TIMELINE - MOROCCO
June 2014
TIMELINE
MOROCCO
This project is supported by Compagnia di San Paolo
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
2010
November 25th: European Parliament passes a resolution strongly condemning Morocco’s dealing
of the Gdeim Izik crisis. Its President Jerzy Buzek passes it on to the European Council, the
European Commission, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy, the Secretary-General of the UN, the Secretary-General of the African Union, the
Delegation of the European Parliament for relations with the Maghreb countries and the Arab
Maghreb Union, the Office of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, the government
and the parliament of Morocco, the Polisario Front, as well as to the parliaments and governments
of Algeria and Mauritania.
December 2nd: The Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament hears Moroccan
Minister of Foreign Affairs Taïeb Fassi Fihri who condemns the “unfair and untrue” resolution “as
to the terms used and the facts mentioned”.
2011
January 10th-19th: Anticipating alimentary scarcity, Morocco imports 255,000 tons of wheat.
January 13th: The Moroccan Coordination for the Support of Moroccan Democrats’s sit-in in front
of the Tunisian embassy is violently disbanded.
January 14th: Three young e-activists from Meknes create a Facebook group “Some Moroccans talk
with the King”.
January 27th: The Facebook group “Some Moroccans talk with the King” is renamed the
“Freedom and Democracy Now Movement”. A call is launched for demonstrations on
February 27th. In order to prevent overlap with the anniversary of the birth of the Sahrawi
Arab Democratic Republic the demonstration is later brought forward to February 20th.
January 28th: A former member of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) youth movement
from Salé broadcasts a video on YouTube that shows him reading the call of the “Freedom and
Democracy Now Movement” undisguised.
February 3rd: Al Massae, Morocco’s most popular daily newspaper accuses the young activists
behind the call to serve Algeria and the Polisario Front’s interests. While the call widens, anyone
calling for demonstration on February 20th comes under increasing criticism from mainstream
media and cabinet members.
February 7th-8th: Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Taïeb Fassi Fihri meets European
Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule in Rabat. The
latter announces an increase in EU financial aid. The funding agreement signed grants Morocco 2
billions dirhams (200 mln EUR) for the fulfilment of the advanced status’s objectives, the largest
cooperation programme ever funded by the EU in Morocco. Fule recognizes the efforts made by the
kingdom and re-affirms EU support in the development process of the country.
February 10th: The Government promises the integration of one thousand unemployed graduates
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
(diplomés chômeurs) into the public service without exams.
Death of Mourad Raho in Benguerir (26 yrs old) after he set himself alights to protest against his
dismissal from the army. His death comes after six immolation attempts.
February 12th: In response to the numerous attacks targetting the “February 20th Movement”
(M20F), young activists from Rabat broadcast a call to demonstrate on YouTube in which they
explain the necessity of the demonstration and insist upon their Moroccan identity.
Resumption of the social dialogue between the government and the unions.
A sit-in in solidarity with the Egyptian revolution takes place in front of the Parliament. With the
tacit agreement of the authorities the sit-in turns into a debate about the February 20th
demonstration.
Young activists from Rabat meet and rethink the M20F’s platform, adding new demands, removing
reference to the monarchy and mentioning instead the ruling of the country by a constituent
Assembly.
February 15th: Increase of subsidies to staple products to 1, 4 billion euros and multiplication by
two of the clearing banks’ budget.
February 16th: Justice and Charity’s (Al Adl Wa Al Ihssane) youth movement states it will take part
to the M20F’s demonstrations.
February 17th: The Justice and Development Party’s (PJD) youth movement issues a statement
supporting the M20F and withdraws it straight away due to pressure from the Party’s leaders.
Secretary-General Abdellilah Benkirane declares unilaterally the boycott of the M20F by his party.
Three members of the Office of the Secretary-general resign and one of them create “Baraka”, a
movement that will take part in the first demonstrations.
February 18th: In reaction to the hesitations of the USFP’s leaders concerning the M20F members of
the party issue a statement signed by the “USFPists of February 20th”.
February 19th: Citing Hicham Ahalla, Rachid Antid and Ahmed Qatib, the three young e-activists
who created the first Facebook group “Some Moroccans talk with the King”, Morocco’s official
news agency Maghreb Arabe Press declares that the demonstrations of February 20 th have been
cancelled. The M20F’s leaders immediately belie this information on social networks.
February 20th: M20F demonstrations take place over 53 cities following the call on Facebook.
The police tally 37 000 demonstrators while the organisers talk about 238 000 people. In general the
marches are peaceful except for end-of-day troubles in a few cities (blazes, destruction of material
goods, 6 dead, 128 wounded out of which 115 policemen and 120 arrests according to the Interior
Ministry).
February 21st: During the set up of the Social and Economic Council (an institution intended by the
1996 Constitution) Mohammed VI affirms his will to implement structural reforms but warns that
the process will be a continuous one clear from demagogy and improvisation.
February 23rd: Death of Karim Chaïb (21 years old) as a result of injuries received during the M20F
demonstration in Sefrou.
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
Death of Fadoua Laroui, a 25-year old single mother of two who set herself alight two days earlier
in Souk Sebt after the refusal of the local authorities to grant her social housing.
February 27th: Taïeb Fassi Fihri meets William J. Burns, the American Under-Secretary of State for
Political Affairs in Rabat. The latter underlines the importance of the American-Moroccan
relationship in a context of “regional troubles” and reaffirms Washington’s support to the
Moroccan’s autonomy plan to solve the crisis in Western Sahara.
