Majid Morceli

San Francisco- While Algerian President Bouteflika was hosting his guest Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who arrived Thursday morning for a very short visit of only a few hours, his police force continued to protest outside the presidential palace, demanding a pay raise, free housing, better working conditions, and compensation when injured on the job.

The police have also demanded that the Director General of National Security General Hamel Abdelghani be fired. Abdelghani is accused of "hogra", or spreading injustice and bullying within the police corps.

Curiously enough, the police protest started in the southern oasis city Ghardaia, where sectarian clashes between Berber and Arab communities take place on a regular basis. Since last December, a dozen people have been killed and many more injured. Several houses were looted and burned, shops and schools were closed, and thousands of police officers deployed to quell the violence.

The Algerian government is now unable to afford the hundreds of thousands of police officers recruited during the Arab Spring to prevent the chaos that took place in nearby countries such as Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.

The Algerian government relied tremendously on this police force during the last presidential elections to oppress anyone who was against Bouteflika.

The Berbers of Ghardaia accused this police force of "passivity, complicity, and mercenary-ism“. They are well aware that the current, corrupt Algerian regime relies heavily on their services and could not pass up the opportunity to ask for whatever it feels is a well-deserved price for keeping the masses under control in Ghardaia and in every other inch of Algeria.

While demonstrations and protests are never legal in Algeria, the Algerian police force does not impose this ban on itself, and thus can use its status to break the same anti-demonstration law that they force the masses to obey.

The Algerian police force is not the one to be blamed here. The unscrupulous system of governance in Algeria is the cause. It has created an environment where everyone in power wants a piece of the pie, and the regime is very willing to do whatever is necessary to oblige them in order to continue to stay in power and dominate the life of the Algerian citizen.

The Algerian Prime Minister Sellal met with representatives of the police and quickly brokered a deal with them, but refused their demand of creating an independent union, proposing instead a national commission. He is well aware that it will be almost impossible to control a union.

The Algerian regime still thinks that it can indefinitely buy the peace with money, and is unable to understand that being forced to make deals is only a temporary fix. Eventually, and most likely very soon, another public service force will rise up and demand to receive the same incentives that the police has just received. Will the Algerian regime, whose sole source of income is oil, be able to continue to bribe itself into temporary peace?

What will happen when the regular Algerian military personnel decide to rise up as well, and ask for the same thing the police have just received? Will the regime be able to contain the protest and bribe itself out of trouble?

There are some Algerians who actually believe that the oil in their country is nothing but a curse, and wish their country had no oil. They understand that wealth, when mismanaged, only serves the few. Many others are certain we will not live to see a North African union due to the curse of one country being richer than the other.

The majority of Algerians in social media however do not favor a Maghreb Union. They say that Morocco will benefit the most, and besides, it has nothing to offer except drugs and poverty. The Algerian regime has succeeded in making its people believe that they can do it alone, and sadly the people are believing the regime.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy

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Rabat - The Youth and Sports Ministry has categorically denied the fact that Morocco is no longer organizing the CAN 2015.

In a statement, the ministry expressed its surprise to see that some media outlets are running information saying that Morocco is no longer organizing the CAN 2015.

"The ministry categorically denies these allegations and recalls that Morocco's position is crystal clear," wrote the statement.

Morocco is very keen to host the next edition of the African Cup of Nations, it said, adding that the request of postponing the event, scheduled in January 2015, was for a real reason: the rapid and worrying spreading of the Ebola virus according to WHO reports.

Madrid  - Moroccan and Spanish associations as well as political parties' sections in Catalonia (north-eastern Spain) called to stage demonstrations to protest against detaining, since last summer, a young Sahrawi holding the Spanish nationality in the camps of Tindouf (south Algeria), in breach of basic principles of human rights and people's free movement.

The coordinator of Morocco's USFP party in Spain Mohamed Idrissi, who is in charge of coordinating these demos, expressed his firm condemnation of holding Mahjouba Mohamed Hamdidaf (23y) against her will in the polisario-run camps.

For its part, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE-opposition) called on the international community to intervene to set Mahjouba free. The spokesperson of the party Trinidad Jiménez said in a statement to the press that PSOE called upon the Spanish government to to allow the young Sahrawi woman resume her normal life.

In the same vein, France-based "Association des Tribus Sahraouies Marocaines en Europe" condemned the woman's detention by the polisario in blatant violation of human rights basic principles.

The case of this young Sahrawi woman, which was submitted to the UN special rapporteur on violence against women, stole the limelight and was behind the creation of a platform of support urging the immediate release of Mahjouba.

The platform has already issued a manifesto signed by over 4,000 people and submitted it to the Spanish foreign affairs ministry.

According to the newly-created body, Mahjouba is detained against her will and being watched 24/7. It also said that the woman received death threats in case she attempted to escape.

Faced with this situation, the captive woman sent an SOS to the international community to help free her and help her join her adoptive family in Valencia, it added.

Mahjouba, who has been working for the London-based "Marie Curie Foundation Care" and intended to pursue her studies in the British capital, visited last summer the camps of Tindouf in order to see her biological parents. Once she arrived there, she was stripped of her passport and money to prevent her from returning to Europe as scheduled on Aug. 18.

The Spanish foreign affairs ministry is taking the necessary steps to solve this problem. Meanwhile, the province of Valencia decided to suspend all agreements and aids for the polisario until the affair is resolved.

