US embassy cable - 05RABAT2016

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RABAT 002016 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG, NEA/OFI 
PARIS FOR ZEYA AND DEA 
LONDON FOR TSOU 
ROME FOR ROSE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PBTS, SNAR, MO 
SUBJECT: MOROCCO POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS 
 
 
1.  Table of Contents 
 
  - King Mohammed Shows He's a Man of the People 
  - Swedish MPs Visit Laayoune 
  - Socialist Alliance Holds Town Meetings in Western Sahara 
  - PJD Organizes "Brotherhood Caravan" 
  - Drug Seizure in the North 
 
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KING MOHAMMED SHOWS HE'S A MAN OF THE PEOPLE 
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2.  Foregoing an opportunity to lobby the world on the 
Western Sahara at UNGA, King Mohammed VI elected instead to 
stay home in Morocco to launch projects related to the 
Palace-initiated National Human Development Initiative (INDH) 
and demonstrate to Moroccans that he is a man of the people. 
Coming on the heels of his widely covered visits to urban 
sites in Tetouan and Casablanca, the King -- accompanied by 
his brother, Moulay Rachid, and local officials -- traveled 
to Meknes on September 19-22 where he kicked off INDH 
projects on drinking water and liquid sanitation; 
construction of a socio-cultural center; olive tree 
cultivation; and rural roads and highways.  Ditching at the 
last minute his pre-arranged program, which had him visiting 
freshly painted neighborhoods on a red carpet, the King 
instead ventured tie-less into popular neighborhoods where he 
talked with local residents, kissed babies and got his shoes 
dusty.  Powerful images of the King on television kneeling to 
embrace a severely disabled youngster at Meknes' El Ichrak 
Center of Education, Training and Integration of Disabled 
Children have caused the most sensation.  The King's travels 
have been a huge hit with the people and the press and have 
set a powerful example for government ministers -- who were 
invited to accompany him -- to emulate.  King Mohammed next 
travels to Oujda on the Algerian border in the north. 
 
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SWEDISH MPs VISIT LAAYOUNE 
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3.  A delegation of Swedish parliamentarians (MPs) visited 
Laayoune and Rabat on September 15-21, according to Moroccan 
news reports.  In Laayoune, the Swedish delegation met with 
the new Wali, Charki Draiss; Sahrawi MPs; local elected 
officials; members of civil society; and former Polisario 
officials.  In his meeting with the delegation, the Wali 
restated Morocco's call for a "negotiated political solution" 
to the Western Sahara that would guarantee Morocco's unity 
and sovereignty over its "southern provinces."  He reportedly 
recounted the suffering of Moroccan citizens "sequestered" in 
Tindouf who, having been forced to go to Tindouf, have become 
a "bargaining chip" for the "enemies" of Morocco's 
territorial integrity.  In Rabat, the delegation met with 
Parliament Speaker Abdelwahed Radi, Minister of Health 
Mohamed Cheikh Biadillah (a Sahrawi) and Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs Secretary General Omar Hilal.  Interviewed on 
Moroccan national television on September 20, the Swedish MPs 
said they were pleased to see for themselves the "real 
picture" of what is going on in Laayoune rather than being 
told by others.  They said they were "surprised" by the level 
of development and infrastructure they witnessed in Laayoune. 
 
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SOCIALIST ALLIANCE HOLDS TOWN MEETINGS IN WESTERN SAHARA 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
4.  According to Moroccan daily Al Bayane, members of 
parliament's Socialist Alliance caucus held a series of town 
gatherings in Boujdor, Dakhla, Laayoune and Smara in the 
Western Sahara on September 18-21.  The purpose of the 
meetings was to give the local population an opportunity to 
vent freely and openly their frustrations with the national 
government.  Socialist Alliance caucus leader Mohammed 
Ahajjam, who visited the US earlier this year, pledged to the 
participants that his caucus would transmit their comments 
and complaints to the appropriate authorities and take up 
their cause with vigor in parliament.  Frequent problems 
cited by the participants, according to Al Bayane, included 
complaints about 1) the absence of politicians in their 
districts except at election time; 2) elected officials who 
forget their election promises; 3) elected officials who only 
take care of their friends and those close to them once in 
office; 4) lack of jobs, especially among Sahrawi youth; 5) 
unhealthy living conditions; 6) a public school system that 
does not measure up to expectations; 7) a poor public health 
system; 8) abuses of power; and 9) a suffocating and slow 
bureaucracy.  Al Bayane reported that not one participant 
ever denied or questioned their identity as Moroccans during 
the discussions. 
 
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PJD ORGANIZES "BROTHERHOOD CARAVAN" 
----------------------------------- 
 
5.  In an initiative conceived by the Islamist Party of 
Justice and Development (PJD), Morocco's political parties 
will launch the "Brotherhood Caravan" on October 23, 
according to Moroccan news reports.  The caravan will feature 
the voyage of 16 families -- chosen to represent each of 
Morocco's 16 regions -- through 7 Moroccan cities to 
destinations in Laayoune, Smara and Dakhla in the Western 
Sahara where they will take up residence with 16 Sahrawi 
families.  Symbolizing that all Moroccans are members of the 
same family, the 16 Sahrawi families will then make a similar 
trip in reverse traveling north to take up residence in a 
home located in each of Morocco's 16 regions.  According to 
reports, the caravan will depart Fes (Istiqlal) on October 23 
and travel through Meknes (PJD), Rabat (National Movement), 
Casablanca and Marrakech (Constitutional Union), Agadir 
(Socialist Union of Popular Forces), and Tiznit (Party of 
Progress and Socialism) where the traveling families will be 
treated to a big rally hosted by the respective locally 
elected mayor (whose respective party affiliations are 
indicated above in parentheses).  In addition to members of 
the Moroccan press, 16 foreign journalists will be invited to 
travel with the caravan.  According to PJD parliamentarian 
Lahcen Daoudi, the caravan is being organized to coincide 
with the 30th anniversary of the Green March on November 6. 
 
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DRUG SEIZURE IN THE NORTH 
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6.  According to Moroccan daily L'economiste, the Royal 
Gendarmerie of Tetouan seized two tons of hashish in a rural 
village near the northern mountain town of Chefchaouen on 
September 19.  One drug trafficker was arrested in the 
operation. 
RILEY