U.S. Medical Personnel Deploy in Morocco for MEDFLAG 2003 Operation
Morocco Trade Talks Expected to Be Completed By Year's End, USTR Says United States Trade Representative Moroccan Anti-AIDS association criticizes WTO agreement on generic medicine
Public Prosecutor: No Clues Yet on Motives of Moroccan Jew Murder
Moroccan Jews point to terrorism after shooting
H.M. King Mohammed VI Receives Head of Advisory Body in charge of Family Code Reform
Women representatives in local communities very insufficient, says NGO
Women sections of political parties unsatisfied with women participation in elections
Over 7 mln tons of cereals produced in 2003-2003 in Morocco
Some 300,000 people live in shantytowns in Casablanca region
Islamic Party Welcomes Moroccan Jews Membership
Casablanca region contributes 45% to Moroccan industry's GDP
Moroccan-Swedish friendship association born
Morocco victims press for aid
Mohammed V Solidarity Foundation Earmarks $7 Mln for Development Projects in Al Hoceima
H.M. King Mohammed VI Launches Construction of Girls Social Compound in Al Hoceima.
Arabies: adamancy of King Mohammed vi to fight poverty, disparities
Morocco hosts world neurosurgeons congress in 2005
King Mohammed vi lays first stone for oncology hospital in al Hoceima Morocco
Moroccan Jews community always served as bridge between Palestinians, Israelis, community leader
Fez to host international lawyers union congress in 2005
Morocco-Islamic Threat
Number of Kuwaiti tourists in Morocco on the increase
Tax receipts progress by 8.1% in 1st half of 2003
Emotion, creativity and rigor combine for Marrakesh film festival
Morocco: Prioritising the North
Moroccans Prepare Local Elections, Women Under-represented.
Shortage of Sardines and Anchovies Troubles Fish Canning Plants in Morocco.
Moroccan Government Begins Implementing Minimum Wage Increase
Local polls: woman-candidate without husband's knowledge gets divorce

U.S. Medical Personnel Deploy in Morocco for MEDFLAG 2003 Operation

ER-RACHIDIA, Morocco, Sept. 09 - Around 100 U.S. military medical personnel will conduct this September in the Moroccan southern region of Errachidia, together with Moroccan military personnel a joint humanitarian relief operation and medical training, dubbed the MEDFLAG 2003.

The annual exercise rotates annually among African countries, providing direct humanitarian medical outreach to local communities, as well as training opportunities for U.S. and host nation medical personnel, thereby increasing interoperability between the medical forces, says a release of the US embassy in Rabat.

The first phase of MEDFLAG 2003 consists of medical training with Moroccan medical personnel in a variety of areas, including emergency medicine, triage, stabilization, evacuation, public affairs and disaster preparedness training.

During the second phase, Moroccan medical personnel will engage their disaster response services in a real world mass casualty scenario exercise. Using the latest in medical make-up and latex injury reproductions, realistic casualties will be created to test Moroccan military medical response personnel and civilian medical teams. The disaster response teams will be mobilized to triage, stabilize, and evacuate the simulated casualties to local hospitals for advanced evaluation and treatment.

In the final phase, Moroccan and U.S. medical personnel will provide a wide range of on-site medical and surgical services in outlying communities, to include general surgery, ophthalmology surgery, basic medical evaluation and treatment, preventive medicine treatment, dental screenings and treatment, optometry screenings, eye-wear distribution and public health training. Approximately 2.5 million dollars in medicine and medical supplies will be used in the treatment of patients.

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Morocco Trade Talks Expected to Be Completed By Year's End, USTR Says United States Trade Representative
(Washington, DC) September 10, 2003 Posted to the web September 11, 2003 Washington, DC

Says agreement is step in promoting trade, development in region

The United States expects to complete negotiations of a U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement by the end of 2003, according to a September 9 fact sheet issued by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The fact sheet was issued on the eve of World Trade Organization talks in Cancun, Mexico. U.S. Vision for Trade with Morocco and Middle East

-- The United States seeks to liberalize trade through multilateral, regional and bilateral initiatives. Announced by President Bush and King Mohamed VI in April 2002, the negotiations for a U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement are a central element of this strategy.

-- The agreement will be an important first step in President Bush's plan to promote trade expansion and economic reforms in North Africa and the Middle East leading to a Middle East Free Trade Area within a decade. U.S.-Moroccan Economic Relations

-- In 2002, U.S. Trade Representative Zoellick traveled to Morocco to discuss a Free Trade Agreement with Moroccan officials and assess the prospects for further strengthening economic and commercial ties between the United States and Morocco.

-- The FTA will be the capstone of these efforts, complementing the existing Bilateral Investment Treaty, Open Skies, and Trade and Investment Framework Agreements.

