Yesterday, Morocco arrested, tried, jailed, and fined a blogger, all within 24 hours. Covering the story for Global Voices, I barely had time to blink.
Morocco certainly isn’t new to restricting free speech, and since being named one of CPJ’s Backsliders on World Press Freedom day last year, it seems the country has been fighting to retain its status among the worst Arab offenders. After setting a precedent with the Fouad Mourtada affair this past February, it was only a matter of time before they found someone else to pick on.
That someone else, of course, was Mohammed Erraji (or Raji, depending on your transliteration preferences). Erraji, who blogged in Arabic here had been writing for the Arabic news site Hespress (which, according to Laila Lalami, does not enjoy a great reputation) and most recently had written an article (English here) criticizing the king, a criminal offense in Morocco. Specifically, Erraji railed against the king’s habit of handing out freebies to his citizens in the form of special permits. Ironically, if Erraji is freed before his two years are up, it will most likely also be in the form of a special kingly gratuity.
I can’t say I disagree with the man. I noticed the people’s bizarre relationship with their monarch only a few months into my time there. The city where I lived had streets littered with trash: black plastic bags spread across its gardens, empty candy wrappers and soda caps on the sidewalks. It had its fair share of crazy folks and glue-sniffers on the streets. And yet…
…And yet, whenever His Majesty would come to visit, all of that would simply vanish. The streets would sparkle and shine, the glue-sniffers would be gone (locked up, perhaps?), and every single cafe, shop, and business of any kind would be adorned with a flag (or ten), and the obligatory photograph of King Mohammed VI (having one of Hassan II as well equals bonus points) would be straightened, dusted, or perhaps even hung for the first time.
Then, as the king approached down whichever flag-adorned road, crowds would gather – sometimes five or six hours in advance as if tickets were going on sale – and wait to “see” him drive by in his limo with tinted windows.
See that photo? Those flags were hung for the king’s visit to Fez in May 2008, and were gone less than 48 hours later. In less than a week, the streets were covered in trash again.
Call me simple, but I don’t see the point.
And yet, there are plenty of comments out there on this case already claiming that the government was right to treat Erraji as they did; one commenter calls Erraji’s article “defamation,” claiming that it was wrong to blame the king for Morocco’s underdevelopment, that that responsibility falls on the shoulders of 30 million Moroccans…Hmm. Just what incentive do those 30 million have to work hard?
Related posts:
- King Fahd Dead at age 84
- The Farce of Sahrawi Autonomy
- PSM: Racist Protesters Fail to Provoke Conference Attendees
- Meanwhile, Aljazeera Faces Inquisitions In Morocco
- I call BS!
Nice post. Though I have to admit, I can’t tell whether or not you’re being sarcastic with the question: “Just what incentive do those 30 million have to work hard?”
Having recently visited Palestine, I was taken back by the amount of trash I saw littering the streets. People would just throw soda cans and garbage everywhere — too the point where it has become a health concern. To me this seemed odd, especially since it’s land that the people are polluting and land that they’re fighting for. Down right disgraceful if you ask me.
I brought this up with several people there and each person posed a similar question to me, “What incentive do the people have?”
I was horrified by this response.
Yes, there are many things that people need their government to organize for them — but there are also a great number of simple things that they can do for themselves regardless of whether or not their leaders are corrupt, or even if they’re living under occupation — as is the case in Palestine.
I recognize that I’ve been living in the states all my life — and so I haven’t had to go through the physical and mental hardships associated with such circumstances — violence, depression, etc. I probably am bringing a bit of my privileged perspective to this issue, but I still find it hard to believe that any people — regardless of circumstance — can’t commit to throwing their trash on a single strip of land.
Call me naive, idealistic, ignorant, whatever — but the incentive for people to work hard, and remain steadfast, is to live the best life one can under the circumstances he/she’s been blessed or cursed with.
A shitty government with little infrastructure is no excuse for not working hard to make the best with the cards you’ve been dealt. It’s no excuse to give up entirely.
…easy for me say, I suppose.
Posted by Programmer Buydatti | September 10, 2008, 5:15 amit seems he was just released
Posted by K | September 11, 2008, 10:52 amYup, he was just provisionally released – but will be retried properly. I suppose that’s progress.
Posted by Jillian | September 11, 2008, 5:36 pm