This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 RABAT 000896 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/MAG, NEA/PI 
USAID/W FOR ANE/MEA AND ANE/TS - SARA BORODIN 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH 
ROME FOR ROSE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2015 
TAGS: KDEM KPKO KTFN MO PGOV PREL PTER SNAR
SUBJECT: MOROCCO POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS 
 
REF: A. RABAT 762 
     ¶B. RABAT 792 
 
Classified By: Poloff Chad Stevens for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
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JETTOU IN INDONESIA, MEETS WITH BOUTEFLIKA 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶1.  (U) In Jakarta for the April 22-23 Africa-Asia summit, PM 
Jettou signed the new African-Asian strategic partnership 
declaration calling for collective action to address common 
issues like terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and 
organized crime, and committing countries to meeting 
internationally agreed targets for poverty eradication, 
development, and growth, according to the Morocco Times.  The 
declaration also expresses support to the Palestinian people 
for the creation of a viable and sovereign state, pledges 
solidarity with the Tsunami victims, and agrees to establish 
a tsunami warning system to prevent future disasters.  To 
institutionalize the partnership, foreign ministers from the 
two continents will meet every two years and heads of state 
every four.  Jettou read a statement from King Mohammed VI at 
the conference.  French-language daily L'Economiste reported 
that Jettou met with Algerian President Bouteflika on the 
margins of the conference to discuss ways to enhance 
bilateral cooperation in all areas and encourage broader 
Maghreb cooperation.  Jettou also met with Libyan FM Shalgham 
to discuss Moroccan-Libyan relations.  FM Benaissa reportedly 
attended both meetings. 
 
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HUMAN RIGHTS 
------------ 
 
¶2.  (C) EU Standing Pat on Lmrabet:  Dutch DCM Caroline 
Vejiers told Polcouns April 29 that EU DCMs had met recently 
to discuss whether to intervene on behalf of controversial 
French-Morocco journalist Ali Lmrabet, recently banned from 
publishing in Morocco for ten years (Ref A).  The consensus 
among the EU group was not to intervene at this time, 
although all were concerned about the implications of the 
case for press freedom in Morocco.  Vejiers said there was 
concern within the group about raising a ruckus over one 
individual who deliberately seeks to provoke the Palace 
(Concerning the issue of press freedom, we note that Morocco 
drop a few notches in Freedom House's just released annual 
survey of global press freedom). 
 
¶3.  (U) Justice Cooperation with UAE:  On the heels of King 
Mohammed's visit to the UAE April 26-28, Morocco has 
reportedly agreed to put a group of judges at the disposal of 
the UAE to expand cooperation in the judicial sector.  MOJ 
Bouzoubaa, who accompanied the King during the visit, also 
announced that he and his counterpart reviewed the 
possibility of holding a seminar to discuss the family code 
in light of Morocco's experience with the new reform. 
 
¶4.  (U) Morocco Reelected to UN Human Rights Commission: 
Morocco was among 15 states elected to the UN Human Rights 
Commission for a three-year mandate on April 27.  Botswana, 
Cameroon, and Zimbabwe were also nominated to sit on the UN 
Human Rights Commission by the African Group of countries. 
 
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KING DEMANDS CHARITIES AUDIT 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Following King Mohammed VI,s celebrated surprise 
visit and inspection on April 2 of Morocco's oldest orphanage 
at Ain Chock (in Casablanca), after which the King denounced 
the deplorable sanitary and living conditions of the 
orphanage, the Minister of Social Development, Family and 
Solidarity, Abderrahim Harouchi, and the Moroccan charitable 
umbrella organization, L,Entraide nationale, conducted an 
audit of Morocco's 500 orphanages..  In a press conference on 
April 26, Harouchi said the audit found that thirty-seven of 
the orphanages provided miserable living conditions similar 
to those uncovered by the King and Harouchi at Ain Chock, and 
will need an allocation of some USD 7 million to raise living 
conditions to acceptable standards.  A further 231 orphanages 
were determined to be in fair operating condition, but would 
need a further USD 7.8 million to provide acceptable service. 
 One hundred forty-two institutions were judged to provide 
satisfactory living, social, and educational services.  In 
all, Morocco's 500 orphanages are home to some 47,000 
inhabitants.  (Note:  Harouchi is also president of Moroccan 
NGO AFAK, which is a former beneficiary of the Mission's 
small grants program.  Among other activities, the Mission 
funded AFAK to provide a public awareness campaign about 
reforms to the family code.  End Note). 
 