Taroudant, Morocco - Following the controversy created earlier this month by Youssef Eid, Secretary General of the Fatwa at Al-Azhar Mosque in Egypt, over the legitimacy of the Moroccan celebration of Eid Al Adha, Abbas Schumann, head of Al-Azhar Mosque, suspended the cleric from practicing any work related to the Fatwa.

According to the Egyptian website Elfagr, Al-Azhar University, under the direct supervision of the Egyptian government, suspended yesterday Sheikh Youssef Eid, the author of the controversial Fatwa, from his post as secretary of the Fatwa division within Al-Azhar.

The same source added that Dr. Schumann stressed that Al-Azhar respected all Muslim scholars and all scientific institutions and their decisions that do not collide with the fundamentals of Islam and the well-known rules of ijtihad (the independent reasoning or original interpretation of issues not precisely covered by the Quran or hadith).

The Egyptian scholar said that Morocco’s celebration of the first day of Eid al-Adha on October 5 “is religiously not permissible because it violates Muslim customs and break the consensus,” stressing that Moroccans should celebrate Eid Aladha on the same day as Saudi Arabia, which relies on astronomical calculation to determine the first day of the month of Doul Hija.

Since the Islamic months are dated according to the Islamic lunar calendar, the dates of religious celebrations may vary depending on the time a country observes the moon.

Islamic countries resort to two main methods to set the date for celebration: either through astronomical calculations or the direct observational method.

Morocco is one of the Islamic countries that rely on the observation of the crescent, in conformity with the teachings of the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

Rabat- South Africa has reportedly refused to replace Morocco as host of the 2015 African Cup of Nations (CAN) scheduled to take place in the North African country between January 17 and February 8, 2015.

According to the sport news website Super Sport and a number of other sources, Danny Jordan, the President of the South African Football Federation has confirmed receiving a letter from the African Football Federation regarding the possibility to host the CAN in case Morocco persists in requesting a postponement of the competition.

But Jordan told the press on Friday that his country is not ready to be Morocco’s plan, adding that he still needs to seek the opinion of the government.

"When Australia declared themselves as Plan B for the 2010 World Cup you all got angry at them,” he said.

“I think we should heed our own advice that it's not right to make that announcement. Let's wait for CAF to engage the Morocco FA on the matter first," he added.

Last week, Morocco asked the CAF to postpone the 2015 edition of the prestigious continental tournament, initially scheduled to be held in Morocco from January 17 to February 8.

In a communiqué released last Friday by the Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sport, the request was made after the Moroccan Ministry of Health stressed the need to avoid sports events that include the participation of people coming from countries affected by Ebola.

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By Lahcen El Youssfi

Meknes - The export season of Moroccan citrus fruit to the Russia Federation begins in the coming days, and professionals are preparing to avoid difficulties experienced during the last campaign.

New mechanisms of quality control are being implemented to assure suitable conditions for exportation.

During the last campaign, citrus exports started too early, resulting in a disaster . In fact, the first measure undertaken for this campaign, is to initiate the operation at a more suitable date in order to maintain the “Morocco Label.”

Managing high quality and phytosanitary measures is a key factor for maintaining and improving Morocco’s position in citrus market in Russia and at the international level, as well maintaining price competitiveness.

The main qualitative factors related to citrus products that importers monitor are the rate of juice, acidity, coloration, and the gustative of the fruit, that go together with phytosanitary standards.

Competition on the Russian fruits and vegetables market, especially for citrus, is at its peak. Many Mediterranean countries, especially Turkey and Egypt and excluding Spain because of the Russian boycott of agriculture products coming from EU, are trying to gain the greatest portion of this promising market. In this context, all professionals are invited to participate and build confidence in Moroccan citrus by adopting measures and procedures to ensure market sustainability.

At the political level, a meeting took place in Rabat between the Moroccan and Russian Ministers of Agriculture on 16 September. The Ministers worked to develop a strategy for significant trade cooperation between the two countries. This strategy provides an excellent opportunity to maintain sustainable citrus exports, as well as improve the prospects for other Moroccan agriculture products.

The Russian Federation, where Moroccan tangerines have been traditionally popular, accounted for just 4% of Morocco's agricultural exports in 2008 and 12% in 2013. The figure could reach 15% by the end of 2014, according to professionals.

It’s important to mention that the Russian citrus market is a promising and growing one. Currently, Russia imports about 16 percent of all world citrus products by quantity and is the largest citrus importer among the developing/transitioning countries, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reports.

Fez - The Moroccan Department of Education in Morocco set the 2014-2015 education program schedules specifying September 10 and 11 to be the actual start of the school year for primary and secondary schools, respectively.

However, classes didn’t really begin until October 13, as class attendance reached its peak. This evident discrepancy between official statements and actual proceedings is common in the start of the Moroccan school year, though it was greater this year.

The Moroccan general census and Eid al-Adha have both delayed the commencement of studies in public schools, causing students to lose hundreds of study hours. A large number of teachers helped in the counting of Morocco’s inhabitants. Nevertheless, neither the census nor the religious celebration are the actual reason for the late start.

In reality, it became customary that students do not show interest in starting the new year on time for a variety of reasons such as psychological demotivation, irresponsibility, and lack of administrative rigor and punishment measures.