March 3rd: Mohammed VI declares the transformation of the Consultation Council for Human
Rights into the National Council for Human Rights. A former far left-wing convict and former
President of the Truth and Justice Forum, Mohammed Sebbar is appointed as Secretary General.
March 9th: Mohammed VI enounces an in-depth Constitution reform during a speech
broadcasted on national television.
March 10th: Creation of the Consultative Commission for the Revision of the Constitution (CCRC).
The king appoints 19 members, including Abdellatif Mennouni as President.
March 12th: Morocco and the European Union sign a 255 million dirhams (25, 5 mln EURO)
funding agreement for a programme aimed at developing remote regions.
March 13th: A demonstration is violently repressed in Casablanca. Demonstrators seek shelter next
to the Unified Socialist Party’s headquarters during the latter’s National Conference. Demonstrators
organise a sit-un and are violently dispersed once again.
March 15th: Inhabitants from some parts of Khouribga and the police clash after the dismantlement
of tents belonging to demonstrators who have been demanding for a month their integration into the
Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP).
March 17th: Creation of the institution of ombudsman as a replacement to the Diwan Al Madhalim.
March 20th: New demonstrations of the M20F in more than 80 cities. Each section organise
demonstrations according to its own agenda. Henceforth, on the 20th of each month a national
demonstration is staged, with the appearance of leading figures, artists and entrepreneurs.
March 23rd: Taïeb Fassi Fihri meets Hillary Clinton, American Secretary of State in Washington.
During a joint press conference the former underlines the necessity to find a solution for Western
Sahara, and calls for the USA and the EU to work along the Arab countries to prevent Al-Qaeda
from benefiting from the upheaval in the Middle East.
March 28th – April 7th: The CCRC receives more than 200 documents, including memorandums
from political parties, youth organisations, civil society members and cultural or scientific leading
figures. The M20F refuses to take part into these consultations and doesn’t recognize the CCRC.
Instead its leaders ask for the election of a constituency assembly.
April 13th: Abbas El Fassi declares that Mohammed VI greatly appreciates “President Obama’s
strong and noticeable initiatives” to promote peace and stability at both the regional and the
international levels.
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
April 14th: Mohammed VI pardons 190 political prisoners –mostly Islamists-, including convicts of
the Belliraj case as well as the famous Salafi preacher Mohamed Fizazi. The term of 42 other
prisoners is reduced as a response to the National Human Rights Council’s (CNDH) report.
April 24th: New M20F demonstrations in more than 100 cities. Some sections, including the Rabat
one organise their demonstrations in working-class areas instead of the city centre. The M20F is at
its height.
April 27th: The King promises a 15% increase of the minimum wage, a 600 DH increase of the civil
servants’ wage and a 600 to 1000 DH increase of small old-age pensions.
April 28th: Rachid Niny, Morocco’s most popular columnist is thrown in jail for having “challenged
a judiciary decision”, “tried to influence the judiciary process” and “denounced false penal
offences”. In reality his arrest is caused by his disclosure of the methods used by the security
services, the existence of a secret prison in Temara as well as the denunciation of the crawling
corruption within the government. Niny is eventually sentenced to one year in prison on June 9th.
April 28th: Terrorist attack at Café Argana in Marrakech, leaving 17 people dead and 20
injured.
May 4th: OCP announces the launch of a massive human resources training programme aimed at 5
800 people, “OCP Skills”. It receives more than 15,000 applications.
May 15th: Fouad Ali El Himma, founding member of the Authenticity and Modernity Party and
close friend of the king resigns from his position within the party as a result of the demonstrations.
May 15th: The M20F Rabat section calls for a sit-in in front of the Direction de la Surveillance
du Territoire (interior intelligence services, DST)’s headquarters in Temara. Activists accuse
the DST to use their headquarters as a secret detention and torture centre. The gathering is
violently repressed and the police chase demonstrators.
May 31st: The European Commission asks Morocco “to not overuse violence and to respect
fundamental liberties”, following the crackdown over M20F demonstrations on May 15th, 22nd and
29th all over the country.
June 2nd: Death of Kamal El Omari, militant of Justice and Charity, beaten by the police during
demonstrations on May 29th in Safi.
June 5th: A demonstration is organised nationwide by the National Support Council to the February
20th’s Youth Movement to protest against the repression of the demonstrations and support
democratic claims. From that day, authorities outsource the crackdown over demonstrators to
“baltajias” who attack and beat the latter with impunity.
June 7th-10th: Debate within the Follow-up and CCRC. This Commission, led by royal advisor
Yassine Mansouri has been set up to politically manage the implementation of the new Constitution
and ensures the support of political parties. A leak in the press reveals that the project mentions the
respect of the freedom of conscience and replaces the notion of “Islamic state” by “Muslim state”,
paving the way to secularism. The PJD threatens to vote against the Constitution if these two points
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
are not removed and wins its case.
June 10th: Abdellatif Mennouni presents the Constitution draft to Mohammed VI.
June 17th: Mohammed VI reveals the main lines of the text that is submitted to a referendum
on July 1st and declares he will vote “yes”.
June 26th: The M20F organises sit-ins all over the country to protest against the Constitution draft
and calls for a boycott of the referendum. The campaign for the referendum is two-week long only
and excludes opponents or people calling for a boycott.
