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Morocco: Feb. 20th Youth Movement Dangerous Descent toward the Unknown PDF Print
Wednesday, 18 May 2011 15:44

Washington / Morocco Board News--What started as a genuine attempt by a group of young Moroccan activists to pressure the Moroccan government to reform and modernize “the system” is turning into a divisive, incoherent and unrestrained political campaign designed to score well-defined ideological goals.

While “the Feb. 20th Movement’s” slogans are known, its demands stay elusive. Up until now, the Movement has been unable to agree on an agenda and incapable to formulate a political platform. The goals and ambitions of the “Feb. 20th Movement “remain unclear”.
Websites such as Mamfakinch.com remain a source of graphic and sometimes violent snap shots, and press releases of events of any entity that proclaims to be part of the “Feb. 20th Movement”. Yet, Mamfakinch, a blog nevertheless, never posts articles of activists clearly articulating solutions and explanations on how to move Morocco forward toward democracy and the rule of law.
If the pro-democracy youth movement approach has been chaotic, the Moroccan government response has been deaf and indifferent to some of the reasonable demands of the Moroccan public. This explosive mix of uncontrollable public discontent and government unresponsiveness remains dangerous to the stability of the Kingdom.
On the ground, the left wing  party Nahj Dimocrati (The Democratic Way ) and  the banned Islamist movement Al Adl Wal Ihsane (Justice and Charity) maintain their strategy of pushing the young apolitical faces of the “Feb. 20th Movement “ to the forefront, while members of the two organizations work behind the scene to manipulate the outcome.
The multitude of marches and the change in slogans that accompanies each different rally are signs of an archaic movement that may lose control of its message and purpose. This week’s bloody clash between protesters and security forces in the cities of Khouribga and Temara, the politically motivated prison riots in Sale, and the multitude of sittings are all indications of a political and social movement in disarray without a focused message and a clear path on how to achieve its “goals.”
The pandemonium nature of the “Feb. 20th Movement” represent a serious threat to the security of the country. Some observers argue that the Moroccan government has been playing the card of “without “al Makhzen”, it will be chaos”- Al-Makhzen is a term that describes the Moroccan governing apparatus-.  However, the ongoing violence in Egypt and Tunisia are illustrations of how well meaning groups of democrats were unprepared to deal with the aftermath of the collapse of centralized regimes. Like it sister movements in Tunis and Cairo, the “Feb. 20th Movement “raises several predicaments but offers few practical solutions.
It is becoming evident that the young men and women who started the “Feb. 20th Movement “are incapable to control the rallies and the messages of their group. It is hard to identify who speaks for the Movement and what sub-groups are within the fold of this ever-expanding entity. The fact that several organizations, individual and groups undertake highly political activities in the name of the “Feb. 20th Movement “is ominous and worrying.
The Moroccan government sluggish and sometimes snobbish reaction to the Moroccan public demand for democratic and political reforms adds to sense of anxiety and apprehensiveness among large segment of the Moroccan society.
Moroccans appreciate the work and efforts of the youth behind the “Feb. 20th Movement“, by the same token, the Moroccan public does not want the country to descend into political and social chaos because of an ill conceived campaign led by twenty some year olds who do not grasp the implications of their actions.

 By HASSAN MASIKY


 

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Amazigh said:

No to the Islamists
Islamists will take the society to the dark ages.
08/26/11

Amazigh said:

Islamists are the true danger to Morocco.
Feb 2oth movement should pay close attention to the infiltration of the islamists to the movement and hijike it. It was done in the past with Union National des Etudiants Marocains. I am not rejecting islamic traditions in the society, but I am rejecting the islamists who may take the society to dark ages.
08/26/11

Frankie said:

oh, yes
I think you are right "man en blanc", it is going to be chaotic in Morocco if the movement does not exclude themselves from some groups who are waiting for the good moment to step in , especially the radicalists, I am really afraid, the momvement migh to drive the Country into a bloodshed................The movement has NO agenda, and no plans either!!!!!!!
05/19/11

Frankie said:

Does not look good
The radical moslems are really working behind the scene to manipulate the outcomes of the" feb 20 movement", most of the moroccans would rather live under a Dictatorship than living under an Islamic law.Those damn radicals would cut your ba*** off if they get hold of you.
05/19/11

Salim Bouzid said:

The referendum is not a good option
My main concern is that referendum will not be efficient in Morocco, with a population that is largely non-educated. The government is not going to spend money in educating the social mass about the specific changes proposed in the new constitution, and the implications. I have the feelings that we will get a majority of "Yes" on whatever draft we have and groups including Feb 20th will continue to protest...