-- U.S. annual imports from Morocco average $381 million. The U.S. annually exports $475 million in products such as aircraft, corn and machinery to Morocco. There are significant growth prospects for U.S. products such as oilseeds and feed grains; and products and services in the energy, tourism, and environmental sectors. Current Negotiations

-- Negotiations commenced in January 2003 in Washington, DC. Three subsequent rounds have yielded significant progress toward a comprehensive agreement that will cover non-agricultural and agricultural goods and government procurement; liberalize services; and strengthen investment, intellectual property rights, labor and environmental protections.

-- The United States expects to complete negotiations by the end of 2003. Moroccan Reforms

-- The Government of Morocco has launched a comprehensive economic reform program aimed at reducing inflation, developing the tourism sector, liberalizing the telecommunications and other key sectors, and improving the business climate for foreign investment. With its emphasis on the rule of law, improved competition and trade liberalization, the FTA will enhance and solidify these reforms.

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Moroccan Anti-AIDS association criticizes WTO agreement on generic medicine
Politics, 9/10/2003

The Moroccan association against AIDS (ALCS) denounced the agreement reached on August 30 at the World Trade Organization on the importation by poor countries of generic drugs. The association says the agreement is no solution to the problem of access to medicine. It also argues that the agreement actually imposes a series of complex administrative and legal constraints to developing countries, both importing and exporting ones, in order to protect interests of the western pharmaceutical industries at the expense of the health of millions of persons in the world. In addition to being hard to implement, says the association, they will restrict the availability of medicine instead of easing access to those in need of treatment. It said ALCS joins other international NGO's in denouncing the agreement that was imposed on developing countries under the pressure of rich countries and the lobbies of pharmaceutical industries, in total contradiction with the Doha declaration that placed public health above any mercantile considerations. http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030910/2003091017.html

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Public Prosecutor: No Clues Yet on Motives of Moroccan Jew Murder
RABAT, Sept.12

The public prosecutor of the Casablanca court of appeal, Abdellah Alaoui Belghiti, said there are no clues yet on the motives behind the slaying of a Jewish Moroccan national, shot dead Thursday as he was closing his shop in a commercial disctrict of Casablanca.

Two hooded men, who have not yet been identified, have shot at 12.45 am, the Moroccan Jewish citizen as he was closing his wood shop located near the Casablanca-Rabat highway, says a release of the general prosecutor.

According to the source, based on the investigations by the competent police department, the public prosecutor has established that the victim, Albert Ribido, born in 1944 in Casablanca was shot by several bullets that led to his death on the spot.

According to first findings of the investigation, the two criminals were hunted by bystanders who were also shot at. The pair managed to flee and forced a car driver on the highway to leave them the vehicle, the statement explains.

A policemen who was near the crime location shot at the criminals but could not reach them.

The attorney says the victim was hit by five bullets, including the fatal one that found lodged in his body.

However, investigations have not yet determined whether a movement or an organization is involved or whether the crime is an account-settling. © MAP 2003 Assassinated Moroccan Jew Buried in Casablanca CASABLANCA, Sep. 12 - The funerals of the Moroccan Jew, Albert Ribibo, who was shot dead Thursday afternoon by two hooded men, were held Friday in the Jewish-Moroccan cemetery of Ben M'sick in Casablanca.

In addition to the family of the victim, André Azoulay, advisor to H.M. King Mohammed VI, chairman of Morocco's Jew community council, Serge Berguda, and other representatives of political parties and the social society attended the funeral.

This crime is alien to the civilization and secular cultural of our nation, said Bergudo, adding that that the goal of the authors of the crime "will never be reached."

He deemed that all Moroccans were afflicted by the death of Ribibo, not only his family, insisting that we "will not give way to intimidation."

Representative of the Democracy and Modernity Collective, Driss Moussaoui, said "Moroccan Jews were and will remain our brothers, adding that "they are a constancy in the equation of the Moroccan civilization."

He strongly condemned this barbarous act which are "alien to our civilization that is based on coexistence between religions and dread of xenophobia."

The public prosecutor of the Casablanca court of appeal said earlier there are no clues yet on the motives behind the slaying of a Jewish Moroccan national, shot dead Thursday as he was closing his shop in a commercial district of Casablanca.

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Moroccan Jews point to terrorism after shooting
CASABLANCA, Morocco, Sept 12 (Reuters)

Moroccan Jews buried on Friday a member of their community shot dead by two hooded gunmen and pointed to a possible terrorist attack.

Wood merchant Albert Rebibo, 59, was killed at point-blank range in broad daylight in Casablanca on Thursday as he was closing his shop, the first attack of its kind against a Jewish citizen in the North African Muslim kingdom.

The motive for the killing committed by two men wearing balaclavas was not known.