On a different note, teachers and students expect novelties in the new program every year, especially in the light of the increasingly serious discussions about reform.

However, it seems that the Ministry of Education and the government are still confused about the way to manage this reform and the way to start an inclusive restoration of the educational system in response to the wide public demands. Teachers’ demands for the improvement of their working conditions remain unmet, and in fact took turn to the worse recently.

Rachid Belmokhtar, the appointed Minister of the Education , publicly attributed the dismal situation of education to the teachers accusing them of unjustified absence and laziness. In response, he took measures to slow their promotions, ban them from pursuing higher education, and even prevent them from taking exams to change teaching cycles.

Overall, the new school year bears no good news for practitioners or students. Official routine postulates school councils and administration close the school year with inclusive reports evaluating the program execution and educational environment and suggesting recommendations for the next year concerning pedagogical materials, human resources, program organization, and so on, to hopefully guarantee better practice and satisfactory results.

However, teachers find the situation unchanged and even worse after the lengthy summer holiday, which discourages them from contributing to the discussion on the school practice or offering useful insights.

The 2014-2015 school year bears a resemblance to previous years, bringing back old, persistent problems: uninspiring working conditions, large classes, insufficient human resources, a lack of teaching and learning materials, and many more.

The demand for classes, materials, teachers, and so on far outstrips the government’s supply. This undesirable situation will eventually lead to low achievement for Moroccan education in general, and perpetuates a vicious circle of failure.

Among the most recent unprecedented government decisions against state employees is the gradual raising of retirement age to eventually reach 65, which runs against workers’ aspiration to take early retirement and enjoy their pension for a couple of years before passing away. The government says that unless this decision is made, the national pension fund will reach total bankruptcy by the year 2022.

In the light of this situation, education employees seem to have lost trust in trade unions, since they have demonstrated little or no will to defend employees’ rights to promotion and retirement. Social dialogues between the Ministry of Education and trade unions – presumably representative of weary teaching staff – have occasionally occurred but were not productive, while employees were hoping for a satisfactory outcome. Despite promises to defend teachers’ rights against the government’s unjust decisions, trade unions have given up their allegiance to employees while still chanting the same slogans of social militancy.

The royal speech opening the parliamentary autumn session on October 10 prompted a heated official debate on the quality of Moroccan public schooling. The monarch’s discourse to the MPs on the topic of stirred the old question of educational reform and instructional language.

The king’s speech recalled previous speeches by predominantly addressing education reform during the last twelve months, since his message on August 20, 2013. The king has initiated the creation of The Higher Council for Education, appointed a new Minister in charge, asked to review the language of instruction, and demanded a new diagnosis of the education system to find its major deficiencies.

The King’s instructions have to yield desired outcomes after decades of wrecked education. Otherwise, they remain hollow promises and continue to produce generations of depressed, incompetent graduates. King Mohammed’s speech to the members of the parliament reminded them that education is a central issue for Moroccans. Right after this speech, a fight broke out between two Moroccan MPs inside the house of the parliament, which dramatically shows the extent to which they are obsessed with national issues.

In sum, there has been much talk on the issue of Moroccan education. Students, as well as teachers, are in a dire need for exciting education environments to avoid lethargy, dropouts, and indifference. Until our policymakers, teachers, students, and all other stakeholders assume their shared responsibilities for the situation and take necessary measures to restore it, our education remains in the intensive care.

The Moroccan Department of Education in Morocco set the 2014-2015 education program schedules specifying September 10 and 11 to be the actual start of the school year for primary and secondary schools, respectively.

However, classes didn’t really begin until October 13, as class attendance reached its peak. This evident discrepancy between official statements and actual proceedings is common in the start of the Moroccan school year, though it was greater this year.

The Moroccan general census and Eid al-Adha have both delayed the commencement of studies in public schools, causing students to lose hundreds of study hours. A large number of teachers helped in the counting of Morocco’s inhabitants.

Nevertheless, neither the census nor the religious celebration are the actual reason for the late start. In reality, it became customary that students do not show interest in starting the new year on time for a variety of reasons such as psychological demotivation, irresponsibility, and lack of administrative rigor and punishment measures.

On a different note, teachers and students expect novelties in the new program every year, especially in the light of the increasingly serious discussions about reform.

However, it seems that the Ministry of Education and the government are still confused about the way to manage this reform and the way to start an inclusive restoration of the educational system in response to the wide public demands. Teachers’ demands for the improvement of their working conditions remain unmet, and in fact took turn to the worse recently.

Rachid Belmokhtar, the appointed Minister of the Education , publicly attributed the dismal situation of education to the teachers accusing them of unjustified absence and laziness. In response, he took measures to slow their promotions, ban them from pursuing higher education, and even prevent them from taking exams to change teaching cycles.

Overall, the new school year bears no good news for practitioners or students. Official routine postulates school councils and administration close the school year with inclusive reports evaluating the program execution and educational environment and suggesting recommendations for the next year concerning pedagogical materials, human resources, program organization, and so on, to hopefully guarantee better practice and satisfactory results.

However, teachers find the situation unchanged and even worse after the lengthy summer holiday, which discourages them from contributing to the discussion on the school practice or offering useful insights.

The 2014-2015 school year bears a resemblance to previous years, bringing back old, persistent problems: uninspiring working conditions, large classes, insufficient human resources, a lack of teaching and learning materials, and many more.