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MOJ BOUZOUBAA AT BANGKOK CONFERENCE 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Speaking on the margins of the UN's 11th Congress on 
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice on April 23 in 
Thailand, Justice Minister Mohamed Bouzoubaa said that 
Morocco is launching a "multi-dimensional" strategy to fight 
organized crime and is upgrading its penal tools by enhancing 
the independence of its judicial system, which will guarantee 
fair trials and protect the rule of law, according to 
Morocco's official news agency, Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP). 
He announced that Morocco was introducing legislation to 
bring the country into compliance with international 
conventions on terrorism, illegal immigration, money 
laundering, drug and arms trafficking, cyber crime, and 
corruption.  Bouzoubaa also reportedly met with counterparts 
from Indonesia, Portugal, Thailand, and Turkey while in 
Bangkok to discuss ways to enhance bilateral justice 
cooperation and information sharing. 
 
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NARCOTICS 
--------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Eight Tons Seized in Casablanca:  Following 
Casablanca's record 16-ton drug seizure on April 7 (Ref B), 
according to MAP, Casablanca port authorities seized another 
8.5 tons of hashish on April 16 that was hidden among some 
22,000 packages in a purported shipment of small marble 
plaques on board a truck registered to "PRONATU Maroc" in 
Kenitra (50 kilometers north of Rabat).  Police are looking 
for the firm's Spanish owner who disappeared after the 
incident.  The drugs reportedly have a street value of 80 
million Dirhams (USD 9.4 million).  PRONATU Maroc specializes 
in the construction industry. 
 
¶8.  (U) 2.8 Tons in Saadia:  On April 22, the Moroccan Navy 
seized 2.8 tons of chira (a hashish derivative) in a midnight 
operation in the eastern Mediterranean area of Saadia, 
according to MAP.  The drugs were confiscated on board a 
small boat that was located six nautical miles off the 
Moroccan coast.  The three passengers, including two 
Spaniards and one Moroccan, were arrested. 
 
¶9.  (U) Jet Ski Smuggling:  Demonstrating the increasing 
creativity of Morocco's drug traffickers, the Spanish Civil 
Guard arrested two Moroccans (one of whom was a minor) on 
April 28 near the Spanish port of Algesiras after they were 
intercepted aboard a jet ski in an attempt to smuggle 100 
kilos of hashish into Spain, according to MAP.  An echo radar 
that captured the movement of a small-engined object 
traveling at high speeds in the middle of the night 
reportedly tipped off the Civil Guard to the shipment.  The 
two suspects reportedly were found suffering from symptoms of 
hypothermia when stopped by the Civil Guard. 
 
¶10.  (U) Cocaine Traffickers Arrested:  On April 19, 
according to MAP, the Moroccan police dismantled two "cocaine 
trafficking rings operating between the cities of Fez and 
Casablanca and northern Morocco.  Six individuals were 
arrested and charged with possession, consumption, and 
trafficking in hard drugs.  The police also reportedly seized 
over "1,000 doses" of cocaine, and are searching for another 
14 individuals linked to the case. 
 
¶11.  (U) Trafficker Arrested in Tetouan:  The Moroccan police 
in Tetouan arrested on April 27 a suspected cocaine and 
heroine trafficker in Tetouan's Boujrah neighborhood, 
according to MAP.  MAP did not reveal the trafficker's 
identity, but reported his alias was "Debana."  His arrest 
follows that of several of his accomplices.  Debana 
reportedly acquired the drugs in the nearby Spanish enclave 
of Ceuta (Sebta in Arabic). 
 
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SPANISH DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER VISITS MOROCCO 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶12.  (U) Spanish deputy prime minister Maria Teresa Fernandez 
de la Vega led a two-day "working visit" to Morocco on April 
25-26, according to media sources.  Fernandez discussed 
bilateral relations, illegal immigration issues, and economic 
cooperation with PM Jettou, Minister of Communications Nabil 
Benabdellah, and Parliament Speaker Abdelwahed Radi during 
the visit.  Fernandez told reporters that Morocco represents 
a "fundamental axis" in Spanish foreign policy, and she 
applauded the King's visit to Madrid on the occasion of the 
one-year anniversary of the March 11 bombings as a "gesture 
of solidarity that the Spanish people will never forget."  In 
an interview with Moroccan daily Le Matin, Fernandez stated 
that the Western Sahara is not a "hindrance" to 
Spanish-Morocco relations.  "We think we need not limit 
ourselves to making rhetorical statements about this issue," 
she said, "nor remain under the umbrella of the United 
Nations without bringing an active contribution...to solving 
a dispute that has lingered for many years." 
 
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2004 RECORD ON HUMAN SMUGGLING 
------------------------------ 
 
¶13.  (U) Speaking at his weekly oral and written question 
session at parliament on April 27, Interior Minister El 
Mustapha Sahel said the Moroccan government dismantled 425 
human smuggling networks in 2004, representing a 60-percent 
increase over its performance in 2003, according to MAP. 
Sahel indicated that the GOM arrested 26,000 candidates to 
illegal immigration last year, including 9,000 Moroccans and 
17,000 others, mostly from Sub-Saharan Africa.  He noted that 
through the first quarter in 2005, the GOM has arrested a 
total of 7,600 would-be illegal immigrants, including 6,000 
from Sub-Saharan countries.  Additionally, according to the 
Interior Ministry, 1,148 persons were arrested and convicted 
in 2004 for migrant smuggling and human smuggling offenses, 
including so-called "organizers" and "facilitators."  They 
received prison sentences from two to five years. 
 
