Morocco # English board

Since the death of Hassan2, Morocco has undergone some social political and economic changes. The government has declared, " Reforms are the only way."
The country that had suffered through the disasters of Hassan 2 “”Iron Fists” has today leaped “Forward” and the country became open to business. And the rich are getting richer while the poor are marginalized.
Yet, these social, economic and political changes have not been reflected in other areas of society. The old Followers still tightly control Morocco. No serious dissent is tolerated.
Despite the rapid rise of a new entrepreneurial class, political reform is extremely limited. While there is some discussion of human rights, activists who seek justice for real freedom of speech, the disadvantaged or those who do not find favor with the authorities are subject to harassment, intimidation and assault.
One of the slowest areas to change is the criminal justice system.
Criminal suspects do not enjoy the presumption of innocence. Nor do they have free access to counsel. Defense lawyers are not truly independent and cannot obtain disclosure of the evidence against an accused person until trial, if at all. There is little opportunity to mount a realistic defense to a prosecution. Police and prosecutors enjoy great power with the blessing of the establishment.
The courts are not independent arbiters, but are subject to correction by authorities. Judges have little authority to even enforce court orders or to require witnesses to attend court. Conviction rates in criminal cases are approximately 95 per cent.
The death penalty is imposed in some cases quickly without open court, public hearing, and full process of law.
Yet there is a growing movement to reform the justice system and establish a truly independent, open and honest structure. Good luck to them

I agree on most of the analysis except when you say that serious dissent is not tolerated. A few months ago, the head of the USFP openly asked for a reform of the constitution, think back to H2 days, no one would have dared do that back then, not unless that person had a death wish. So, I'd say no, there is dissent, but what is not tolerated and I totally back that, is acting irresponsably or throwing idiotic schemes such as an islamic republic like Nadia Yassine did in a belgian newspaper.

As for the reforms, it needs time to educate the population. Some reforms need to be understood by Moroccans, people are always more attached to their institutions if they have the feeling that they belong to them, that they participated in the molding of those institutions.
An example : take the worst majority possible in a british parliament, the one that really screwed up the most, let's say under Thatcher or Blair, now if anyone tries to take advantage of their blunders to overthrow the system, the british people would never allow that because however bad is the situation, what counts is the democratic institution not the people running it.

We need to reach that level of comprehension, of democratic maturity, then and only then, can the monarchy loosen its grip on the system. But that change will require a lot of education and a lot of time. Like I already said here, I think we've done ok in the last seven years, our country is changing, too fast for some, but it's heading in the right direction and without jettisoning our best traditions.

Dear
Sometimes I compare Morocco with a car. Our politicians spend a lot of time cleaning the coque and wiping the windows while the engine is completly rusted. The engine needs in fact an engineer or an engine driver to fix it.
After Hassan II death, instead of hiring an engineer they just changed the cleanning team by adding some wax to make the car shinig (commission de reconciliation). They are still just cleaning and wiping the coque and the windows. We need to hear the engine functionning.........We are waiting.......until when....
Some peoples have the impression some sounds are coming from the engine. May be they should open the ears and listen carefully......these sounds are coming from engines which are far away and not made in Morocco.