The demand for classes, materials, teachers, and so on far outstrips the government’s supply. This undesirable situation will eventually lead to low achievement for Moroccan education in general, and perpetuates a vicious circle of failure. Among the most recent unprecedented government decisions against state employees is the gradual raising of retirement age to eventually reach 65, which runs against workers’ aspiration to take early retirement and enjoy their pension for a couple of years before passing away. The government says that unless this decision is made, the national pension fund will reach total bankruptcy by the year 2022.

In the light of this situation, education employees seem to have lost trust in trade unions, since they have demonstrated little or no will to defend employees’ rights to promotion and retirement. Social dialogues between the Ministry of Education and trade unions – presumably representative of weary teaching staff – have occasionally occurred but were not productive, while employees were hoping for a satisfactory outcome. Despite promises to defend teachers’ rights against the government’s unjust decisions, trade unions have given up their allegiance to employees while still chanting the same slogans of social militancy.

The royal speech opening the parliamentary autumn session on October 10 prompted a heated official debate on the quality of Moroccan public schooling. The monarch’s discourse to the MPs on the topic of stirred the old question of educational reform and instructional language.

The king’s speech recalled previous speeches by predominantly addressing education reform during the last twelve months, since his message on August 20, 2013. The king has initiated the creation of The Higher Council for Education, appointed a new Minister in charge, asked to review the language of instruction, and demanded a new diagnosis of the education system to find its major deficiencies.

The King’s instructions have to yield desired outcomes after decades of wrecked education. Otherwise, they remain hollow promises and continue to produce generations of depressed, incompetent graduates. King Mohammed’s speech to the members of the parliament reminded them that education is a central issue for Moroccans. Right after this speech, a fight broke out between two Moroccan MPs inside the house of the parliament, which dramatically shows the extent to which they are obsessed with national issues.

In sum, there has been much talk on the issue of Moroccan education. Students, as well as teachers, are in a dire need for exciting education environments to avoid lethargy, dropouts, and indifference. Until our policymakers, teachers, students, and all other stakeholders assume their shared responsibilities for the situation and take necessary measures to restore it, our education remains in the intensive care.

Rabat-The Belgian government is facing a storm of criticism after one of its Ministers made racist comments about Moroccan, Algerian, and Congolese immigrants and questioning their contribution to the development of the country.

Theo Francken, Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration and a Flemish nationalist, doubted that Moroccan, Algerian and Congolese immigrants could add any value for Belgium.

Media reports revealed these statements based on a Facebook status that the Belgian politician wrote on November 21, 2011.

He questioned the value Moroccan, Algerian and Congolese immigrants can add to Belgium’s economy in comparison to the Jewish, Indian, and Chinese immigrants. This statement was labeled racist categorization and a "worrying development, especially from an official who takes the tenure of immigration and asylum.”

Theo Francken said: "I can figure the added value of Jewish, Chinese and Indian diasporas, but less that of the Moroccan, Congolese, or Algerian diasporas."

The statement brought him heavy criticism and forced him to apologize in front of the federal parliament three years later.

"I realize I hurt people by saying this. I never intended to. I want to present my sincere apologies. I can guarantee you that I will be a state secretary who defends the interests of all the people in this country, with a great respect for everyone," he was quoted by the Guardian as saying.

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Marrakech - In its efforts to become a global tourist destination, Merzouga just created an international event that will attract tourists from all over the world.

Based on the proverb “when there is a will, there is a way,” Merzouga is moving forward and launching a new global game: Sand Rugby.

The idea to create such game began a few years ago, when a group of tourism professionals thought about how they could improve tourism in the region. For this reason, Merzouga has been chosen as the host of this event. The first Sand Rugby tournament was held on October 11 and 12 at the rugby club of Tinghir.

The organizers stated that the tournament is not only the first of its kind in Morocco, but also in the entire the world. As a new game, it has its own unique characteristics. It is basically played in 40 meter sand stadiums.

Several Moroccan teams participated in the event. Moroccan teams came from Tinghir, Casablanca, Fes, Rabat, and Meknes, and included players from the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, France, and the United States. Eight teams from France and the islands of Fiji also participated.

The organizers said that it took them about two years to prepare for the tournament. They first worked on the marketing process. A Moroccan delegation travelled to Moscow in 2013, during the rugby world tournament in Russia, to exhibit Sand Rugby as a new creative product. The idea made a positive impression and received encouragement from European and American representatives that have deep experience in the rugby.

At the tournament in Merzouga, the Club of Tinghir won the final match against the French club Lecock.

Edited by Timothy Filla

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Rabat- Brad Pitt counts himself among a large number of world-class celebrities who have fallen for the beauty of Morocco’s diverse landscapes.

In an interview with Details magazine, the American actor said that he likes to ride his motorcycle in the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

“I try to carve out time for a solo ride in every country I travel to, from the Highlands of Scotland to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco to the belly of India," he was quoted as saying.

Brad Pitt has apparently become a regular visitor of Morocco, a country that even helped him beat depression.

According to a report published by Al Arabiya in 2012, the American celebrity ended his depression and stopped using drugs after he visited Morocco in the late 1990’s.

