Headlines, Human Rights, Middle East & North Africa

JOURNALISM-MOROCCO: ‘After Tomorrow’ Seeks Press Freedom Today

Tito Drago

MADRID, Feb 6 2004 (IPS) - Moroccan journalist Ali Lmrabet, newly released from prison and as determined as ever, is set to publish a new magazine, ‘Apres Demain’ (After Tomorrow). He was convicted last year on charges of “insulting the person” of King Mohammad VI.

Lmrabet was born in France but, having dual nationality, he decided to settle in Morocco. He is married to a Spaniard.

It was as the director of the satirical weekly magazine ‘Demain’ (Tomorrow) that his trouble began. Last year the magazine published several caricatures, a photo-montage and an article about the budget of Morocco’s royal household. It also reprinted the interview of a pro-republic Moroccan that had originally appeared in the Spanish daily Avui.

The publication of that material ultimately cost him his freedom. He was put behind bars on May 21, 2003, after being sentenced that same day to four years in prison for disrespect to the king and offence against the monarchy and the territorial integrity of Morocco, according to the court decision.

Having served five months in which international demands for his release went unheard, Lmrabet began a second hunger strike in November that became life-threatening, according to the doctors who treated him.

Finally, as a result of pressure from governments and rights organisations around the world, he was pardoned and freed on Jan. 6.

Now he is preparing to launch the weekly ‘Apres Demain’, he says, “before the end of March.” Like its predecessor, the new magazine will be published in French and Arabic, the two official languages of Morocco.

Lmrabet says he is aware of the new dangers he faces, but also that he cannot and must not remain silent.

The Moroccan journalist spoke with IPS in an interview:

– You were convicted on charges of disrespecting the king and offence against the state. In your new publication, will you refrain from providing a motive for a second trial?

– I have not shown disrespect for the king, I did not commit any offence, nor did I act against the territorial integrity of my country. I only expressed opinions and published information. Of course the new magazine will not commit any offence against anyone, nor will it question the territorial integrity of my country.

– Does that imply there will be a regressive change in your editorial line?

– No, not at all. I believe that now it is more necessary than ever to express oneself with freedom – with respect, without lying, without insulting, but with the liberty to be able to state opinions and disseminate information to our readers.

– How big do you think the readership of ‘Apres Demain’ will be?

– If we keep in mind that when ‘Demain’ was shut down it was the magazine with greatest circulation in Morocco, and with all of the commotion caused by its closing, my imprisonment and the campaign for my release, I’m sure that it will surpass the 60,000 copies we were selling then.

– How would you explain the fact that your magazine had the largest circulation but at the same time the king has the support of the majority of the Moroccan people?

– It is true that if there were a vote today and Mohammad VI were a candidate, he would win; product of the fear that reigns in my country. But that will change in the medium term. That fear emerges from the great power he flaunts, because he reigns, governs and engages in business. Let us not forget that 60 percent of the shares traded on the Casablanca Stock Exchange belong to the royal family. He has been able to unite the great middle class and the political class, including the former opposition.

– You and your team of journalists are referred to as a political formation of the opposition.

– No, that is not true. We are not a political group, nor do we take it upon ourselves to act in opposition. We simply inform and give opinions on current issues, and that is considered a serious matter in today’s Morocco, where the king ignores the constitution and the laws that the monarchy itself has imposed. There is no political project that is worth the trouble.

Our constitution needs a reform that would democratise it, that would make the parliament a truly representative body and not a mere rubber stamp for the royal decisions. But this is an issue that does not concern the current political leaders.

– Is the lack of freedom in Morocco a consequence of the country’s lack of development?

– No, just the opposite: for there to be development, there must be freedom. We need sustainable development in our country, but it will only be possible to achieve if we have a democratic system in which popular sovereignty and liberty are respected.

– Did most Moroccans support the campaign for your release?

– I had support, undoubtedly, but I don’t think it was from the majority, because the people still fear power. What I did see was the solidarity of the independent press and of many of my colleagues. And I want to underline that I received strong international encouragement, in addition to the support from individual journalists and from organisations like Reporters Without Borders.

– In addition to the support from journalists, who else would you mention?

– I would highlight the support of the governments of Spain and the United States. As for Spain, not only did the president of its government, José María Aznar, publicly raise my case during his official visit to Marrakech, the leader of the opposition, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was the first Spanish politician to publicly express concern, just days after my imprisonment.

– Where will you publish your new magazine, in France or Spain?

– In Morocco, without thinking twice. While I was in prison I thought and I said that once I was released I would return to my work, and now I confirm that decision.

– Do you fear being imprisoned again?

– There will always be that danger, but my commitment to my country and as well as to all of the people and institutions that supported me have motivated me to publish ‘Apres Demain’ in Morocco. Of course I will comply with the laws, as I always have done, but without renouncing freedom of expression, which is a fundamental right of all peoples of the world.

– Reporters Without Borders was at the forefront of the international campaign for your release. Do you agree with everything that the group does? Do you think its position on Cuba is the correct approach?

– I greatly appreciate the actions that Reporters Without Borders carries out in favour of freedom of the press and the respect it has for the work of journalists, including its appeal to Cuba to respect press freedoms and not to imprison our colleagues, as has happened, for merely exercising our profession and for wanting to do so without censorship.