Police said early elements of the investigation could not determine "if it was carried out by an organisation or was a settling of scores", the official MAP news agency reported.

But for the head of the Moroccan Israelite Community association, Serge Berdugo, timing and target were telling.

"The hour when this despicable murder was committed -- September 11 at 1245 GMT or the exact time when the first of the Manhattan (World Trade Centre) towers was hit -- point to several hypotheses and one signature," he said in a speech at the burial ceremony, attended by hundreds of people.

The Jewish community was targeted by 12 Islamist suicide bombers last May in Casablanca in attacks that killed 33 other people.

No Jews were killed in the attacks, but a Jewish social club, empty at the time, a restaurant run by a Jew and a Jewish cemetery were among the targets.

Until the 1950s, Morocco was home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Muslim world. Moroccan Jews now total less than 5,000, after a massive exodus to Israel. Some 700,000 Israelis are believed to be of Moroccan descent.

Morocco and Israel have begun a process of normalising relations after nearly three years of frozen diplomatic ties. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom visited Morocco last week and was received by King Mohammed. ((Writing by Gilles Trequesser, editing by Ian MacKenzie; Reuters Messaging: gilles.trequesser.reuters.com@reuters.net; +212-37 720065))

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H.M. King Mohammed VI Receives Head of Advisory Body in charge of Family Code Reform

TETUAN, Sep. 12 - H.M. King Mohammed VI received here Friday at the Royal Palace M'hamed Boucetta, Chairman of the Advisory Commission in charge of the Family Code (Mudawana) Reform. Boucetta, appointed by H.M. King Mohammed VI to the post last January, presented to the sovereign a report on the commission's works after the deadline set by the sovereign in a speech in last August 20.

H.M. The king, Amir Al Mouminine (commander of the faithful), said he will express his standpoint on the family draft out of his concern to see the royal instructions regarding the dynamization of Ijtihad carried out in the Mudawana. The reform stemmed from the king's resolve to promote the rights of Moroccans and preserve their dignity and it aims to realize equality, equity and solidarity amongst family members in harmony with the teachings of Islam, religion of tolerance.

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Women representatives in local communities very insufficient, says NGO
Politics, 9/11/2003

The number of women representatives in local communities in Morocco does not exceed 0.34 per cent, compared to men, a percentage deemed "too much low" by women groups and human rights organizations.

Figures published recently by the "Groupe national pour une pr?sence r?elle des femmes dans les collectivit?s locales" (made up of female and cultural organizations as well as human rights-advocacy NGOs) show that out of 300 representatives, only one is a woman and that only 65 women hold a seat in the urban communities (1.13 percent), and 18 in the rural communes (0.10 percent.

The survey, called "Our communities need women potentials," notes that no woman chairs a local council, while only 5 women are among the 1,189 elected in the provincial and prefectorial councils and only one woman is member of the upper house of parliament, while 35 are sitting in the lower chamber.

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Women sections of political parties unsatisfied with women participation in elections
Politics, 9/9/2003

Some members of the coordination commission of women members of political parties said they are unsatisfied with the low rate of 5% of women candidates to next Friday's local polls in Morocco

Some members of the commission told MAP that the number of women members of political parties participating in the elections does not reflect Moroccan women aspirations nor the will to build a truly democratic society.

These women politicians attribute the non-observance of a code of ethics in which political parties pledged to reserve 20% of candidacies to women shying away from elections and to the fact that some parties do not trust women in the management of public affairs.

Amina Ouchlih, from the Socialist Union of Popular forces (USFP), regrets that women could not score the same assets as in the legislative elections. She explains that some political parties failed to submit the candidacy of a sufficient number of women candidates while others placed women candidates on the last ranks of the electoral lists

Ouchilh, who is also member of the House of Representatives (lower chamber of the parliament), argues that it would have been more appropriate to have women candidates on the five or six first positions of candidates lists in order to secure them seats at communes and, consequently, expand women's participation in the management of local affairs.

She also regrets that women's participation is derisory in rural areas.

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Over 7 mln tons of cereals produced in 2003-2003 in Morocco
Economics, 9/11/2003

Morocco produced 7,767,230 tons of cereal in an overall area of 5,255,400 hectares during the 2002-2003 agricultural season, that is an average yield of 1.48 ton per hectare, according to official figures released this Wednesday The agriculture and rural development ministry reports that the cereals harvest grew by 54.6 % compared to the 2001-2002 farming season while cultivated areas rose by 13.5%. Compared to the average harvest in the past five years, the 2002-2003 season has improved by 82.2% in terms of production, 72.1% in terms of yield and 5.6% as regards the surface of cultivated land. http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030911/2003091120.html

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Some 300,000 people live in shantytowns in Casablanca region
Economics, 9/10/2003