“I saw poverty to an extreme I had never witnessed before, and we talked about inequality and health care, and I saw just what I felt was so unnecessary, that people should have to survive in these circumstances – and the children were inflicted with a lot of deformities, and things that could have been avoided had become their sentence. It stuck with me,” Pitt was quoted by Al Arabiya a saying.

“I just quit. I stopped grass then – I mean, pretty much – and decided to get off the couch.”

Rabat - Morocco's economy growth rate is expected to reach 4.4 % in 2015, the minister delegate for the Budget Idriss Azami Al Idrissi said Sunday.

Al Idrissi, who was speaking at meeting on "Issues and Challenges of the National Economy", said that the targeted rate is based on an average oil price of $ 103/barrel and a 4.3 % budget deficit.

In 2015, the government will focus on boosting growth and supporting private investments as well as expanding social security.

Al-Idrissi also said that the 2015 draft budget bill includes new measures meant to encourage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and promote job creation.

Earlier on Friday, the Council of Government adopted the draft budget bill for 2015. According to Mustapha El Khalfi, the government spokesperson, the main aim of the 2015 draft budget is to improve competitiveness of the national economy.

Rabat - Morocco demanded that the Algerian government conduct an investigation into the shooting that targeted 10 Moroccan citizens at the borders between the two North African neighbors on Saturday.  

The shooting injured two Moroccan nationals, one of whom is in critical conditions.

Rabat described the incident as a dangerous warning, pointing out that it is waiting for an official response from Algeria.

The Algerian ambassador in Rabat informed the Moroccan diplomacy that he was not aware of shooting incident.

Morocco summoned the Algerian ambassador on Saturday in order to protest the shooting by an Algerian soldier against two Moroccan nationals on the borders between the two countries.

The incident occurred on Saturday at 12:00 GMT Morocco and left one Moroccan citizen seriously injured.

The Moroccan government condemned the shooting, which it described as a “serious and provocative” incident that endangers the lives of Moroccan citizens.

"The Government of the Kingdom of Morocco strongly protests against this direct and unacceptable attack on the life of Moroccan civilians by the Algerian army and denounces an irresponsible act that adds to other provocative actions recently recorded at the borders" said a statement of the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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By Paola Garcia

Spain - In recent days, a group of Moroccan men in Madrid were harassed and violently searched by police for no apparent reason other than their race.

At the beginning of this video, we see one of the men anxiously explaining to the officer that they are doing nothing wrong. “We are not suspicious, we are clean citizens, drinking something, at a normal hour, in a café that has its license and everything. We have nothing illegal on us,” he clarifies. It is obvious that this is a right that they do not possess; the police ignore his pleas.

Other Moroccan men approach the area asking what is happening. A man tells one of the officers “you are racist, that’s what you are.” Despite their protests of unfairness and racism, the police officers order the men to walk to an alley and line up for a search. The officer states: “gentlemen, all of you, go over there, hands where I can see them, and take out your documentation.” Some of the men protest being treated in this way. The officers proceed to do a body search of the men, telling one of them to “come with me.”

One of the group members says to one of the cops that he is a “bad person,” while another angrily screams into the camera “racists!”

The leading police officer asks an older man who seems intent on keeping the peace and making the “search” go as calmly as possible to help the officers make the rest of the group obey since “they don’t listen to [police officers].” The group listens to this man and walk to the alley to be searched and to show their identity cards.

An officer then tells one of them to take his hands out of the pockets. He refuses saying it is very cold and he won’t take his hands out because he is hiding nothing, he is innocent.

The man is visibly upset by the humiliation he and the others are being subjected to and resists, asking the cop not to do that to him, as the cop pushes and prods him. Four of the other officers then approach and help the first cop to hold this man down, throw him against the hood of a car, and search him violently, eventually pushing him to the ground while the rest scream in indignation.

It is important to note that these men were doing absolutely nothing wrong. They were having coffee at night amongst friends. In my opinion, this incident is based on nothing other than the prevalent racism against Moroccans in particular, and Arabs in general, that has tragically become acceptable in Spain and that must come to an end immediately.

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Rabat - Morocco strongly condemned on Saturday the shooting of Moroccans citizens by elements of the Algerian army. The shooting, which took place at 12 pm local time (GMT+1), left one person seriously injured.

In a press conference held on Saturday in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, expressed Morocco's condemnation of this “unacceptable behavior.”

"This unprecedented attack is an escalation and comes as a culmination of a series of previous incidents by the Algerian authorities at the borders," Mezouar Said.

The Moroccan Minister went on to say that incidents of this sort "affect the norms of good neighborliness, and are incompatible with the norms of humanitarian and international human rights in dealing with the management of borders between two neighbors that share historical ties."

The Minister stressed that Morocco's Foreign Ministry summoned the Algerian ambassador on Saturday to protest against this "unacceptable behavior."

“The Government of the Kingdom of Morocco strongly protests against this direct and unacceptable attack on the life of Moroccan civilians by the Algerian army and denounces an irresponsible act that adds to other provocative actions recently recorded at the borders,” said a statement released by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This is the second time this year that the Algerian army opens fire at the borders between the two countries. Last February, Algerian soldiers opened fire at Morocco’s checkpoint of Ait Jormane, in the northeastern province of Figuig. But the shooting did not cause any casualties.

Following the incident, Morocco’s ambassador in Algeria contacted the Algerian competent authorities and demanded explanations over the circumstances of shootings.