Following the call of a religious sufi brotherhood (tariqa Bouchichiya), tens of thousands of people
gather in Casablanca to support the reform.
July 1st: The Constitution is passed with 98,5% of the popular vote (with a 72,36% turnout).
July 4th-7th: Riots spark in Khourigba, with sons of retired employees and unemployed people
asking for jobs and claiming to be victims of discrimination.
August 3rd: Mohammed VI appoints Abdellatif Mennouni as royal advisor.
August 16th: Tayeb Cherkaoui, Ministry of Interior declares parliamentary elections planned for
September 2012 will be held on November 25th 2011.
September 9th: Rapper Mouad Belghouat (“Lha9ed”) is jailed for having hit a member of the
Royalist alliance during a fight after a demonstration. His support committee denounces a pretext to
condemn Lha9ed for his political opinions.
October 5th: Six political parties gather around the RNI and the PAM to form the Coalition for
Democracy (“G8”). They run for elections on different lists but announce their will to stand up to
the PJD in the government.
October 10th: Justice and Charity declares it will boycott the elections that it considers “a deceptive
process”.
October 14th: Organic Law n° 27-11 related to the Chamber of Representatives is promulgated.
Death of Mohammed Boudouroua after falling from the roof of the national employment agency
(Agence nationale de la promotion de l’emploi et des compétences, ANAPEC) during a sit-in of
unemployed graduates from M20F. The latter accuses the police to be responsible for the accident.
October 22nd: Organic Law n° 29-11 related to political parties is promulgated.
November 20th: A few days before the elections, M20F calls for demonstrations to boycott of the
elections.
November 25th: The PJD wins the elections with 27% of the vote (with a 45,5% turnout).
November 29th: Mohammed VI appoints Abdelillah Benkirane Head of Government to gather
a parliamentary majority and form the government.
Mohammed VI appoints Omar Azzimane, former President of the regionalisation commission and
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
member of the CCRC, royal advisor.
December 4th: The Istiqlal party announces he will take part in the parliamentary majority.
December 5th: USFP refuses Benkirane’s invitation to join the government coalition.
December 6th: Mohammed VI proceeds to a large diplomatic turnover and appoints new Moroccan
ambassadors. This move falls under harsh criticism because of its timing and the lack of
consultation of the new government.
Mohammed VI appoints Yassir Zenagui, until then Minister of Tourism as royal advisor, after the
later secured a 2 billion USD loan from Gulf investors in touristic projects.
The Popular Movement (MP)’s political bureau approves by unanimity the decision to take part to
the parliamentary majority.
December 7th: Mohammed VI appoints Fouad Ali El Himma royal advisor.
December 10th: The Progress and Socialism Party (PPS) announces it will take part in the
governmental coalition.
December 16th: PPS, PJD, MP and Istiqlal’s leaders sign the majority's pact that sets a
roadmap for the ruling parliamentary coalition. This majority is depicted as conservative despite the
participation of the PPS.
December 18th: Adl wal Ihsane announces its withdrawal from the M20F movement.
December 19th: Azzedine Roussi, a student from Fez who was arrested in November for voicing the
boycott campaign starts a hunger strike to protest against its imprisonment’s conditions, sparking a
solidarity movement that lasts until early February.
2012
Early January: In Taza the power and Water Company strongly recalls the inhabitants to pay their
bills, increasing social tensions that are added to the existing conflict with unemployed graduates.
People demand the governor to cancel all the due bills, without success. The province’s governor
asks his superiors to send additional police forces to the city. Some incidents erupt with the
population when the police forces arrive to reinforce the security and protect the local government
building.
January 2nd: Mohammed VI appoints Taïeb Fassi Fihri, until then Minister of Foreign Affairs and
Cooperation, royal advisor. The opposition denounces those nominations and portrays them as a
shadow cabinet which will hold the effective power.
January 3rd: Mohammed VI officially nominates the new government after 35-day long
negotiations.
January 4th: Unemployed graduates in Taza, start a sit-in to obtain an audience with the province’s
governor in order to negotiate an access to public jobs which they will be denied.
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
January 19th: The new government wins the confidence vote at the House of Representatives
and is therefore invested.
Early February: Tarik Hammami, a 26 years old student, is arrested in Fez when he plans to visit
detainee Azzedine Roussi in his cell in Taza and sentenced to 6 years imprisonment.
February 1st: After several incidents, hundreds of people from one of Taza’s working-class area take
the streets and fight violently with police forces during hours. The situation is alarming.
February 4th: In Taza another protest ends up pacifically in front of the local government building.
The delegate Minister of Interior, Cherki Draiss, arrives along with 7 MPs representing the region
in legislative bodies.
February 16th: A young Internet activist, Abessamad Haidour is arrested and sentenced to three
years imprisonment in Taza for insulting the King in an internet discussion. The charge is “attempt
to a State’s symbol”.
February 18th: Minister of Interior Laenser answers Representatives’ questions about “Taza’s
events” during a parliamentary session. He states that the official estimates amount to 94 injured
people among the police forces and 18 among the civilians.
February 17th-19th: Extraordinary Congress of the Authenticity and Modernity Party in Bouznika.
During the 2011 political campaign, the party has been criticized for being one Palace proxy in the
electoral arena. Movement’s assembly elects Mustapha Bakkoury as Secretary General. Mr.
Bakkourry is known for being close to the royal court and has been notably director of the CDG, a
big state owned public investment bank.
