US embassy cable - 05RABAT2228

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RABAT 002228 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PBTS, PHUM, MO 
SUBJECT: MOROCCO POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS 
 
RABAT 00002228  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
1.  (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified. Please 
protect accordingly. 
 
2.  (U) Table of Contents 
 
 - Morocco Calls Amnesty International Report on Sub- 
Saharans "Biased" 
 - Driss Basri Speaks Out on Immigration Issue 
 - UGTM Leader Under Fire 
 - Interior Ministry Requests Mayors Cut Costs 
 - Most Moroccan Prisoners Serving Less Than Two Years 
 - IVLP Participant Highlights U.S. Values in Mosque Lecture 
 - Libyan Asylum-Seeker Finds Refuge in Tree 
 
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Morocco Calls Amnesty International Report on Sub-Saharans 
"Biased" 
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3.  (U) On October 28, GOM spokesperson and Minister of 
Communications, Nabil Benabdallah reacted against Amnesty 
International's just released report on Morocco's handling 
of the sub-Saharan migrant problem as "biased."  The Amnesty 
International report accuses Morocco, Algeria, and Spain of 
not confronting their immigration problems in an appropriate 
manner.  The report, written after a ten day fact-finding 
mission to Morocco and Spain, says law enforcement officials 
used force against the illegal immigrants which is both 
"unlawful and disproportionate, including lethal weapons." 
In a declaration to the Associated Press, Benabdallah asked 
for palpable evidence of allegations against Morocco and 
affirmed that immigrants are treated with respect and 
concern, even "if errors were made."  The GOM on October 24 
admitted responsibility for the deaths of four illegal 
immigrants who were shot by Moroccan security forces in 
northern Morocco. 
 
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Driss Basri Speaks Out on Immigration Issue 
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4.  (U) In a press interview with the Spanish daily La 
Razon, former Moroccan MOI Driss Basri criticized the GOM's 
handling of the immigration crisis.  Referring to recent 
Moroccan allegations that Algeria is the driving force 
behind Morocco's immigration troubles, Basri, who currently 
lives in France, commented, "What I don't understand is that 
every time there is a problem in Morocco, Algeria is 
automatically blamed."  He added that the real issue is bad 
management of the immigration issue in Morocco due to the 
"obvious lack of experience of Moroccan officials, 
especially that of Prime Minister Jettou." 
 
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UGTM Leader Under Fire 
---------------------- 
 
5.  (U) According to the Moroccan daily Aujourd'hui, the 
leader of the powerful General Union of Moroccan Workers 
(UGTM), Abderrazak Afilal, is involved in a financial scheme 
that has put the safety of his finances in jeopardy. 
Afilal, longtime head of the UGTM, has reportedly been 
prohibited from leaving Morocco and his financial assets 
have been frozen by the courts for corrupt business deals in 
Casablanca building projects.  Afilal has denied all 
allegations, noting that the courts have not taken action 
against him. 
 
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Interior Ministry Requests Mayors Cut Costs 
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6.  (U) Local Arabic-language daily Al Alam reported on 
October 18 that Minister of Interior Mustafa Sahel addressed 
an open letter to Mayors and Presidents of urban and rural 
communes, encouraging them to be more transparent in the 
daily management of their communes and to put an end to 
fraud and corruption.  Sahel prohibited the purchase of new 
vehicles, which are rewards often used to gain the patronage 
of local officials.  According to press reports, Sahel's 
directive is part of a ministry-launched audit in response 
to outrageously high electricity, telephone, and water bills 
 
RABAT 00002228  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
from the different communes nationwide. 
 
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Most Moroccan Prisoners Serving Less Than Two Years 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
7.  (U) According to the Moroccan daily L'Economiste, 
Minister of Justice Mohamed Bouzoubaa on October 20 
announced that 57 percent of inmates in the Moroccan 
penitentiary system are serving sentences of less than two 
years.  Bouzoubaa also explained that 18 percent of 
prisoners have sentences between two and five years, and 
added that 25 percent of inmates will be incarcerated for 
more than five years. 
 
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IVLP Participant Highlights U.S. Values in Mosque Lecture 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
8.  (SBU) Dr. Driss Kharchaf, who recently returned from a 
USG-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program in 
the U.S., delivered a Ramadan lecture in Rabat's Badr Mosque 
on October 17.  According to Embassy sources, Kharchaf 
emphasized Moroccan ignorance and misperceptions regarding 
the United States and American citizens.  Dr. Kharchaf, 
professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Mohammed V 
University in Rabat, addressed the misperception that 
Americans are anti-Islam by saying "there is still a great 
reservoir of goodwill in the United States towards people of 
other religions and Muslims in particular."  He added, "all 
we know about the Unites States is what we get from Arab 
satellite TV channels.  Let me tell you honestly that is not 
the United States I visited. Those are not the Americans I 
met with."  Dr. Kharchaf also noted, "I swear to God if I 
closed my eyes when I was there I would have said I was on a 
Muslim land.  There are so many joint values between us." 
(Dr. Kharchaf visited the U.S. in September as one of 4 
Moroccan Islamic scholars on a Single-country IVLP on 
"Promoting Religious Dialogue.") 
 
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Libyan Asylum-Seeker Finds Refuge in Tree 
----------------------------------------- 
 
9.  (SBU) A tree near the United Nations High Commission for 
Refugees and US Embassy in Rabat has been "home" to a Libyan 
asylum-seeker for nearly ten months, according to Moroccan 
press.  The asylum-seeker, Omar Ali Abu Bakr, reportedly 
fled Libya after he and his family were reportedly abused by 
Libyan authorities.  According to an embassy employee who 
recently spoke with Bakr, he said Libyan authorities have 
accused him of placing a bomb in a government conference 
room in Tripoli.  Bakr added that, in front of his eyes, 
members of his family have been killed and his wife 
assaulted.  Otherwise calm and articulate, Bakr becomes very 
emotional where speaking about his wife.  Reacting to the 
Moroccan media attention the "Libyan in the tree" has 
received, the Libyan Embassy in Rabat issued a statement on 
October 24 calling Bakr's allegations "baseless."  According 
to the statement, Bakr suffers from a mental disorder that 
has left him "noticeably perplexed and confused." 
 
10.  (SBU) Although he accepts food and water from local 
residences, Bakr refuses to accept charity, according to the 
same embassy employee.  Instead, he insists on performing 
small tasks, i.e., washing cars, for money.  According to an 
employee of the Embassy, Bakr appears extremely well-groomed 
for a man who has lived in a tree for ten months, suggesting 
he does not spend all his time in the tree.