05/19/11

couscous king said:

manipulation of the out come has been going on for years
in all phases and from all the political groups in morocco , think about it that's why , justice, democracy and freedom will never prosper in morocco for a sample fact that certain poeple do enjoy it while the poor working class are simply oppress due to the mentality and ignorance of the real issues that face the moroccan society in general, democratic and political reforms are a trillion light year away from the reality in morocco, sad but true , think about it.
05/19/11

sahrane said:

Poeple speed
I’m repeating myself here you cannot make an omlette without breaking eggs, Egypt Tunisia not out off the wood yet but they’ll be ,but the defeatists they ‘ll live scared for ever,First You cannot have order from a vacum,all the dictators did is to supress the opposition and gave the west the choice ,us or the alqaeda ,so they kept the opposition at bay and in disarray,and now they’re trying to poop in the party to save their bacon,they think they’ll ride the wave and they’ll go at it again as they use to do ,well they’re mistaken ,it looks like business as usual, for now ,but they have a choice to man up or going down as the ones who gets in the way of history,but the’re finish and done with even it doesn’t look that way for now they’re trying to make believe.
05/19/11

eatbees said:

No Need to Be Alarmist
I agree that the Feb. 20 movement is currently fragmenting, sending mixed messages, and that newcomers are attatching their agendas to the movement without considering the bigger picture. But maybe this airing of views is a first step? Maybe the message of Feb. 20 just needs time to gel? I'd expect the constitutional referendum to concentrate minds, provide greater clarity by bringing everyone's position on "core issues" into the open.

As far as your claim that in fragmenting, Feb. 20 poses a "serious threat to the security of the country" with a risk of "political and social chaos" — as someone who has lived in Morocco for five of the last eight years and is there now, that seems alarmist to me. The signs of social unrest are quite minor (except the Marrakech bombing which is another thing entirely) and no one wants to go down that road, either the people or the state. Secondly, Feb. 20 hasn't added to Morocco's woes with its conflicting demands, for the simple reason that these woes have always been there, rooted in the social conditions themselves. To the extent that Feb. 20 gets its act together it actually has the potential to aid Moroccan stability, by giving these "legitimate grievances" a chance to get heard in the public square.

Finally, I'll agree with you on the danger of raising hopes if you can't deliver the goods. This is always a danger in a democratic system, and the only way around it is to go through a series of "iterations" until you get what works. Part of that is for the authorities to see their role as serving the people, and the rest involves citizens investing more of their own efforts as they begin to see results. I'm optimistic that this is the way things are evolving in Morocco, and not towards chaos!
05/18/11

Morcelli said:

...
I think June will dampen all their hopes and demands when the king gets presented with whatever those other guys come up with for the Moroccan people to vote on in September.

I don't think that this group will have any juice after the September referendum, still, without this group Moroccans would not have gotten any chance to vote on anything, remember that couple of days before they went to the streets, they were accused of demagoguery by his majesty.



05/18/11

man en blanc said:

It's a mess all right.
What started as an Utopian endeavor quickly descended into chaotic hodgepodge of bizarreness.
I can guarantee that Al Makhzen is breathing a lot easier these days, and I hope that the so-called Feb 20th Youth movement is experiencing some variation of buyer's remorse, it is the classic Frankenstein monster theory.
Maybe the movement should pull back, distance itself from other groups and for God sake formulate a clear and coherent message before giving it another shot!

The stakes are just too damn high for pussyfooting!
05/18/11

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