<div dir="ltr">Would you have a link to this important article ? It didn't show up in google,<div><br></div><div>Michel</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 2:37 PM, peter waterman <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:peterwaterman1936@gmail.com" target="_blank">peterwaterman1936@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Richard Greeman</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:rgreeman@gmail.com" target="_blank">rgreeman@gmail.com</a>></span><br>Date: Sun, Nov 6, 2016 at 6:33 PM<br>Subject: [Participants] Internet and social movements in Morocco<br>To: <a href="mailto:participants@internetsocialforum.net" target="_blank">participants@<wbr>internetsocialforum.net</a><br><br><br><div dir="ltr">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Behind the Demonstrations
in Morocco<span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By Richard Greeman<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Wednesday Oct. 26, the well-known Moroccan historian and
human rights activist Maâti Monjib and five of his colleagues were hauled into
the High Court at Rabat to answer charges of “attacks on national security” and
“receiving foreign funds.” They are facing up to five years in prison for their
activities as investigative journalists, human rights advocates and members of
the “February 20<sup>th</sup> Movement” -- the Moroccan version of “Arab Spring”
of 2011.<span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Two days later, anti-government demonstrations spread across
Morocco after social media spread the story of Mousine Fikri, a <span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">fishmonger crushed to death inside a garbage truck as
he tried to block the destruction of a truckload of his fish confiscated by
police. The February 20<sup>th</sup> Movement, long assumed dormant, sprang back
to life and took the lead in organizing the protests, which spread to 40
cities.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">These
two events – the Monjib trial and the demonstrations sweeping the country --
are hardly unrelated. Monjib and his co-defendants, journalists, media
activists, and fighters for human rights, were already a thorn in the side of
the regime even before the 2011 rising. Since then they and their colleagues
have courageously struggled for media freedom while building the on-line
infrastructure of information and interaction that makes possible real-time
on-the-ground mobilizations like those taking place this week. Their efforts
have not gone unrewarded, despite years of government harassment including base
defamation campaigns in official media, bogus arrests on morals charges and the
current treason trial. As today’s headlines illustrate, social media remain a
potent tool in the hands of the oppressed, and the authoritarian regime of King
Mohammed VI had “good” reasons to persecute media activists like Monjib and his
friends. <span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.25in;margin-bottom:0.25in"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(14,14,14)"> <wbr> <b>A Long Tug of War<span></span></b></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.25in;margin-bottom:0.25in"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(14,14,14)">The
mastery of social media has apparently leveled the playing field in Morocco’s long struggle for democracy and human rights.
On the ground, it helps coordinate mass mobilizations challenging the regime in
the streets, demanding an end to corruption, brutality, and injustice summed up
by the cry (and hash tag) of <i>Hoga!</i></span><b><i><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"times new roman";color:rgb(32,34,34)"> </span></i></b><b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"times new roman";color:rgb(32,34,34)">(</span></b><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"times new roman";color:rgb(32,34,34)">oppression). His Majesty, out of the country on an official visit, has
not returned to take charge of the emergency. In any case the authorities dare
not attempt to repress the demonstrations and sit-ins by force on the eve of
the upcoming COP conference in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, at which the
Monarchy’s international reputation as a progressive island of stability in the
Arab world is at stake. The timing couldn’t be worse for Mohammed VI.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(14,14,14)"><span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.25in;margin-bottom:0.25in"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"times new roman";color:rgb(32,34,34)">The tug of war on the ground is matched by p</span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(14,14,14)">ropaganda war in
the air in which for once both sides are well armed. The regime controls all
the official “vertical” media and can spin the truth in any direction. The
popular movement ripostes with its Internet-based, horizontal social media and
investigative journalist-bloggers. Here’s how the story of </span><span style="font-size:12pt">Mousine Fikri’s death plays out in the rival media. <span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.25in;margin-bottom:0.25in"><span style="font-size:12pt">The regime is going through the motions of
satisfying the call for justice without actually seeking justice.</span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(14,14,14)"> The Royal Prosecutor
in the town of </span><span style="font-size:12pt">Al Hoseima </span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(14,14,14)">noisily
prosecuting eleven officials. This made the <i>N.Y.Times.