Around 300,000 people are living in shantytowns in the region of Casablanca, home to 370 slums and 53,915 shacks. A survey conducted by the statistics department of the ministry of economic forecasts and planning finds that 57,463 families, accounting for 8.8% of the region's total urban families, are living in shantytowns scattered throughout the region of Casablanca. The study also notes that efforts to remedy the situation are hampered by the shrinking land availability and families' low purchasing power. http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030910/2003091021.html

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Islamic Party Welcomes Moroccan Jews Membership
Mariam Al-Tigy, IOL Correspondent

RABAT, September 7 (IslamOnline.net) - Morocco's Justice and Development Party (PJD) has no objection to enlist Moroccan Jews, a leading member of the Islamic party told IslamOnline.net.

Abd el-Illah Bankiran, a member of the PJD general secretariat, stressed that "the party has never associated Judaism with Zionism. Several party leaders have, in fact, maintained there was no problem to welcome Moroccan Jews into its fold."

"The Justice and Development Party (PJD) is a political and not a religious party," he stressed, asserting that PJD membership is not based on religious affiliation but rather conviction with its political platform."

Bankiran lashed out at some media outlets accusing them of trying to suggest that the PJD adopted negative stances with respect to the kingdom's Jewish community.

"This is absolutely ungrounded. Moroccan Jews have been integrated with Muslims ever since the coming of Islam. Even when Jews fled Al-Andalos

(Spain) they only found protection in Islamic countries, particularly Morocco."

The partisan asserted, however, that the Justice and Development Party (PJD) only takes negative positions with respect to "the Zionist state that kills innocent Muslims and usurps their properties."

"The state must protect Moroccan Jews and treat them on equal footing with Muslims and other - but not give them special privileges," Bankiran maintained.

The distinguished speaker and lecturer on Zionism said the "forefathers of Zionism were known atheists and heretics and the whole ideology of Zionism is a heretical ideology and rebellion against God."

Putting it in a nutshell, Rabbi Weiss said, "Judaism is a Godliness, Zionism is materialism. Zionists try to clothe their materialism in the cloth of religion, but it is false and criminal."

Ill-Timed

In a related development, the PJD official criticized the latest visit by Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom to Morocco on September 1, dismissing it as "ill-timed".

"The visit came while the (Palestinian and Lebanese) peoples were still suffering from incessant Israeli crimes," he remarked.

Bankiran accused Israel of waging war on the Islamic nation. "We must never forget that and should always oppose any normalization of ties before the Palestinian cause is settled."

Commenting on statements by Moroccan officials that the re-opening of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat was only a matter of time, he said : "This is unacceptable. But again this is the same old story of the Zionist state dragging Arabs to give more concessions for hollow promises."

Recognizing a party policy of limited participation, he admitted "had it not been to the May 16 incidents (bombings) may be our participation would have been bigger."

"After Casablanca blasts some people unleashed a vicious campaign against the PJD and tried to associate between the perpetrators and the party."

"Aware that Casablanca hosts the biggest and most important investments and is a tourist destination, we concluded that any major PJD wins would stir its enemies. We decided not to increase the number of our candidates in Casablanca to avoid such escalation," Bankiran concluded.

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Casablanca region contributes 45% to Moroccan industry's GDP
Economics, 9/6/2003

The Casablanca region contributes with 45% of the Moroccan industry's GDP, generating an added-value of 25 billion DH (around US$ 2.5 billion), says the city's chamber of commerce, industry and services. According to the source, a total of 6 billion DH (US$ 600 million) in investments is concentrated in the kingdom's economic and financial capital, that is 50% of investments carried out nationwide. The region hosts 2,659 companies (42% of all companies in Morocco), producing half of the national production and employing some 221,700 persons, mostly in textile and leather sectors that employ 47% of the labor force. A total of 94 hotels with a capacity of 8,455 beds are located in the region that also host 170 travel agencies and 20 international air companies http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030906/2003090627.html

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Moroccan-Swedish friendship association born
Culture, 9/6/2003

A group of Moroccan and Swedish figures have announced the creation of a Moroccan-Swedish friendship association Morocco's ambassador to Sweden, Ms. Farid Jaidi, was appointed honorary chairwoman of the association that will be chaired by Ms. Cecilia Malmsten, former Swedish ambassador in Morocco. In addition to Moroccan academics and leaders of associations in Sweden, the association also groups diplomats, businessmen, tourism professionals, jurists and artists from the two countries. http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030906/2003090629.html

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Morocco victims press for aid

By Sebastian Usher BBC correspondent, Rabat

The families of the Moroccan victims of the Casablanca bombings last May are forming a pressure group to ask the government for financial help they say they were promised and have not received.

Nearly four months after the attacks in which 33 people died, apart from the suicide bombers, the families say they are facing major financial difficulties after losing, in many cases, their main breadwinner.

