revolution can it be exported to Algeria and Morocco?
The wind of revolution blowing in the Arab-Muslim Will it overwhelm Algeria and Morocco? For part of the press, so there must revolt it will affect Algeria, the new weak link in the Maghreb. The Moroccan monarchy, deeply rooted in history and played by a king "modern", close to his subjects would be less vulnerable. For now, the two countries, the challenge is measured and the powers that be seem ever-present. In Algeria, the opponents are struggling to mobilize crowds. The last gathering in the center of the capital has met only a few hundred people. Facing them, the security forces were far more nombreuses.Le head of state of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, sure of his strength, has published a presidential decree on 24 February to lift the state of emergency declared, in 1992, when the country was ablaze. Now, the protests will be allowed - unless ... Algiers. In Morocco, the fall of President Ben Ali in Tunisia, which has mobilized young people through social networks. Joined by associations defending human rights, training of the left and a fringe of the bustling Muslim-conservative, the Movement for Change on February 20 has yet achieved its goal. It
by hundreds of thousands (dozens, police said) that Moroccans marched in over fifty cities of the kingdom to seek a more democratic regime and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. But neither slogan or sign demand the departure of King Mohammed VI. Among the demonstrators
lonely Algiers and Rabat crowd good-read two different stories. In Algeria, a single political party has engaged in the protest movement: the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) Dr. Said Sadi. And his numbers are scarce. The division that exists among the leaders of the protest movement does not help matters. Those from the unions and the voluntary intend to rely on civil society and social forces to achieve a change of system. Before going down the street, they want to take time to build a platform of demands. Conversely, those from politics are in a hurry. Their priority is to enroll in the general movement of protest that shook the Arab world. Result, the coordination that united them was shattered.
But the failure of the challenge lies in Algeria another reason, deeper. If the Algerians are reluctant to defy the ban to protest against a power they hate the majority is that the memory of the violence of the 1990s is still alive. Some 200,000 Algerians - mostly civilians - were killed during the "dirty war" between security forces and "bearded". Few families have not lost a loved one during this decade. Mobilize a people who endured so much pain is not easy.
Morocco has not experienced such a tragedy, since the death of Hassan II, fear of the streets had disappeared. The country has he provided a picture of a "democracy which is ripening "as stated by spokesman of the government, Kalid Naciri, following the events of 20 February?
The reality is less flattering to the monarchy. The evils plaguing Tunisia, Egypt and other countries in the region are also those of Morocco Mohammed VI: a society more unequal, closed to young people looking for a job (even if they are university graduates), absolute power concentrated between the monarch and his close entourage, discredited political parties, electoral outcomes dictated by the Palais Royal, a court orders, arrest press closely.
Added to the corruption that is undermining the throne to its summit. In the telegram of a U.S. diplomat, revealed by the website Wikileaks, a businessman confides that "corrupt practices" have "institutionalized" with the advent of Mohammed VI in 1999: "In virtually every major real estate projects in the kingdom, "found" the commercial interest of the king and a handful of his advisers. " In another "memo", a former U.S. ambassador, remained close to the Palais Royal, deplored "the appalling greed of the king's entourage." In the aftermath of the march of February 20, the sovereign, installing the new members of the Economic and Social Council, a body with no real power, praised the "unique model of democracy and development" set up by him in Morocco. "By installing the Economic and Social Council, said the king, we give a strong impetus to the reform momentum that we have engaged." It's a safe bet that the leaders of the Movement for Change does not fit well. And not only them: already two political parties in the wake of events, began to advocate for constitutional reform. Mohammed VI also for the future is full of dangers.
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tuquoi@lemonde.fr
Tuquoi Jean-Pierre (International Service)
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