Ambassador Edward M. Gabriel (ret.) July 29, 2019 On July 29th of this year, the twentieth anniversary of the enthronement of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, I published an article focusing on his first twenty years as king, recalling the vision he set forth in his earliest speech, as well as discussing his achievements and continuing challenges, which I said rested mainly in his hands. I also noted that, in spite of
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Jean R. AbiNader August 17, 2019 While demonstrations and regime reactions in Algeria have remained peaceful for the most part, continued tensions are taking a toll on the demonstrators and the army. The protesters have been unable to form a consensus on negotiators and preconditions acceptable to the Army, which is clearly in charge of the country yet unclear as to how to maintain control and come up with acceptable
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Ambassador Edward M. Gabriel (ret.) July 29, 2019 Twenty years after King Mohammed VI succeeded his father to the throne, opinions are bound to circulate on how successful he’s been as the leader of Morocco. Having served as US ambassador to Morocco from 1997-2001 and an adviser to the King for 15 years, these observations reflect a rather distinct perspective. It’s a story filled with both achievements and continuing challenges,
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Jean R. AbiNader July 18, 2019 The recent report posted in the Global Corruption Barometer – Africa 2019 presented a mixed picture on Morocco today and when compared to 2015. The survey of 1,200 Moroccans was taken in May 2018and was part of a larger 35 country effort from September 2016 – September 2018, which sampled 47,000 people. On the Morocco infographic, the first item is that 53% of respondents
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Robert M. Holley July 15, 2019 At the recent 14th session of the Morocco/European Union Association Council meeting in Brussels, the European Union joined its language concerning Western Sahara with that of the United Nations Security Council. All the buzzwords were present in the EU statement on the issue at the close of the session: realistic, pragmatic, sustainable, and compromise, along with the description of Morocco’s autonomy initiative as serious and
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