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks on 16 May, King Mohammed pledged to ensure that the victims' families would be provided for by the state.

In the months since then, the relatives say all of they have received is a single donation of about $5,000 for each family from the king himself.

This they received on the 40th day after the attacks, along with a personal letter of condolence from the king.

At the moment in Morocco, there is no state mechanism to provide automatically for victims of attacks like those in May.

Election timing

Despite the orders of the king, the notorious sluggishness of the Moroccan bureaucracy has meant that nothing on a government level has yet been done for the families.

Now, in a series of interviews given to the media in Morocco, timed to coincide with the local elections taking place this week, the relatives have bemoaned their inability to provide for their families.

They say they need money urgently for basic expenses now that the breadwinner in the family is gone.

The families say the idea of setting up an official group to protect their rights is to give them more sway with the authorities than they have as individuals.

They also say that such an association will give them a more powerful voice in keeping the memory of their losses alive amongst the Moroccan public.

At least one newspaper in Morocco has already taken up their case and demanded that the authorities provide the families with an official state pension, saying it is the very minimum the government should do.

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Mohammed V Solidarity Foundation Earmarks $7 Mln for Development Projects in Al Hoceima
AL HOCEIMA, Sept.08

The Mohammed VI Foundation for Solidarity earmarked 72.4 million dirhams (some $7.24 million) for the development projects launched by H.M. King Mohammed VI last week in the northeastern city of Al Hoceima. The projects, destined to increase rural girls schooling, improving health care and promote sustained development, consist of a regional oncology hospital, a building to host patients' relatives and a social compound for young girls. The hospital will cover a 5,000m² surface and the building for patients' relatives will cover 1,000m². The dormitories young girls, aimed at beefing up social-cultural development in the region, will cover a 1,457m² surface and include 25 rooms for 4 persons each besides administrative and health dependencies. The Foundation has also donated a 6,8 million DH ($680,000) set of medical equipment to the city's Mohammed V hospital. © MAP 2003 http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/eng.htm

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H.M. King Mohammed VI Launches Construction of Girls Social Compound in Al Hoceima.
AL HOCEIMA, Sept.06

H.M. King Mohammed VI laid in the northeastern city of Al Hoceima the first stone for the construction of a social compound for young girls to increase schooling among girls in rural areas. The facility, to cost 2.6 million dirhams ($260,000) will extend over a 1,457m² surface and include 25 rooms for 4 persons each besides administrative and hygiene dependencies. The ceremony was attended by Zoulikha Nasri, adviser to king Mohammed VI and head of the Mohammed V foundation for solidarity, and other officials and executives of the foundation. © MAP 2003 http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/eng.htm

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Arabies: adamancy of King Mohammed vi to fight poverty, disparities
Politics, 9/8/2003

Morocco's King Mohammed VI will not back up, whatever the juncture or constraints, in his fight against poverty and disparities, the French Monthly Arabies said in its latest issue. "An economy that produces riches and distributes them equally has become a priority for the sovereign, Samir Sobh writes in a section dedicated to Morocco. King Mohammed VI is ready to make of the middle class a factor of social-economic stability and an efficient means to fight poverty, the monthly says. http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030908/2003090832.html

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Morocco hosts world neurosurgeons congress in 2005

Morocco, Local, 9/8/2003

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King Mohammed vi lays first stone for oncology hospital in al Hoceima Morocco,
Health, 9/8/2003

Morocco's King Mohammed VI laid here Saturday the first stone of a regional oncology hospital and a residence for patients' relatives in the northeastern city of Al Hoceima.

The sovereign also handed a set of medical equipment, worth 6,8 million DH ($680,000) to the city's Mohammed V hospital, donated by the Mohammed VI foundation for solidarity.

The Al Hoceima province, with its 424,000 inhabitants has 54 healthcare centers including 45 in rural areas and three local hospitals with a 413 bed capacity. The province's medical staff consists of 103 doctors and 347 medics.

The cancer hospital will be built in partnership between the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity, the health department, the agency of northern regions promotion and development, the regional and municipal councils of Al Hoceima, under a convention signed on the occasion under the chairmanship of the sovereign.

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Moroccan Jews community always served as bridge between Palestinians, Israelis, community leader
Morocco-Palestine, Politics, 9/8/2003

The Moroccan Jewish community has always served as a bridge between Palestinians and Israelis, said secretary general of the Israelite communities council in Morocco and president of the Moroccan Judaic Rally, Serge Berdugo.

In an interview published August 28 by the Canadian paper Jewish News, Berdugo said "Moroccan Jews believe they still can help the two parties better understand each other for they have expertise in the ways of thinking of the issue's protagonists.