February 21st: One year after its first national march, M20F movement called to another
national gathering on Sunday February 21st. The movement appears diminished by “Justice
and Charity’s” withdrawal. It is the last M20F’s attempt to make a nation-wide protest.
February 26th: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Morocco. Royal advisor Taïeb Fassi
Fihri, who held the Minister of Foreign Affairs position in the previous government welcomes her
at the airport instead of the incumbent Minister, PJD member Saad Eddine Othmani. Abdelilah
Benkirane, the Head of Government informs Secretary of State Clinton that he is unavailable to
meet her and flies away to attend a meeting in Qatar.
February 29th: In the context of a campaign against windfall economy Abdelaziz Rabbah, Minister
for Equipment and Transport publishes the list of the beneficiaries of transport authorizations.
March: Royal diplomatic advisors tour the Gulf and discuss the content of Morocco – GCC
partnership with their local interlocutors.
March 4th: A M20F demonstration in Casablanca is violently dispersed.
March 4th-14th: Protests spark in Beni Bou Ayache (aka Aït Bouayach), a small city in the Rif
region, after the arrest of Bachir Benchaib a M20F member. 18 persons are sentenced to
imprisonment.
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
March 6th: Head of Government Abdelillah Benkirane meets the President of CGEM (the
entrepreneur confederation) Mohamed Horani in Skhirat. They set a roadmap for government and
entrepreneurs’ dialogue.
March 8th: Policemen arrest 35 people, and sentence 14 of them for “establishment of a criminal
gang, armed gathering, voluntary blazing, attack on the police and destruction of goods”.
March 13th: Police intervenes in Imzouren, a close locality where inhabitants take the streets in
solidarity with Aït Bouayach.
March 19th: A public debate erupts around the “Amina Filali Case”, named after a 16-year old girl
who committed suicide after a judge offered her rapist to marry her according to an interpretation of
the article 475 of the penal code. In the following weeks Bassma Hakkaoui and Mustapha Ramid,
(PJD Minister of Family and PJD Minister of Justice), hold joint press conferences with Amina
Filali’s father endorsing the judgment. The case is widely documented in national and international
media outlets.
March 24th-25th: Martin Schulz, Head of the European Parliament makes his first official trip
outside European Union to Morocco after his election in January 2012. He meets Mohammed
VI, head of Government Abdelilah Benkirane, the President of the House of Representative Karim
Ghellab and the President of the House of Advisors
March 29th: Lha9ed is arrested for the second time and charged for attacking “a constitutional
body” after his song “Kelb Daula” (State’s dogs) is broadcasted on YouTube with images of
policemen, which constitutes an infringement according to the authority. A day later, Younes
Belkhdim, a M20F member, aka « the people’s poet », is arrested by Moroccan police during a
gathering calling for Lha9ed’s liberation.
April-May: Polemic around the new bill of specifications of the National Broadcasting Company
(SNRT) and of Soread-2M that has been drafted by Mustapha El Khalfi, Minister of
Communication and Spokes person for the Government. Samira Sitail, Head of News at 2M,
opposition parties as well as the PSS denounce an underlying Islamisation and Arabisation scheme
of Moroccan TV. After a month of polemic, Nabil Benabdellah (Minister for Housing and
Urbanism and former Minister of Communication) is nominated at head of a governmental
commission in charge of the revision of the bill of specifications, following a royal arbitration.
April 27th: 5th congress of the National Rally of the Independents (RNI), the leading challenger of
the PJD during the last elections. Salaheddine Mezouar, outgoing Minister of Finances is re-elected
as President of the party. Through a press release the party defines itself as “a moderate national
political movement that intends to modernize the national movement, inspired by the Muslim faith,
Moroccan moral values and universal human values.”
May 1st: Azzedine Roussi is released from jail after 120 days of hunger strike, the last part of his
sentence having been spent at the Ibn Sina hospital in Rabat.
May 8th: The first organic law that steams from the new Constitution’s implementation is
voted by the Parliament. It defines who, of the Head of Government or the King is in charge of
the appointment of the highest public servants. The law bears the number 02-12 and precise the
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
articles 49 and 92 of the Constitution. It is approved by 131 votes in favour, 48 votes against and 7
abstentions.
Mohammed VI appoints the Commission for the Reform of the Judiciary.
May 11th: Younes Belkhdim and Lha9ed are sentenced to a one-year imprisonment. The former’s
sentence is doubled by another court later that month.
May 16th: Meryem Bensalah Chaqroun is elected President of CGEM in replacement of Mohamed
Horani who is rumoured to be too close to the PJD.
May 17th: The Moroccan government announces that it does not intend to collaborate further with
Christopher Ross, the UN Secretary General’s personal Envoy for the Western Sahara conflict,
under claims that Ross interfered negatively and partially in the report released to the UN Security
council in April 2012.
May 24th: Bachir Benchaib a M20F member (arrested near Taza in February) is condemned to 10
years imprisonment (5 years without parole) for “unauthorized protest, troubling pubic order, illegal
road blockades, illegal occupying of public buildings and insubordination”. During the trial, the
judge evokes also a “criminal track record from 2004”.
May 27th: Two trade unions close to USFP (CDT and UMT) take the streets. The protest gather
around 30 000 persons in Casablanca. Hassan Tariq, member of the USFP political bureau calls for
the "the government to open a dialogue in order to alleviate the social tensions in the country."