</i>But don’t look too closely. To calm the fury, the eleven police and fishery
officials have been locked up, but for “forgery” (in fact faulty paperwork in
recording the incident). They will be released when things calm down. However
the Prosecutor is <i>not</i> investigating
the question of who gave the order to turn on the crushing machine at the back
of the empty garbage truck. (The fish had not yet been loaded). According to
the independent on-line journal <i>Le Desk,</i>
this operation requires the cooperation of <i>two
</i>workers: the driver to turn on the electricity in the cab and his assistant
to pull the lever at the back of the truck, where Mr. Fiki and his friends were
presumably visible. Eyewitnesses have been quoted saying they heard someone
give the order: “crush him.” <span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.25in;margin-bottom:0.25in"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(14,14,14)">The
authorities are classing Mr. Fiki’s death as an “accident.” In the social
media, it is called a “state-crime.” Few believe the regime will keep its
promises to “investigate” Fiki’s death: after five years the Interior Ministry still
has not found who was responsible for the deaths of 15 protesters on Feb. 20,
2011 -- the date which gave the popular movement its name. The regime, through
its official and allied websites, has also been flooding the web with
disinformation designed to confuse and discredit what the protestors and the
independent media are saying. These wild stories are not likely to be believed
by anyone but dedicated loyalist<span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.25in;margin-bottom:0.25in;margin-left:0.5in;text-indent:0.5in"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(14,14,14)"> Background
to this Struggle<span></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">The democratic
uprising in Morocco </span>(also known as “Revolution2.0” or “the social media
revolution”) <span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">was not
defeated in the Spring of 2011, only stalemated in its struggle with the <i>makhzen </i>(or deep state) that rules
supreme behind the façade of a progressive, pro-Western monarchy, based on well-controlled
moderate Islam (the King is also Commander of the Faithful). In July 2011,
Mohammed V succeeded in diverting the broad democratic movement’s demands into
electoral channels by proposing a new, more “liberal” constitution in a snap
referendum. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">This
“compromise” Constitution gained a hardly credible 98.7% of the votes, and has
never been enforced, <i>au contraire. </i>As
the democracy spring faded into memory, the <i>makhzen,
</i>thirsty for revenge,<i> </i>began
tightening the screws on February 20th and Human Rights activists and above all
on the independent investigative journalists, who expose corruption and
oppression. For example my good friend Ali Anouzla, the independent journalist
who in 2011 first brought the news of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt to the
Moroccans, was imprisoned in 2013 for “inciting terrorism” (in fact for
exposing the corruption of the Monarchy). </span><span style="font-family:georgia;color:rgb(28,26,27)">Anouzla was arrested again on Sept. 17 and held without charge for a
little over a week before being formally accused of « material assistance
to a terrorist group, » « advocating terrorism, » and « initiating
terrorist acts. » On Oct. 25, after strong international protests, Anzoula
was provisionally released.<i> <span></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">Meanwhile,
during 2009-2016 over at the Center for Study and Communication in Rabat,
hundreds of young journalists and human rights activists were being trained to
use the electronic tools of citizen-journalism, in particular the App known as
StoryMaker (mentioned in the indictment against Maâti Monjib and his students).
The Center was founded by Monjib (Professor of History at the University of
Rabat) and named for the tolerant medieval Arab philosopher Ibn Rochd (Averroes
in English). <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> <wbr> <b>Repression<span></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">As
repression increased in 2015, the government forced the Center to close.
Monjib, an internationally known scholar who frequently attends conferences,
was stopped at the Casablanca airport and banned from traveling. Only at the
end Monjib’s 20-day public hunger strike did the government agree to lift the
ban. Next came a series of groundless accusations culminating in the Rabat High
Court trial for “attacks on state security” and “mishandling funds,” a trial
that once again was adjourned last week, perhaps because there is no evidence. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">Another
reason why the regime is trying to discredit Monjib is that he edited a book
entitled </span><span style="color:rgb(32,34,34)">« <i>Islamists versus secularists : Dialogues and
Confrontations</i> » and brought representatives of two independant
Islamic Parties together with Socialist and Secularist leaders on his campus.
This was the first public dialogue between the two sides, which have often
settled their differences in blood, and was covered by Al Jazeera and other
serious media. These meetings continued and resulted in the <i>rapprochement </i>of the two sides in a
common pro-democracy movement, such as has recently been achieved in Tunisia.