Moroccan Judaism has always been of great strategic importance to relations between Muslims and Jews and between Palestinians Israelis, he went on.

The community leader recalled the 20-year-old ties he has with Palestinian ambassador to Rabat, Abu Marwane. "We have worked hand in hand with Israeli leaders each time they visited Morocco."

On Jews' life in Morocco, Berdugo underscored that the Jewish community lives in security and has never sustained any pressures. "There are no second-class citizens in Morocco. King Mohammed VI's Morocco is applying a rule-of law democracy."

On the terrorist attacks that shook Casablanca May 16, Serge Berdugo said that by attempting to kill Jews, these criminals wanted above all to harm to the whole Moroccan society and affect the way of life of moderate Moroccan Muslims. Islam in Morocco is an open and tolerant Islam," he said.

Some 1,200 members of the Jewish community including 125 Israelite scouts have participated in the May 29 march slamming the blasts, he recalled.

Meantime, Palestine's ambassador to Rabat, Wajih Hassan Ali Kassem, lauded the efforts exerted by king Mohammed VI, president of the Al-Quds committee, to defend the Palestinian cause.

In a statement to Morocco's first TV channel, TVM, aired Friday, he added that Moroccan Jews, numbered at some 700,000 in Israel, still remember their life in Morocco and the perfect coexistence they have been enjoying with Muslims, and today, they aspire to live in a similar climate of brotherhood and counter the hostile atmosphere that the Israeli extremist military region is creating.

The Palestinian diplomat called the Moroccan Jews "who lived with Moroccan Muslims in dignity, brotherhood and harmony, to press the Israeli government into respecting Palestinians' basic rights so that brotherhood and friendship prevail in the region, without race, sex or religion discrimination."

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Fez to host international lawyers union congress in 2005 Morocco,
Local, 9/8/2003

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Morocco-Islamic Threat
PARIS, Sep 09, 2003 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX)

Despite arresting hundreds of people following a string of suicide bombings, Morocco remains threatened by Islamic militants and may apply the death penalty to counter the menace, the justice minister said in an interview published Tuesday.

Minister Mohammed Bouzoubaa told the French daily Le Parisien that 906 people have been arrested since near-simultaneous suicide bombings in Casablanca on May 16 killed 33 bystanders and a dozen bombers.

But other suspected members of militant Islamic networks remain at large, "so the fundamentalist threat is still there," Le Parisien quoted him as saying.

Asked whether Morocco, which has not executed anyone since the early 1990s, would carry out death sentences already handed down, Bouzoubaa replied: "Possibly ... The action carried out was very serious."

"Until now, Morocco has applied the death penalty only in extreme cases. The question now is to determine what attitude should be taken to this new type of crime undertaken on an international scale with kamikazes," he said.

Armed with new anti-terror laws, Morocco sentenced four men to death in August. They were convicted of plotting to blow themselves up in the May suicide attacks.

A French citizen, Pierre Robert, also risks the death penalty for allegedly trying to organize a radical Islamic uprising in Morocco, a moderate Muslim North African kingdom.

Bouzoubaa said Robert - who claimed in court Monday that police tortured him

- has been very cooperative, providing names that led to further arrests, leading investigators to a training ground used by his alleged militant associates, and providing information that enabled police to seize weapons.

Robert, a convert to Islam who is believed to have trained at Afghanistan-based al-Qaida camps, claimed in court that French intelligence services approached him in 1998 to infiltrate Islamic networks in France and Belgium.

In a statement, France's Interior Ministry said it was "very surprised" by Robert's claims and "formally denies" that he had contacts with the DST - the Directorate for Surveillance of the Territory that handles counterespionage and anti-terrorism work.

Minister: Morocco still threatened by militant Islam, may apply death penalty

Copyright 2003 Associated Press, All rights reserved

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Number of Kuwaiti tourists in Morocco on the increase
By Abdul Razzaq Turaibeg

RABAT, Sept 9 (KUNA) -- The number of Kuwaiti tourists visiting Morocco is increasing year after year, figures released by the Moroccan Tourism Ministry show. A total of 4,530 Kuwaiti tourists visited the North African kingdom in 2002. The number is higher by 19 percent than the previous year. Meanwhile, 74,273 tourists from the remaining Gulf countries and Egypt visited the country during 2002. Unlike tourists from other Arab countries, whose appetite to visit the Kingdom was affected by the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and its consequences, and then the U.S.-led coalition war against Iraq, Kuwaitis, in big number, kept on visiting the country, which has no direct air route to Kuwait, despite a protocol between the two countries signed in 1975. The figure also show that 2.2 million tourists have visited Morocco in 2002, this number is higher by 1.2 percent than previous year's.