June 6th: Head of Government Benkirane address the Moroccan people during a one-hour long talk
show in which he explains the government policy and notably announces an increase in gas prices
due to a gradual shift from subsided to market prices. This measure aims at narrowing the 2012
fiscal deficit. This TV show is seen as a new landmark in government communication.
June 13th: Daily Akhbar Al Yaoum publishes three official documents revealing the bonuses
Salaheddine Mezouar (then Minister of Economics and Finance) and Noureddine Bensouda
(General Treasurer) granted each other in 2010. The publication of these documents takes place two
days after Abdelaziz Aftati (PJD member of Parliament) accused in front of the Chamber of
Representatives Salaheddine Mezouar (now President of the RNI) of having secretly accepted 40
000 dirham (4000 euro) per month in addition to his regular salary.
June 14th: blogger Mohamed Sokrat is sentenced to two years imprisonment after having been
arrested on May 29th for “drug possession”.
July 14th-15th: The PJD holds its Congress in Rabat. Abdelilah Benkirane is reelected Secretary
General of the movement and Saad Eddine Othmani is reelected President of the Party’s National
Assembly.
July 17th: Organic Law related to the nomination to the highest positions is promulgated according
to articles 49 and 52 of the Constitution. This is the first organic law of 19 allowed by the
Constitution.
July 22nd: A protest against the “soaring prices and the poor living conditions” is held in “Sidi
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
Bernoussi”, one of Casablanca’s popular area. Six M20F movement’s militants are arrested and
detained (Samir Bradelly, Abderrahman Assal, Traek Rouchdi, Youssef Oubella, Nour Essalam
Kartachi and Laïla Nassimi). They claim that they have been tortured and beaten.
July 30th: Throne’s speech
August 22nd: Tens of protesters gather mocking the Beyy’a (allegiance) ceremony that is held
annually to prove the commitment and loyalty of the elite to the monarch. Moroccan police
disperses them.
August 30th: a M20F militant from Tangiers, Saïd Ziani, is sentenced to three months prison and a
32,000 MAD fine for “selling illegally cigarettes”.
September 4th: Law 01-12 dealing with fundamental rights granted to the military forces is
promulgated.
September 12th: three of the M20F militants arrested on July 22th are sentenced to 10 months prison
for « participating to a unauthorized protest », two are sentenced to 8 months and the last one to 6
months (suspended sentence).
September 23rd: Istiqlal party holds its 16th national congress and elects a union leader,
Hamid Chabat, as Secretary General by a close margin (478/458). His main contender,
Abdelouahed El Fassi, son of the party’s founder withdraws from the National Bureau.
UN Special envoy on torture Juan Mendez states at a press conference that “many evidences have
showed that police forces are using excessive physical constraints in many cases”
October 2nd – 4th: protests spark in Sidi Ifni (south of the country), leading to a series of clashes
with police forces.
October 4th: A partial legislative election is run in Tangiers and Marrakech constituencies. PJD
confirms its victory by a wide margin.
A protest is held in Agadir. 8 members of the “Social Housing Defence Committee Coordination”
are arrested and receive a 2-month suspended sentence.
October 15th: Mohammed VI tours the Gulf countries starting with Saudi Arabia. He travels
with royal advisors Zoulikha Nasri, Fouad Ali El Himma and Yassir Znagui, along with the
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and Minister of Tourism Saad Eddine Otmani.
October 17th: M20F activist Bachir Benchaib from Al Hoceima is condemned to 12 years in jail for
“taking part in an unauthorized gathering”. He was initially sentenced to 5 years in prison and 5
years probation.
October 27th: Kamal Hussaini, a member of both M20F and the unemployed graduates coordination
is stabbed to death in its birth town, Beni Bou Ayache.
November 6th: Green March’s speech.
November 13th: In the context of a campaign against windfall economy Abdelaziz Rabbah, Minister
for Equipment and Transport publishes the list of the beneficiaries of the sand and stone quarries
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
authorizations.
November 18th: A sit-in taking place in front of the Moroccan parliament to protest against the
“excessive budget allocated to the Royal court” is brutally dispersed.
December 13th: Cheikh Abdeslam Yassine, leader of Justice and Charity (Adl wal Ihsan) dies
aged 84 and is buried in Rabat’s cemetery. A celebration takes place in the As-Sunna mosque
nearby the royal palace, gathering 20 000 people. More than 100 000 people accompany the
coffin to the cemetery.
December 14th: 9th congress of the USFP (socialist party, opposition) holds its congress in
Bouznika. Driss Lachguar is elected new First Secretary in a two rounds election.
December 21st: partial legislative election in Inzegane Aït Melloul that ends in PJD’s landslide
victory over the Istiqlal party despite their fierce election campaign in the conservative Berber area.
December 27th: Driss Boutarada, a Rabat member of M20F is sentenced to a one-year imprisonment
term for drug possession. He was arrested December 13th, shortly after a protest during which he
mocked the King.
December 28th: During two days, inhabitants of “Sidi Youssef Ben Ali”, a popular neighbourhood
in Marrakech protest against the high water and electricity prices and demand the liberation of 12 of
them. The latter are later released.
2013
January 14th: Police intervenes after a weeklong social conflict at Mohamed Ben Abdallah Fez
University, causing the death in unclear circumstances of student Mohamed Fizazi. After his death
on January 25th at the Fez hospital, the family asks for a neutral autopsy of the body.
