VZCZCXYZ0009
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #0031 0061832
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY ADDED CAPTION AD7AC804 MSI7967 569)
O 061832Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2448
INFO RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 3652
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 2718
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT PRIORITY 2926
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 3943
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 8559
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA PRIORITY 1059
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS RABAT 000031 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY - ADDED CAPTION 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG,DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM MO
SUBJECT: THE KING CALLS FOR TURNING TO THE FUTURE 
 
REF: RABAT 00024 
 
¶1.  This cable is sensitive but unclassified.  Please treat 
accordingly. 
 
¶2.  (U) King Mohammed VI delivered a televised speech to the 
Moroccan nation on January 6, following midday prayers.  The 
five-minute speech was announced in the press the previous 
day to maximize interest.  In attendance were the Prime 
Minister, the speakers of Parliament, cabinet members, senior 
military officers, leaders of political parties and trade 
unions, members of the Consultative Council for Human Rights 
(CCDH), members of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission 
(IER), and, most unusually, family members of some human 
rights victims identified by the IER. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) A target audience for the King's speech was 
Moroccan youth.  According to Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP), the 
official press agency, the King stressed that "it is high 
time we turned to the present and the future of our sons" by 
being "committed to hard work, by pursuing the (same) 
sacrifices made by the generations of independence and the 
Green March eras (Note:  a reference to King Hassan II's 
inspired march to claim the Western Sahara thirty years ago. 
End Note.), and by forging ahead with a broad-based reform 
process, boosted by the resolve and enthusiasm of our youth." 
 
¶4.  (U) The King reaffirmed his orders to publish the IER's 
final report, along with the country's human development 
achievements and future potential.  He emphasized that the 
first fifty years of independence, i.e., 1956 to the present, 
provide lessons that "will shield our country from a 
repetition of what happened, and enable it to make up for 
what was lost."  (Note:  The King was referring in part to 
the gross human rights abuses documented by the IER's final 
report. End Note.) 
 
¶5.  (U) In no way allowing his father to be the scapegoat for 
any past mistakes, the King referred to Hassan II's 
"groundbreaking" process in the 1990s which set the stage for 
the IER.  He applauded the IER's work and charged the 
Consultative Council on Human Rights (CCDH) to implement the 
IER's recommendations in order to support "my determination 
to promote the pursuit of truth, justice and reconciliation." 
 Importantly,  the King defined reconciliation not as putting 
the past "behind us" but rather as "collective forgiveness." 
This "collective forgiveness" will "bolster the in-depth 
institutional reform under way, one that should enable our 
country to free itself from the blemishes of past civil and 
political rights abuses."  This would pave the way for "the 
second fifty-year post-independence period, and focus on the 
hard, decisive mission of promoting the economic, social and 
cultural rights of all Moroccans, especially those who suffer 
from poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and marginalization." 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Comment:  The key words in the King's speech are 
"collective forgiveness," and the King sets the issue firmly 
within the Quran, sprinkling scriptural allusions where 
appropriate.  He has deliberately set the IER in the context 
of Morocco's development and evolution, as though to say 
mistakes were made but the future is bright if the people 
join together to focus on the challenges ahead.  This 
approach of exhorting the people to action is in line with 
many of his recent speeches, whether the target audience was 
political parties, civic organizations, or youth.  He 
directly asks the elite to "resume their role in guiding the 
nation."  The King clearly wants the citizenry to support and 
participate in the reforms which can alleviate, if not 
eradicate, the problems facing Morocco.  By linking the IER's 
final recommendations with the comprehensive study of the 
last fifty years of development and emphasizing a vision of 
the future, the King has asked Moroccans to become full, 
participating citizens of their country, challenging them to 
take action in a constructive manner.  End Comment. 
****************************************** 
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat 
****************************************** 
 
Riley