In Algeria, parties still resist joining the platoon of formations that condemned the FAR operation in Guerguerate. A resistance that they express through their silence that speaks volumes.
On Tuesday, the criminal chamber of Casablanca’s appeal court handed down sentences ranging from 20 years in jail to one-year prison term against Hirak detainees. The decision was described as «unfair» by Moroccan politicians.
Consultations to replace the sacked ministers on October the 24th have been resumed. In theory, the ministerial reshuffle is expected to revive the Department of African Affairs, which has been removed for five decades. The ministry could be assigned to a technocrat.
The Spanish government is determined to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy, to restore the «constitutional order», according to Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s Prime Minister. Meanwhile, the two major political parties in the country, Cuidadanos and PSOE, support article 155 of the constitution that allows Madrid to take over running of the region. Strangely, the two parties that have backed in the past the Polisario Front refuse to show Catalans the same kind of support.
King Mohammed VI has criticized on Saturday during the throne speech the work of political parties in Morocco and blamed the failure of local officials to quickly implement development projects. For now, political parties have preferred to remain silent as they are being held responsible for the current crisis in the Rif region by analysts.