Rabat - According to the latest news, the Algerian military shot two Moroccan citizens across the border, one of whom is seriously injured. This is undoubtedly the most serious breach of border sovereignty in a long time.

The Algerian authorities will fabricate a poor excuse, as usual, of contraband activity across the border. The Algerians have always argued that contraband from Morocco harms their economy because most of the goods sold by Algerians to the Moroccans around Oujda, Saidia, and Ahfir are subsidized by the Algerian government, such as sugar, oil, flower, medicine, and petrol.

This is true, in fact. But what the Algerian officials do not say is that this activity is the daily bread of thousands of Algerians on the other side, who are not benefiting from the rentier wealth of this country and have, over the years, turned into smugglers.

The Algerian security forces have tolerated such a practices for decades, until two years ago when, at the request of the DRS (Department of Intelligence and Security), they cracked down on smuggling on the grounds it makes the borders porous for arm smuggling.

The truth of the matter is that the DRS, the most powerful arm of the Algerian army, wants to drag Morocco into a border conflict so they can blame their internal problems on their antagonistic neighbor. But why on earth would they do such a foolish thing and incur the wrath of Morocco and global opinion? The answer is simple and straightforward. Algeria needs a scapegoat for two basic reasons:

Firstly, in Arab tribal tradition, there is a strange concept that states that if things go poorly for someone, he would want to drag his enemy in to suffer the same hardships he does: « 3aliyya wa 3ala a3da2i ».

Algeria, in spite of its wealth, is a country full of anger and contempt within its population. The country is very rich, yet only a small minority of its people profit from this wealth. The rest are poor, living in shantytowns, under the poverty line, and waiting for the opportune moment to leap across the Mediterranean to become illegal immigrants in Europe or risk drowning in the sea Either situation is a way out for people who have lost all hope.

The only reason this underlying anger did not translate into an uprising during the Arab Spring is because the Algerian people were sick of the violence and the blood of the black decade of civil war from 1992 to 1999, between the Islamists and the military that led to the deaths of a quarter of a million people. However, the national anger against the establishment is still there. To defuse such negative energy, an outside enemy is needed. In this particular case, Morocco is the ideal candidate.

Secondly: Algeria has always been jealous of Moroccan stability and economic growth and development despite the fact that Morocco does not have oil or natural gas. Also, the quality of life in Morocco is far better than in Algeria.

In Algeria, a civil war could erupt any time. Indeed, for quite some time now the Amazigh and the Arabs have been at each other’s throat, and the state has been unable to stop or solve the existing problem. Worse, the Amazigh have said repeatedly that the police always side with the Arabs.

Deep down, the Algerian authorities want to implicate Morocco, in one way or another, in their internal problems and use it as a scapegoat for their persistent difficulties.

Algeria today is very sick and needs psychological treatment and coaching to solve its various problems, which are as follows:

1- Succession:

President Bouteflika is believed to be terminally ill. He has been rushed recently to a hospital in Switzerland for urgent medical treatment. He has been incapacitated by his several strokes, but continues to indirectly rule the country because he is the best front man that the Algerian military junta could hope for.

Now, that there is no hope for him. The generals are a each other’s throat to take his seat. The most likely candidate for the presidency is Mohamed Lamine Mediene, nicknamed Taoufik, head of the powerful DRS.

2- Terrorism:

In spite of many years of anti-terrorist efforts taken by the army, the country is still insecure. Indeed, two terrorist acts proved that particular point: the massive attack on the In Amenas gas production site in 2013, in which dozens of foreigners died, and recently the unfortunate kidnapping and execution of the French mountain climber Hervé Gourdel by ISIS-sympathizers Jound al-Khalifa.

3- Endemic corruption within state spheres and embezzlement of state funds, like what happened within the gigantic and rich oil and gas monopoly through the state-run company Sonatrach.

4- Popular anger because of bad governance:

People in Algeria are sick of their government, which is corrupt, inefficient, and unable to solve the nation’s problems, in spite the massive national wealth. For the people, the wealth is there for the state cadres only.

Algeria today is sick of its massive wealth, military might, internal conflicts, people’s anger, and feeling of humiliation [7ogra] mirrored also in endemic terrorism.

What Algeria needs today is to talk with itself, discuss the future, initiate transparency and trust, fight tribalism, nepotism, patriarchy and corruption, put an end to embezzlement, and to consider Algerians as a people worthy of respect. Instead of walking the path of forgiveness and reconciliation with its citizens, it is walking the path of war with Morocco.

Shooting innocents for no valid reason is considered as a declaration of war, but Morocco and its leaders are wise enough not to give Algeria an excuse to fulfill its provocative dream, neither today nor tomorrow. However, Morocco will certainly show strength in its condemnation of such an insane act.

“The Government of the Kingdom of Morocco strongly protests against this direct and unacceptable attack on the life of Moroccan civilians by the Algerian army and denounces an irresponsible act that adds to other provocative actions recently recorded at the borders”, said a statement of the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Will Algeria learn to respect its neighbors in a good Islamic way? I doubt it. More provocations are ahead, so more national mobilization is needed to counter the crazy and irresponsible objectives of the Algerian military dictatorship seeking external sparring-partners.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy

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Taroudant, Morocco - Following Muslim imams and scholars based in the UK that condemned the “oppressive and tyrannical self-styled Caliphate,” Muslims in New York have in turn launched a campaign, led by the Islamic Leadership Council, to denounce the rise of extremist groups, particularly Daesh or ISIS, also known as the Islamic State.