January 23rd: Samir Bradly, Tarek Rochdi, Kartachi Nouressalam, three M20F militants arrested on
July 19th 2012. Initially sentenced to 10 months, they are freed after serving 6 months.
February 1st: Beginning of the Gdeim Izik trial before the military court of Rabat. 27 individuals
arrested in November 2010 before, during and after the dismantling of an illegal camp near Al
Ayun are concerned.
February 13th: A gathering is promptly dispersed in Sbata, a popular area of Casablanca after calls
to protest has been issued by an unidentified group whose political demands are considered by
many as more extreme than those of M20F.
February 16th: End of the Gdeim Izik trial: 9 persons are sentenced to life in prison, 4 to 30 years
imprisonment, 7 to 25 years, 3 to 20 years, 2 to two years. The latter are immediately released,
having already served their sentence). As a reminder, in November 2010, ten men belonging to the
Moroccan auxiliary forces had been found dead after violent incidents took place when dismantling
the Gdeim Izik camp near Laâyoune.
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
February 20th: Commemoration of death of Hassan II, via lunar calendar, on this symbolic day.
February 24th: In a widely mediatized TV interview in French with the TV5 Monde channel and
French leading liberal daily “Le Monde”, Abdelilah Benkirane, states that “to [his] mind there is no
M20F political prisoner in Morocco [...] those who have been arrested are condemned for drug
possession”. He also states “torture doesn’t exist anymore in the country […] It has existed 30 or
40 years ago but not anymore.”
March 1st-2nd: President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso visits Morocco
and meets Mohammed VI and Abdelillah Benkirane. He announces the launching of a dialogue on
visa procedures to increase mobility between EU and Morocco.
March 4th: National Human Right Council presents to Mohammed VI four memoranda on key
organic laws that should be discussed and voted for a full implementation of the Constitution. They
also address the creation of the Constitutional court and three advisory bodies: the Consultative
Council for Family and Childhood, the Consultative Council for Youth and Associative Action.
March 7th: Tangier’s civil court summons 21 M20F activists, re-opening their file and suing them
for “non-authorized gathering, defamation and sabotages”. They had already been arrested shortly
in July 2011.
March 13th: Juan Mendez presents his report on Morocco in a plenary session of the Human Rights
Council in Geneva.
March 18th: Mohammed VI makes his first African tour in 7 years. He pays visits to three
countries that have been Morocco’s closest African allies for decades, including Senegal where he
meets recently elected President Macky Sall.
March 23rd: Christopher Ross, UNSG personal Envoy visits Laâyoune.
March 19th-25th: Mohammed VI visits Ivory Coast and meets President Ouattara and President of
the National Assembly Guillaume Soro.
March 26th: Mohammed VI visits Gabon and meets President Ali Bongo with whom he’s been
closely linked to since their childhood.
March 30th: Lha9ed, and Younes Belkhdim are released after serving their sentence.
April 2nd: Five M20F activists who have being arrested and sentenced to 10 months without charge
after the Sidi Ifni protests in October 2012 are released.
April 3rd-4th: French President François Hollande visits Morocco and meets Mohammed VI,
Abdelillah Benkirane and the Heads of Parliament. He calls Morocco an “emerging country”,
addresses the Moroccan Parliament praising the “Morrocan stability” and renews France’s
statement on Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara, calling it “a serious and credible proposal”
and adding, “everything must be done to provide the Saharawi population the best standards of
living”.
April 10th: Mohammed VI receives UN Secretary General Personal Envoy for the Western Sahara
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
conflict, Christopher Ross in Fez.
April 13th: US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice presents draft resolution suggesting expanding
mandate of MINURSO (the UN peace-keeping force in Western Sahara) to include a monitoring of
the human rights situation over the disputed territory under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.
April 14th: The main political leaders gather around the King’s advisors and the Head of
Government to discuss the US draft proposal. All the political parties reject expressively its content.
April 14th-23rd: A high-level foreign affairs delegation led by Yassin Mansouri (head of Secret
service), Taib Fassi Fihri (King’s diplomatic advisor) and Saad Eddin Otmani (minister of Foreign
Affairs and PJD national council president) tours each of the 5 permanent member of the UNSC in
an attempt to block the US’s initiative: main representatives in the delegation.
April 15th: A joint US-Morocco military training (“African Lion”) is suspended. US Marines who
already had disembarked near Agadir have to redeploy.
April 25th: UNSC votes the new mandate of the MINURSO, excluding any Human Rights
monitoring through the UN forces but calling for a credible and independent guarantee for human
rights respect in Western Sahara.
May 1st: Two union demonstrations are organized separately. On one side the UGTM led by Hamid
Chabat (also Secretary General of the Istiqlal party) gathers thousands in Rabat and call for the
“government to speed up the pace of reforms”. On the other side, several unions gather in
Casablanca to call for “better living conditions for the workers”.
May 4th: For the first time since 1975 more than 200 Sahrawis (according to the Regional
coordinator of the CNDH) demonstrated in Al-Aaiun to claim their right to self-determination
without the intervention of the police. This demonstration takes place after more than one week of
tensions, repressed demonstrations and fights between youngsters and the police in the city’s
Sahrawi areas.
May 11th: Istiqlal Party headed by recently elected SG Hamid Chabat announces withdrawal
of his party’s support for government, critices Benkirane for monopolising decision making. The
withdrawal is suspended following personal phone call by King Mohamed VI.
