Echoing the actions of governments across the region, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI responded to a growing wave of public protests in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya earlier this year with a two-tiered pledge of political reform and increased financial aid to the local population. Although the country had largely escaped the kind of large-scale demonstrations that filled city centres in Cairo and Tunis, Morocco’s February 20 movement of reform-minded groups and members of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) garnered support as the country’s version of the Arab Spring. After nearly tripling food and fuel subsidies and increasing government worker salaries, the king introduced a new constitution … [Read more...] about Morocco sets path for reform but questions of impact linger
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Bombing the road to democracy
It was the biggest terrorist attack on Moroccan soil since 12 suicide bombers killed 33 people in distinct locations in Casablanca eight years ago. Since the carnage on April 28, Moroccan police have arrested three men, and according to the information so far released by the Interior Ministry, the main suspect, believed to be a Moroccan man in his twenties, had planned to experience jihadist combat abroad in places such as Chechnya and Iraq, before turning his attention to a home-made bomb which he apparently took six months to construct. The location of the café made it certain that most of the victims would be Westerners, as was the case. But was this just a desire to spill … [Read more...] about Bombing the road to democracy