Those tourists threw 2.54 billion dollars into the Moroccan economy. Tourists from the GCC states bring an average of 290 million dollars in revenue to the country's treasury every year. The country is planning to attract as many as 10 million tourists by the year 2010, and is implementing developmental plans to meet that end.

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Tax receipts progress by 8.1% in 1st half of 2003
Economics, 9/10/2003

Morocco's tax receipts posted a 8.1% growth in the two first quarters of 2003, reaching 44.1 billion Dirhams (US$ 4.6 billion), reports the general economic policy department. During the same period, receipts of the corporate tax (IS) soared by 13.3%, while those of the General tax on income (IGR) and the added-value tax (TVA) grew by 10.6% and 10.6% respectively. likewise, receipts of internal taxes on consumption of energy products increased by 6.5%. Meanwhile, customs duties receipts regressed by 9.6%, as a result of tariffs dismantling and the decrease in some liable imports. http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030910/2003091026.html

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Emotion, creativity and rigor combine for Marrakesh film festival
Local, 9/6/2003

Emotion, rigor and creativity will blend in the movies featured in the Marrakesh film festival slated next October 3-8 in the Ochre city. Emotion will be embodied in the tribute that will be paid to the late French director and film critic, Daniel Toscan du Plantier, the man who helped organize the festival's two precedent editions. Organizers have strictly adhered to rigor in the selection of the 73 movies that will be shown at the festival, out of over 1,000 movies and 200 short movies.

Creativity will be cared for by the exceptional jury chosen to judge the movies, with German director Volker Schlondorff and British actor, Jeremy Irons for the short movies selection. Together with Schlondorff, who directed Oscar winning "The Tin Drum," the movie jury includes other artists and intellectuals, from all generations and regions of the world. For the short movie selection, the jury features actors, from Spain, Canada, New Zealand, India, France and Morocco. The opening ceremony, to be presented by French actress Nathalie Baye, will feature Moroccan movie "Mille mois" (one hundred months) by young director Faouzi Bensaidi.

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Morocco: Prioritising the North

10 September 2003

Many commentators assume that it is Morocco's south, especially the Western Sahara region, that is at the crux of the kingdom's development. Yet it is the north that has become the focus of government attention. Although ostensibly unrelated, two recent events illustrate the importance of Tangiers and the Rif, and why this region has become a national development priority.

The more spectacular story concerns what the media are calling the Tétouan scandal. It started as a fight amongst rival drug gang lords at the start of August, but has since escalated into the arrest of leading drug lords, and an investigation into the surrounding judicial system and businesses. A number of magistrates, customs officers and policemen were arrested in the follow-up to the investigation. The scope was so wide that the local courts were suddenly faced with a personnel deficiency: there were apparently no trials taking place, as half the judges were on holiday while the other were in jail, having been implicated in the scandal.

Hashish production and trade - a business which is estimated to make around MAD30bn per year (approximately EUR2.7bn, according to L'Economiste) - obviously has strong corrupting influences. Periodic efforts are made to eliminate the trade, but these are inevitably undermined by high profits, a growing laxity in European regulations and attitudes, and a lack of alternatives. One EU-funded initiative to encourage avocado farming, for example, failed primarily because the returns were a fraction of what could be gained from hashish.

Cynics therefore see the latest scandal as another symbolic slap on the hands of a major foreign currency earner. It will thus be interesting to see how far the scandal goes in revealing corruption abuse. The affair has already spread to Casablanca, and latest reports are talking about the potential confessions of Mohamed Taïbi, also known as 'El Nene' ('The Kid' in Spanish). He is famous for being a prominent Tétouan drug lord, an escapee from a Spanish jail, and a world famous celebrity after mooning from his fleeing boat at TV cameras aboard a Guardia Civil helicopter.

But optimists see the scandal as a more serious effort to tackle the problem. One local analyst pointed out that it was the first major initiative of Hamidou Laânigri, the alternatively feared and respected ex-chief of the Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire (DST, the national security agency), who has been appointed chief of the police. The scandal is thus seen as an effort by Laânigri to show the seriousness of his intent.

Other reasons cited in local papers range from it being a pre-emptive strike by the security forces, in anticipation of a forthcoming negative report by the EU on Morocco's drug trade, to it being a more personal affront to the king. Mohammed VI spent most of the summer in the region, and local gang shenanigans, occurring within shouting distance of his residence, were considered a disruption.

The Minister of Justice, Mohamed Bouzoubaâ, has also made it known that the King's keynote speech in May on the end of leniency (fin de laxisme) towards those willing to exploit democracy has been interpreted by his department as a call to root out corruption in the judicial and security system.

The intentions might be justified, but the core problematic remains of finding economic alternatives for a region in which smuggling drugs and migrants is a central feature. That is why the second event, the signing of a convention at the end of August, to build a huge tourist resort in Saïdia, between Melilla and the Algerian border, is potentially so important. Bringing investment and tourism to the region has the potential of generating large and formal economic growth.