May 10th: King Mohammed VI assigns 10 walis and 30 governors in 23 districts and 7 prefectures.
For the first time in Morocco’s history and in accordance with the new Constitution, these
appointments are made in coordination with the government. Before, the Head of Government used
to learn these appointments through the media.
May 21st: Al Masaa reveals that 137 mosques have recently raised the Amazigh flag on the
Movement of Amazigh Imams’ initiative. This freshly created association includes about 250
imams who reportedly fight against the proliferation of radical Wahhabism and promote
enlightened Islam.
May 22nd: The leaders of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), the Labour Party and the
Socialist Party merge into one and the same organization. It is meant to be a « step towards the
creation of a great left-wing party », in their view. The reunification of the Moroccan Left was one
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
of the main arguments used by Driss Lachgar in favour of his election to lead the USFP.
May 23rd: The Administrative Court of Rabat demands that the government integrates all the
signatories of July 20th, 2011’s procès-verbal into the Public Service. Head of Government
Abdelilah Benkirane has always refused to implement the agreement signed by the previous
government arguing that its provisions are "unconstitutional and not in accordance with the status of
public service". Government appeals the court’s decision.
June 3rd-4th: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who faces a major protest
movement pays an official visit to Morocco heading a large delegation of officials and business
operators. Minister of Foreign Affairs Saad Eddine al-Othmani promised his Turkish
counterparts that the King would meet with Erdogan but no such meeting took place. The
business association Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Maroc (CGEM) also boycotts
Erdogan’s visit arguing that they were not involved in the Turkish-moroccan meeting
preparation. The Turkish delegation meets with Al Amal Entreprises instead, a young
business association known for its proximity to the Justice and Development Party (PJD).
June 8th: Renaissance and Virtue Party includes several well-known salafists among its general
secretary ranks, including the famous Mohamed Abdelouahab Rafiki, aka Abu Hafs.
June 11th: The Trial Court in Rabat sentences the militant Osama El Khlifi, one of the founders of
the M20F, to four years jail for “attempted abduction of a minor”. He maintains his innocence,
denouncing a political trial in which the conditions for a fair trial were not respected.
June 15th: King Mohammed VI returns to Morocco after a private stay in France that lasted
more than a month (starting from May 10). No explanation has been given despite the
important media interest.
June 26th: Hamid Chabat obtains a hearing with King Mohammed VI in which he submits a
document explaining the reasons that led his party to retire from the government.
July 7th: Morocco’s official reaction to the dismissal of Mohamed Morsi falls. After a timid
statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, King Mohammed VI sends a message of
congratulations to the acting president Adli Mansour. The Head of Government’s Party PJD will
later take officially position in favour of Morsi’s legitimacy.
July 9th: Five out of the six Istiqlal Party’s ministers officially submit their resignations from
the government coalition. Minister of Education Mohamed El Ouafa refuses to hand in his
resignation and will be consequently expelled from his party.
July 15th-18th: King Juan Carlos pays an official visit to Morocco following the invitation of King
Mohamed VI. He is accompanied by a delegation of five ministers from the current Spanish
government and nine former foreign ministers. The delegation also includes chairmen of Spain's
largest companies, university rectors and Instituto Cervantes Director. During the visit, a meeting is
held between Spanish businessmen and CGEM and many agreements are signed in order to
strengthen the economic relationship with Spain - which recently has become the largest foreign
supplier of Morocco (ahead of France).
July 15th: Just about to join the opposition, Istiqlal Party signs a coalition agreement along with its
former historical ally USFP.
July 17th: Head of Goverment Abdelilah Benkirane gets angry during the monthly meeting with the
House of Councillors. For the first time, he threatens to resort to early elections.
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
July 22nd: King Mohammed VI formally accepts the resignation of Istiqlal Party’s Ministers
and requests from them to “remain in office until the appointment of others.” During a
meeting, Abdelilah Benkirane, Mohand Laenser (Popular Movement -MP) and Nabil
Benabdellah (Party of Progress and Socialism -PPS) reach an agreement on starting making
contact in favour of the RNI (the largest opposition party) in terms of seats in parliament. The
RNI used to be the leader of the rival coalition in the last parliamentary elections.
July 30th: On the occasion of Throne Day, King Mohammed VI issues a royal pardon granted to
1200 inmates including 48 Spanish prisoners - a gesture towards King Juan Carlos of Spain as a
sign of good relations between the two countries.
July 31st: Lakome.com reveals that among the pardoned prisoners figures a Spanish serial
child rapist, Daniel Galvan, who was arrested in September 2011, and sentenced to 30 years in
prison.
August 1st: Spanish royal cabinet states to Alifpost.com that King Juan Carlos had demanded a
royal pardon only for some Spanish prisoners and that the Spanish embassy in Morocco was
responsible for fixing the list of detainees who were to be pardoned. It was later revealed that
Daniel Galvan has only requested to be transferred to a prison in Spain and was not in the
embassy’s list. El Païs wrote that the Moroccan royal cabinet have merged the list of transfer
requests with the one of pardon in an effort to please Spain.
August 2nd: Minister of Justice Mustapha Ramid releases a statement indicating that the
pardon is the King's own decision, guided by higher interests of the nation. The official news
agency MAP refuses to publish the minister’s statement, arguing afterward the ministry’s
lack of professionalism.