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WEBSITE FOR AMU PRESS 
--------------------- 
 
¶14.  (U) MAP reported that the Arab Maghreb Union's (AMU) 
pool of news agencies launched its joint web site on April 15 
in compliance with the recommendations of the 13th conference 
of the pool's general assembly, held on March 31-April 1 in 
Nouakchott.  The web site can be found at www.pooluma.org. 
 
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MEPI IMPLEMENTERS 
----------------- 
 
¶15.  (SBU) CRS Closes Its Doors:  Following the visit this 
week of the organization's Beirut-based Regional Director, 
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has decided to scale back its 
activities in Morocco after 49 years of working in the rural 
areas in Morocco.  CRS Director Suzanne Manzer told mission 
officers April 28 that CRS traditionally focuses on poor 
countries, and Morocco no longer qualified as such in CRS 
thinking.  The only program CRS would try to continue, Manzer 
said, was its MEPI-funded project in Al Haouz province 
outside of Marrakech, aimed at promoting democratic 
strengthening and effective local government.  Manzer said 
that CRS planned to apply for a second year of funding from 
MEPI and bring a project manager from the CRS office in Cairo 
to continue the project.  Manzer expects to depart Morocco 
this summer after three years as Country Director and will 
not be replaced. 
 
¶16.  (SBU) IRI Organizing Turkish MP Event:  In an April 27 
meeting with the Ambassador, International Republican 
Institute (IRI) resident director for Morocco, Sarah Johnson, 
said its Ref B program to bring three Turkish 
parliamentarians from Turkey's ruling Islamist party to meet 
with Moroccan parties, including the Islamist Party for 
Justice and Development (PJD), has been set for May 12-16. 
Although the schedule has not yet been finalized, Johnson 
informed the Ambassador that IRI is organizing a multi-party 
event at parliament on May 13 and that May 14 has been set 
aside for one-on-one meetings with the PJD.  Johnson told 
Poloff separately that in a courtesy meeting with Turkish 
first secretary Turker Ari on April 28, Ari pushed for the 
Turkish Embassy to play a prominent role in the event as it 
sought to win points in the area of democracy promotion. 
Johnson said Ari seemed to want to link the event to the G8's 
Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) initiative and 
to take full credit on behalf of the Turkish government.  He 
pressed her hand on IRI's funding sources and wanted the 
Turkish Embassy to "facilitate" IRI's official invitation to 
the event to the Moroccan parliament.  Johnson informed him 
that IRI is an independent American NGO with a variety of 
funding sources, and that its work is unrelated to the G8 or 
the BMENA process.  She respectfully declined Ari's offer to 
assist but said she would be interested in collaborating on 
other events in the future. 
 
¶17.  (SBU) ABA Gets Down to Programming:  The American Bar 
Association (ABA) office in Rabat, which opened its doors in 
September 2004, has obtained approval from its Washington 
office to establish a second human rights law clinic in 
Morocco.  Following this approval, ABA will partner with the 
Law Faculty at Sale (Rabat's sister city), and plans to 
establish a human rights law clinic at the University of 
Mohammedia (near Casablanca) for this DRL-funded project. 
Meanwhile, ABA has also completed its assessment of the 
structure and operation of the judicial system in Morocco and 
reported to Poloff on April 17, that it is close to signing a 
memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Justice to 
begin program activities on its MEPI-funded programs in the 
areas of judicial education and training, criminal law and 
development, judicial outreach and confidence building, and 
women in the law. 
 
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RESEAU MAILLAGE EXPANDS IN TEMARA, PLANS MAY 16 EVENTS 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶18.  (SBU) Moroccan youth organization Reseau Maillage 
leader, Ahmed Ghayet, told Poloff that a third member 
association was created in Temara (outside Rabat) on April 
¶28.  The new association brings the total number of Maillage 
adherents in the 60,000-person economically depressed city to 
100 youths.  The new group, which is made up of mostly 17- to 
18-year olds, is known as the "babies of Maillage" within the 
national association, Ghayet noted.  Ghayet said the Maillage 
associations were planning another series of events to 
commemorate the third anniversary of the May 16 terrorist 
bombings in Casablanca.  He indicated that Maillage hopes to 
assemble a group of young Americans, Moroccans, and Spaniards 
-- corresponding to the "common suffering" their countries 
were subjected to in the 9/11, May 16, and March 11, 2004 
terrorist attacks in New York, Casablanca, and Madrid -- to 
participate in the events.  The program will kick off with 
the delivering of flowers to Hotel Farah (one of the May 16 
attack sites) in Casablanca, and include an exposition of 
youth art in May 16 Plaza with musical accompaniment. 
RILEY