The Saïdia project falls under the Ministry of Tourism's ambitious Plan Azur, which foresees the construction of five large tourist resorts around the country. Saïdia is the second such project to get underway, after Taghazout, near Agadir (attributed to Saudi investors Dallah Al Baraka). The international tender was taken up by Spanish property developers FADESA, after fierce competition from other property developers like Kerzner International Limited (South Africa), Med Groupe Unversiones (Spain-US), and Bouygues (France).

Total investment for the project is set at MAD9bn (approximately EUR820m). Of this sum, FADESA Maroc is planning to put in MAD1bn for infrastructural development and MAD2.7bn to construct two hotels, three golf courses and all the residential building (holiday villas and apartments). The remaining MAD5.3bn will be invested by other hotel constructors as well as leisure sector promoters, according to the Ministry of Tourism. The whole project will increase Morocco's hotel capacity by 28 000 beds, and generate 8000 direct and 40 000 indirect jobs.

Of the five Plan Azur locations, two are located in the north. Saïdia and Larache are situated at opposite ends of the northern coastline, and with the TangerMed Special Development Zone now up and running (the contract was signed in June by King Mohamed VI with the BOUYGUES-BYMARO-SAIPEM Grouping for basic works), the whole region is set to be transformed into one giant construction site.

If one takes a look at Morocco's map, the northern region around Tangiers might seem like the most geographically advantaged region, given its strategic location on the Straits of Gibraltar. So its relative underdevelopment needs to be explained. Tangiers, the oldest city in Morocco, has been in relative decline. This can be attributed to the legacy of French colonialism, when Casablanca was developed as a port in what was then called 'Maroc Utile', as well as to Northern Moroccans' (or Rifis') famous rebellious spirit. It was the north that gave General Franco a headache when he was in nominal charge of the region, and upon independence, the monarchy had a hard time of winning the northern province's allegiance.

King Hassan II consequently distrusted the north during his reign, and this resulted in economic negligence and the proliferation of the informal economy. It is thus to the new king's credit that the north has become a national priority - upon his accession to the throne, it was to the north that he went first, and this proved to be both a heavily symbolic gesture (winning hearts and minds), and an indication of later public policy.

Spain also has an important part in this game. Spain's control of Ceuta and Melilla is recognised but barely tolerated in Morocco, especially as these two outposts are formidable conduits for smuggling and the black economy (indeed the main figure of the Tétouan scandal, Mounir Erramach, is actually from Ceuta - it is unlikely however that Spain will demanding his extradition). From this perspective, the attempt to simultaneously develop the surrounding region and clamp down on lawlessness can be interpreted as an attempt to marginalise or even strangle the Spanish colonies' economies.

At the same time, one should not exaggerate Moroccan-Spanish enmity. After all, it will be Spanish investors (like FADESA) who provide much of the financing and expertise in the region. It is still too early to say, but the prospect of a Costa del Maghrib in the not too distant future is looking far more likely.

© Oxford Business Group 2003

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Moroccans Prepare Local Elections, Women Under-represented.

The Moroccans are preparing to vote for their municipal leaders. The elections will occur on September 12 but already some 39 civil rights organizations are raising important participation issues related to the share of women's power at the local level.

The issue is the share of women candidates allocated by participating political parties. The share has been set at way below the 20% goal that political parties have themselves decided to reach through an "agreement of honor" they signed some time ago. These organizations are now putting pressure on political parties to respect their commitment by using the local and national press. Their goal is to guarantee women's access to positions within municipal councils as councilors or council presidents.

Meanwhile more than 14.6 million election cards have been printed and so far 9.6 million have been withdrawn. Government sources say 253 election officials (agents) have been dismissed from their job due family affiliation with actual candidates. Less than one week from the election day and the Moroccan courts are already handling 85 lawsuits, while 73 complaints have been filed in local tribunals.

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Shortage of Sardines and Anchovies Troubles Fish Canning Plants in Morocco.

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Moroccan Government Begins Implementing Minimum Wage Increase

Following the reaching of an agreement with trade unions on March 30, the Moroccan government has released details of the steps to be taken to increase the minimum wage.

The 10% minimum wage increase is to be implemented in two steps. The first was already implemented on July 1, 2003 with increases in all sectors excluding textile and garment business, leather and food industries as well tourism. These sectors, however, will benefit from an increase effective January 1, 2004.

For their part, some 170,000 employees of the public sector whose job categories are between levels one and nine (bottom tier of the wage ladder) will benefit from a pay raise of DH 300 ($30) per month, also to be implemented in two phases.

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Local polls: woman-candidate without husband's knowledge gets divorce
Local, 9/10/2003