morocco will return Haidar's confiscated passport and thereby allowing her return home to her family.
A statement issued by French Government stated that French president Sarkosy "has welcomed Morocco's autonomy proposal within the framework of a political solution under the auspices of the United Nations. In anticipation of this solution, Moroccan law applies"
Ms. Aminatou Haidar, who had listed “Sahrawi” as her nationality and “Western Sahara” as her country of origin was denied entry to Morocco, last Nov 14th, and was deported to Spain where she initiated a month long hunger strike. |
Jillian C. York
Moroccan blogger Bashir Hazem was arrested on December 8, 2009 following a protest in Tarjijt, during which students clashed with security forces, after posting a press release about the clash on his blog. He has been interrogated about his blogging, specifically his most recent post, which contained the signatures of a committee of arrested students.
Hazem was detained and put in solitary confinement for a period of time, then rejoined the other detainees in the prison. Hazem is a 26-year-old student of literature. |
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 The case of Aminatou Haidar is part of an Algerian campaign to fuel tension in the region and complicate the mission of the United Nations Secretary General's personal envoy for the Sahara, Christopher Ross, founding member of polisario who has recently rejoined Morocco, Ahmadou Ould Souilem, said on Monday.
This programmed campaign aims to put pressure on Morocco and escalate tension which will make Ross's mission to launch the autonomy difficult, Ould Souilem, who has just returned to morocco, told Spanish radio "Onda Cero".
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NEWS
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 Washington, 01/12/10 --- The Algerian police clashed with thousands of protesters at a rally in Tizi Ouzou and Vgayet in Eastern Algeria. The protest, organized by the Kabyle Movement for independence (KMI), was against the Arab Centric Government in Algiers and for the autonomy for the kabyle Region and the recognition of Amazigh culture and language. The number of people who participated in the demonstration was estimated to be 15,000 protesters by the organizers, and 7000 people according to Algerian police.
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NEWS
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A Polisario Front splinter group, the Path of the Martyr (Khat El Chahid), has urged the front's leadership to engage in dialogue with the group over conditions of Sahrawi refugees living in camps in Algeria and to open a democratic discussion on prospects of solving the Western Sahara dispute, Al-Jazeera TV reported on 30 December.
The channel has quoted the group as threatening, after a meeting held in the Western Sahara, to enter into direct negotiations with Morocco which controlled the territory, a subject of a decades-long dispute between Rabat and the Algerian-backed Polisario. The separatist front has its main bases in Algeria, which allowed thousands of refugees from the territory to settle in the town of Tindouf.
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NEWS
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 Royal Air Maroc (RAM), Morocco’s National Carrier, has decided to freeze wages and benefits of all senior management. The aim is to show "solidarity" as the company is facing difficulties due to economic conditions in the aviation sector.
"In order to demonstrate solidarity and commitment to the company, Royal Air Morocco has decided to freeze wages and benefits of all senior management ", the statement said.
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NEWS
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Washington-12/31/09 US Africa Command (AFRICOM) General William E. Ward visited Morocco withh the goal of strengthening cooperation with the Moroccan army.
Lieutenant General Abdelaziz Bennani, general inspector of the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces (Force Armee Royal) and governor of the Southern Zone and and General William E. Ward discussed bilateral military cooperation and opportunities to strengthen partnership between the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces and the U.S. Army.
It is General William E. Ward's third visit to Morocco, heading a AFRICOM delegation. |
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NEWS
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Dallas, TX, December 18, 2009 — Moroccan Recipes, a portal dedicated to Moroccan cuisine of the North African country, has found itself in the midst of a political turmoil.
It all started when Aminatou Haidar staged a PR stunt to sabotage the UN backed conflict resolution process. Aminatou Haidar is a pro-Polisario separatist group who enjoyed the Soviet Union and communist Algeria’s support during the cold war. In November 2009, Aminatou Haidar, using a Moroccan passport, entered the country using “Western Sahara” (part of Morocco) as a country of destination and explicitly renouncing to her Moroccan citizenship. Moroccan port authorities, applying existing laws and procedures, deported her to the country of departure. |
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NEWS
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 A Washington based Moroccan American Community Association, Washington Moroccan Club, has issued an open letter to the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights to protest its biased position on the Aminatou Haidar - "Western" Sahara Affair and is asking for a more balanced position from the RFK Center and an open dialogue with the Moroccan American Community. |
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In an interview with the International Satellite Television station, France 24, Moroccan Foreign Minister Mr. Fassi Fihri spoke, among others things, about the case of Aminatou Haidar, who was deported following her relinquishment of the Moroccan nationality.
"We already know that the job she has been doing does not fall under the positive and noble umbrella of human rights, but it was a part of a political agenda set outside Morocco," said Mr Fihri. Ms. Haidar has put herself in this situation to draw attention. She has renounced her nationality by handing over her passport.
"This woman gave up her nationality and must take responsibility for this. She is free to go wherever she wants, and since she is a polisario member, she can join her partners who are besieging people in the Algerian territory where there is neither census, nor access for people" he said. ..... watch video
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