The <i>Makhzen, </i>whose policy is “divide
and rule,”<i> </i>rightly considers this <i>rapprochement </i>a threat to its hegemony.<span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.25in;margin-bottom:0.25in"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(14,14,14)">As a
result of these activities, Monjib has been the object of a sustained campaign
of calumny aimed at destroying his reputation as a scholar, human rights
activist and man of peace. Pro-government websites continue to spew filth about
Monjib’s impeccable personal and financial life. </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"times new roman";color:rgb(32,34,34)">Monjib himself analyzed
these techniques in an article published before he himself became a victim:
First, activists are attacked in media close to the secret services so as to
discredit them and prepare public opinion for what is coming next. He
distinguished three types of slander: sex for Islamists, drugs for young
activists and money for Left personalities. Next are publically accused of
“high treason,” “espionage,” “drug possession,” “tax evasion,” “illegal
business,” etc., often changing the charges and keeping them tied up in court. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">A
defense committee (supported by Noam Chomsky) has been established in France,
and funds and support are very much needed. Please sign up at </span><a href="mailto:solidaritemonjib@gmail.com" target="_blank">solidaritemonjib@gmail.com</a><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> (dollars and pounds accepted).<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> <wbr> <b>Theory and Practice<span></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">Among the
ibn Rochd Center’s most promising graduates are two of Monjib’s young
co-defendants before the High Court of Rabat: Samad Iach and Hicham Mansouri. Last
year, the scholarly, slight Mansouri was arrested, convicted and sent to prison
a trumped-up charge of living off prostitution. Iach and Mansouri are now in
exile in Paris, where they are working as journalists and studying
communications at the University. Mansouri’s thesis-in-preparation documents
how on-line discussion of democracy and revolution actually <i>preceded </i>the revolts of 2011 and shows
how “people with a common interest in democracy built solid networks and
organized political actions.” He concludes, “armed with their Smartphones
connected to the Internet, thousands of young activists and citizen-journalists
have succeeded in getting around censorship and providing information in real
time while encouraging sharing, comments and interactions among the
citizen-users.” This is clearly bad news for corrupt despots everywhere,
Morocco not excluded.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">According
to <i>Forbes, </i>Mohammed VI is the richest
man in North Africa and the fifth richest on the continent. The King has
control over and profits from the national economy in every sphere, for example
phosphates, Morocco’s most profitable export, as well as the fishing industry. His
Majesty has imposed an electoral system which makes it impossible for any party
to win an absolute majority, and the new Constitution, devised by a commission
all of whose members were nominated by the King, leaves all power in his hands.
Unlike his father, Hassan II, who during his long reign (1961-1999) was
infamous for his use of kidnapping, torture, and long-term imprisonment,
Mohammed VI, a progressive, modern autocrat, prefers new methods of repression,
similar to those used by the ‘progressive’ and pro-Western </span><span style="color:rgb(32,34,34)">Aliev</span><span style="font-family:times">
dictatorship in post-Communist Azerbaijan, considered one of the worst human
rights violators in the world</span><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">.<a href="#m_-5876017178777201986_m_743564307291440496__ftn1" name="m_-5876017178777201986_m_743564307291440496__ftnref1" title=""><span class="m_-5876017178777201986m_743564307291440496gmail-MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="m_-5876017178777201986m_743564307291440496gmail-MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(14,14,14)">[1]</span></span></span></a> Mohammed VI has excellent
reasons to want to take revenge on Professor Monjib and his friends, and today
His Majesty is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Stay tuned.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">Although
the world looks dark these days, the continuing tug of war in Morocco inspires
hope… and solidarity. Please contact: </span><a href="mailto:solidaritemonjib@gmail.com" target="_blank">solidaritemonjib@gmail.com</a><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"><span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)">Nov. 1,
2016<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(14,14,14)"> </span></p>
<div><br clear="all">
<hr width="33%" size="1" align="left">
<div id="m_-5876017178777201986m_743564307291440496gmail-ftn1">
<p style="margin-top:0.25in;margin-bottom:0.25in"><a href="#m_-5876017178777201986_m_743564307291440496__ftnref1" name="m_-5876017178777201986_m_743564307291440496__ftn1" title=""><span class="m_-5876017178777201986m_743564307291440496gmail-MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="m_-5876017178777201986m_743564307291440496gmail-MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size:10pt">[1]</span></span></span></a> <a href="https://blogs.mediapart.fr/hicham-mansouri/blog/181016/affaires-monjib-et-yunus-maroc-azerbaidjan-memes-techniques-de-repression" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"times new roman"">https://blogs.mediapart.fr/hic<wbr>ham-mansouri/blog/181016/affai<wbr>res-monjib-et-yunus-maroc-<wbr>azerbaidjan-memes-techniques-<wbr>de-repression</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"times new roman";color:rgb(32,34,34)"> <span></span></span></p>
<p class="m_-5876017178777201986m_743564307291440496gmail-MsoFootnoteText"><span lang="FR"> </span></p>
</div>
</div>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div>Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: <a href="http://commonstransition.org" target="_blank">http://commonstransition.org</a> </div><div><br></div>P2P Foundation: <a href="http://p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://p2pfoundation.net</a> - <a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://blog.p2pfoundation.net</a> <br><br><a href="http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation" target="_blank"></a>Updates: <a href="http://twitter.com/mbauwens" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/mbauwens</a>; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens</a><br><br>#82 on the (En)Rich list: <a href="http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/" target="_blank">http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/</a> <br></div></div></div></div>
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