Moroccan bloggers fear for free press
2009-11-06
Multiple court cases involving journalists have raised the concern of Moroccan bloggers.
 [threatened.globalvoicesonline.org] The list of bloggers in trouble in Morocco is long enough to preoccupy many of their colleagues. |
Magazines shut down by the authorities, a wave of court cases, jail sentences for some journalists ... Moroccan bloggers are taking all these press freedom issues very seriously.
The woman who runs the Agora blog draws readers' attention to Morocco's tumble in Reporters Without Borders' annual global ranking, writing that the country "[dropped] from 122nd place in 2008 to 127th. Remember how in 2007 we were in 106th place."
This fall from grace seems to have encouraged the emergence of a less risky "erotic" style of journalism, says Bigbrothermaroc.
"Some of our magazines…have been trying in recent times to introduce erotic journalism, in all but name, by slipping in articles here and there with fairly explicit but non-controversial photos", writes the blogger. "Just look at two cases this week: Femmes du Maroc with Nadia Larguet virtually in the nude, and TelQuel."
Bigbrothermaroc writes sardonically that it's a good example to follow. "Rather than confronting the courts, write something erotic, and no one will bother you, you'll see."
For Moroccans struggling to keep track of press-related court cases, Larbi provides an in-depth overview of authorities' crackdown on the media, focusing particular attention on the case against Akhbar Al Youm, in which the paper was sentenced to pay 3 million dirhams in damages to Prince Moulay Ismail. Larbi writes, "The damages payable to the prince, if confirmed in the appeal and demanded by the prince, would be a de facto financial death sentence" for the paper.
Larbi wonders about the future of press freedoms in Morocco as the number of attacks on media increase. "And so we lose the freedom of the press in Morocco," he writes. "All we can do now is call in the UN peacekeepers to stand up against the 'freedom of expression' Taliban, which wants to wage a war from another age."
Even blogs are not immune to the crackdown. Ibn Khafka, in his Ramblings of a Lawyer blog, urges readers to check out Global Voices' work on the top 10 blogger persecutions. "This map of the world shows the number of bloggers who have been threatened, imprisoned or even killed on a country-by-country basis, and includes not just ongoing cases but previous cases."
Moroccan bloggers are also looking to international relations, targeting the perceived ambivalence of American foreign policy-makers, especially on the thorny issue of Middle East peace. In his Citoyenhmida blog, "the man in the Clapham omnibus" mulls over the contradictory statements made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding Palestine and the fall-out from negotiations with the Israelis. "We need to know where we stand!" he insists.
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moroccan patriot Posted 13 days ago
We all know that there has been a backlash against the press. However, we need to be fair in examining the root causes behind this backlash. We must first recognize that Journalists are NOT above the law. All journalists MUST, first and foremost, adhere to the law of the land. The Moroccan constitution allows for substantial freedom of the press. There are only three area's where a journalist must tread carefully. Even in these three area's a journalist who presents fact instead of opinion, figures instead of conjecture and constructive criticism instead of slanderous lies, still have extensive latitude within which to roam. Morocco has problems. On this everyone can agree. However, we must respect the Moroccan Constitution. When you speak about territorial integrity, the official religion of the land, or question the rights of the Monarchy, you must be held to account. Each of these three red lines is there for a reason. The reason these red lines exist are to protect the country. Morocco is tribal in its nature. Were these three red lines to be crossed, Morocco could very swiftly descend into the kind of chaos we now see in Somalia, Iraq and to a lesser degree Algeria and Sudan. When you attack the legitimacy of rule, whether by clever innuendo or yellow journalism, you make it more difficult to maintain order in Moroccan society. When you attack the official religion of Morocco, you create an environment where the fundamental rights of all Moroccans are threatened. Womens rights have come a long way over the past decade, would you have us go backwards? When you question the territorial integrity of Morocco, you speak treason. Treason and secessionist talk is a crime in all civilized nations. I call on fellow Patriots to give contructive critisicm.
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