According to a statement from the Islamic Leadership Council, which represents about 60 congregations and Muslim community organizations in New York, the Council calls on ithe mams of the mosques to focus on the true message of Islam and to denounce extremism during Khutba (a sermon regularly given after the congregation prayer on Friday).

In addition to a social media campaign “to fight recruiting attempts by extremists,” the same source said that many mosques in the city will “host open houses next month aimed at increasing people's understanding of Islam.”

"Our ultimate goal is to raise the level of awareness in a way that helps to inoculate the Muslim community against cries and appeals from elsewhere calling Muslims to violent extremism," said Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid, president of the Islamic Leadership Council.

With the growing threat posed by the Islamic State, the whole world is coming together to face the danger posed by the radical group.

Last month, German Muslims rallied together during the Jumuah prayers, a congregational prayer that Muslims hold every Friday, to protest against ISIS jihadists and denounce the barbaric atrocities committed by the group, which “has nothing to do with Islam and Muslims.”

With the growing threat of the Islamic State and its attempts to recruit young people from Europe, a group of influential imams and scholars based in the UK issued a Fatwa or religious edict early last month, prohibiting British Muslims to fight alongside ISIS extremists in Iraq and Syria.

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Taroudante-The Hassan II Mosque, or Grande Mosquée Hassan II, located in Casablanca, Morroco, is considered the fourth most beautiful mosque in the world, according to a ranking announced by Wonderslist.

Unchallenged, the world’s most beautiful mosque is Al Haram Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, which the Quran, the Muslim Holy book, revealed to be the first house built for humanity to worship Allah.

“Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Makkah - blessed and a guidance for the worlds.” Surat '?li `Imr?n (Family of Imran) 96.97

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, also called the prophet’s mosque, in Medina, Saudi Arabia, comes in second, followed by Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, also known as Bayt al-Muqaddas. Al-Aqsa is regarded as the third holiest site in Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Completed in 1993, Hassan II Mosque, the seventh largest mosque in the world, stands on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The seafloor is visible through the glass floor in the building's hall.

The mosque, with its 210-meter (689 ft) minaret, the world’s tallest, was ranked the best of 31 attractions in Casablanca by TripAdvisor. It can accommodate up to 105,000 worshippers with its outside grounds.

The Grande Mosquée, which attracts a huge crowd of worshippers, especially during Friday prayers and the holy month of Ramadan, is also one of the best tourist attractions in the city.

Non-Muslim tourists are allowed to visit the Mosque only during non-prayer times, accompanied with a guide that gives a comprehensive review of the history and magnificent architecture of the religious building.

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Fez- The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Lahcen Daoudi, declared that there is no alternative but to teach science in English in Moroccan universities. 

Lahcen Daoudi was a guest speaker at the opening ceremony of the first national conference under the theme "what language should health sciences be taught?", organized recently by the Moroccan Association for Health Communication at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Rabat.

Daoudi is known to take advantage of every opportunity to stress the importance of teaching in English , especially in the fields of business and science. He often promotes the learning and proficiency of English among University professors and students.

According to the Minister, Moroccan higher education institutions are facing a challenge in the language of science education, since English is gaining momentum worldwide and has long become the language of human sciences, replacing French, which is the main medium of communication and teaching in most universities in Morocco.

Similarly, Daoudi stated that this challenge is not unique to Morocco, It is also posed  in other countries such as Japan and France where English is the main language of learning and teaching science in higher institutions.

The Minister has previously made it clear through a circular that starting January 1, 2015, that students are required to master English before they can be admitted into science Universities. He also previously said that University teachers have to master English in order to teach at Moroccan universities.

It remains to be seen how Morocco will overcome this challenge of English proficiency, bearing in mind that French is the dominant language in business and academia in the country.

Does the Ministry of higher Education and Research have a practical vision and a feasible strategy to overcome the challenges facing higher education, including lack of staff and equipment, lack of academic research, quality, and efficiency of education and the consistency of curricula with the job market? Time will tell.

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New York- Since last August, the family of Mahjouba Mohamed Hamdidaf, a young Saharawi woman with Spanish citizenship, has held her hostage in the Polisario-controlled Tindouf camps in Algeria.

Mahjouba is a 23-year-old young woman who became a Spanish national in 2002 after being adopted by a Spanish family in 1999. As soon as she arrived in the Tindouf camps last August, her biological parents confiscated her passport and prevented her from returning to Spain.

Since then, there has been relative silence regarding the event, and little was known about her fate. But in recent days, the Spanish daily El Mundo broke the news and shed light on her situation.

Meanwhile, a petition was organized, signed, and submitted to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs urging the Ministry to take the necessary steps to bring Mahjouba back to Spain.

Since El Mundo published the story, it has been making headlines both in Spanish and Moroccan newspapers. As soon as I heard about Mahjouba, my first reflex was to check search engines and see if the case has been reported by major media agencies, such as Agence France Presse (AFP), the Associated Press (AP), and Reuters. These media outlets are known for reporting extensively about the Western Sahara conflict.

To my surprise, after searching for over five days, none of these agencies has so far bothered to report it.

Although I am aware that these news agencies have a bias in the way they report on the question of Western Sahara, I was expecting them to report about the case of Mahjouba, since it is a clear human rights violation taking place in the Tindouf camps.

Case of Mahjouba vs Aminatou Haidar

These news agencies’ silence stands in stark contrast with their extensive coverage of the smallest events that take place in Western Sahara. One should remember how AFP, AP, and Reuters hammered Morocco on the case of Aminatou Haidar, who was prevented from entering the Moroccan territory in November 2009, to realize how these media outlets have a selective and biased way of reporting on this specific issue.

In addition to their overall reporting about the Western Sahara conflict, these media agencies often take Polisario’s side in a subtle way and systematically represent Morocco as a culprit that is “occupying” this disputed territory.

However, the case of Mahjouba is far worse than that of Aminatou Haidar, who was dubbed by these media agencies as the Ghandi of the Sahrawis.

From a strictly legal point of view, the case of Aminatou Haidar was one of disrespect for Moroccan law, which prompted the Moroccan authorities to make the unfortunate decision to prevent her from entering Layoune. Indeed, as she landed in Layone airport on November 13, 2009, Haidar put on the customs entry form that her nationality was Sahrawi while she held a Moroccan passport and was being paid by the Moroccan government in her capacity as a civil servant.

But the outrage orchestrated by the media made people overlook this aspect and gave her case publicity. Legally, there is no country called Western Sahara, and as a holder of Moroccan passport, the Sahrawi activist had to abide by the law. Ever since, Aminatou Haidar has gone from being a low profile personality to an acclaimed “fighter” for human rights.

In the case of Mahjouba, we are witnessing a case of sheer violation of international law and a young woman’s basic human rights. Mahjouba did not provoke the Polisario or any other entity by violating the laws enforced in the Tindouf camps. She was simply and unlawfully deprived of her passport and deprived of her freedom of movement and her right to return to Spain.

This is a blatant violation of international law, which guarantees the right of every human to have freedom of movement and travel. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his or her own country.

Mahjouba is the tip of the iceberg

This brings us to the issue of freedom of movement within the Tindouf camps. In fact, contrary to common belief, the Saharawi population is deprived of this basic human right. But yet again, this issue goes unreported by most major news agencies, because it does not fit their bias.

According to a report published by the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in 2009, nine out of ten Sahrawis want to obtain a visa to a foreign country and leave the Tindouf camps. But the hopes of most Sahrawis are dashed by the strict control enforced by the Polisario leadership on freedom of movement within the camps.

According to the same report, although Sahrawis can enter Mauritania with a Polisario identity card, they are deprived of doing so freely. In fact, in order to deter them from going from Mauritania to the Moroccan-controlled Sahara, every Sahrawi wishing to visit Mauritania has to leave behind family members or substantial assets. The Sahrawis are also not able to travel to a foreign country without express permission from Algeria and the Polisario leadership.

This violates a number of articles of international law, such as articles articles 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 15, 26, 27 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

Separation of children from their Saharawi families

What is more, is that the case of Mahjouba brings to the forefront a more worrying and serious issue: the reality of the suffering inflicted by the Polisario leadership on countless families who are separated from their children at a young age in order to be sent to Cuba or adopted by foreign families.

The reaction of the Mahjouba’s family can be understood as a reaction of a distressed family that wishes to be reunited with one of its children. This case is just the tip of the iceberg, and is reflective of the situation of despair in which thousands of Sahrawi families live as a result of their forcible separation from their children.

It has been reported for several years that Polisario has been sending Sahrawi children to Cuba against their parents’ will, a move that deprives these children of the natural care and assistance of their biological parents. One can only imagine the suffering inflicted on these Sahrawis because of their young age. They are separated from their biological parents, deprived of their warmth, assistance and care, and are forced to learn a new language and follow a special training.

According to Juan Vives, a former Cuban secret agent who published a book entitled “El Magnifico” in 2005, Sahrawi children sent to Cuba study in schools established specially for them that follow a strict ideological orientation. In addition, they suffer from inhumane treatment at the hands of the Cubans.

“Children were obliged to work in the fields in the morning and go to school in the afternoon. Some did not cease to cry, calling for their parents. It was inhumane. Some arrived so young to Cuba that they hardly remembered from where they came. And it is very inhumane,” Juan Vives said.

Silence of international media

But all these cases seem to be not newsworthy for AFP, AP, and Reuters, whose bias in the issue of the Western Sahara pushes them to systematically focus only on the Moroccan side and overlook the human rights abuses of Polisario. This brings into question the neutrality of these media agencies and pushes one to pose legitimate questions about the reasons that prompt them not to report on an issue as serious as depriving a young woman of her passport and her right of freedom of movement.

Are these media agencies serving a specific political agenda through their biased and selective reporting of the Western Sahara conflict? Is there an Algerian or Pro-Polisario lobby within these groups that dictates what should be reported and should be overlooked?

These are legitimate questions that we may never find an answer for. But the case of Mahjouba once again shows that Morocco has two adversaries: the Polisario and Algeria, but also a hostile foreign media that has already chosen which parties to defend.

This highlights necessity that the Moroccan authorities be more alert and redouble their efforts in order to make their voice heard, defend the righteousness of their position on the conflict, and bring to light the overlooked human rights abuses perpetrated by the Polisario inside Algerian territory.

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