After the Iftar, hundreds of peaceful protesters gather in front of the Parliament building in
Rabat. The demonstrators demand a royal apology and claim for the independence of justice.
The protest is brutally suppressed by the police, causing injuries for dozens of activists and
news reporters.
August 3rd: The news of the scandal and the ensuing crackdown on the peaceful protests hit
the headlines of most international media (Aljazeera, France 24, CNN). On that same evening,
Mohammed VI’s cabinet releases a statement in which he denies being aware of the gravity of
the crimes committed by Daniel Galvan, asserting also that an investigation would be held to
determine the responsible in the decision-making process.
August 4th: News of the story reaches France's popular news program Le 13 heures on both
leading channels TF1 and France 2. That same evening, Mohammed VI’s cabinet issues a
statement in which it announces the cancellation of his pardon.
August 5th: King Mohamed VI dismisses the director of the Penitentiary Administration Hafid
Benhachem after conducting a thorough investigation. Later in the day, Daniel Galvan is arrested in
the city of Murcia, southern Spain, under an international arrest warrant issued by Morocco.
Spanish courts will later refuse to extradite him to Morocco.
August 6th: King Mohammed VI receives the parents and families of the children abused by
Daniel Galvan at the Palace of Rabat.
August 20th: On the Youth Day Address, King Mohammed VI harshly criticises the
government on the issue of education condemning the outright dropping of the « emergency
plan » established under the former El Fassi Governement.
August 21st-22nd: Finance Minister Nizar Baraka (Istiqlal Party) is appointed as head of the
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) while Aziz Akhannouch, the Minister of
Agriculture, assumes the position of Minister of Finance on an interim basis.
September 11th: Following a summer marked by racist acts against Sub-Saharan Africans, National
Council for Human Rights (CNDH) issues a report calling for the implementation of a more
proactive public policy in favour of migrants’ rights. During a work meeting on the following day,
King Mohammed VI appeals for the regularisation of illegal immigrants situation.
September 13th: Lakome.com publishes an article about a new propaganda video posted by alQaeda in the Islamic Maghreb organisation (AQMI). The video, entitled "Morocco, the kingdom of
corruption and despotism", criticises Mohammed VI politics and involvement in business and
enjoins Moroccans to overthrow the Monarchy. Lakome's article includes a link to an article from
Spanish journalist Ignacio Cembrero hosted on his El Païs-blog, in which the video is posted.
September 16th: Government implements a measure of "partial" and "limited" indexation of
fuel prices as part of the efforts to contain the deficit. This decision immediately results in a
slight increase in prices of gasoline, diesel and industrial fuel that will be revaluated on a
monthly basis.
September 17th: Ali Anouzla the editor in chief of Lakome.com is arrested by the police on
account of publishing the article about AQMI’s video. In his statement, the General
Prosecutor considers this article as an « unequivocal and direct incitement to commit terrorist
acts ». On the same morning, Anouzla's home is raided, the offices of Lakome are searched,
computers seized and its employees interrogated by the police.
September 22nd: On Hamid Chabat’s initiative, a march is held in Rabat against the indexation of
fuel prices. It is considered to be a failure because of the weak participation. This demonstration is
marked by the use of donkeys referring to government members.
September 24th: Rabat's Prosecutor announces the charges against Anouzla: "providing
material assistance to, defending and inciting terrorist acts.
September 29th: Mediapart and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organise a large meeting in Paris
to support Ali Anouzla. Several journalists and intellectuals including Julian Assange (WikiLeaks),
Florence Aubenas (RSF), Edgar Morin and Aboubakr Jamai express their full support to Ali
Anouzla.
October 3rd: Two Teenagers are arrested in Nador for posting a photo of them kissing on Facebook.
Widely reported in the international press, by Canal + and France 24 in particular, this event have
triggered a large debate in Morocco.
October 12th: A few dozen people gathers in Rabat for a "symbolic kiss" in support of youth
prosecuted in Nador. Counter-demonstrators violently attack the rally by shoving couples and
throwing chairs from an outdoor cafe.
October 4th-5th: Zakoura Education Foundation (chaired by Nourredine Ayouch) organises an
international conference on education in Casablanca. The presence of Fouad Ali El Himma, royal
advisor and Omar Azziman, President of the Higher Education Council are highly noticed while
Minister of Education Mohamed El Ouafa was not invited.
October 10th: The new government is finally announced. As expected, National Rally of
Independents (RNI) replaces Istiqlal Party. In an enlarged government (39 ministers), RNI
gets eight department and especially those of Foreign affairs, Finance and Industry and
Trade. Three new “independents” are entering the government and will be in charge of the
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Education. Finally, the new version of the
government includes six women instead of only one in the previous government.
October 11th: In his address at the opening of the parliamentary year, King Mohammed VI strongly
criticises the governance of Casablanca.
October 18th: Former Delegate for Foreign Affairs and resigned Istiqlal Minister Youssef Amrani is
appointed Project manager of the Royal Cabinet.
October 23rd: Les Eco reveals that the RNI’s parliamentary group have withdrawn two organic law
bills filed during the previous session regarding the right to petition and the formalisation of the
Amazigh language. Introduced on January, the proposal concerning Amazigh had particularly
thwarted the government at that time.
October 25th: Ali Anouzla is provisionally released after the magistrate accepted his request.
Few days before, Anouzla had signed a document submitted to the General Prosecutor in
which he demands the suspension of Lakome. The shutdown of the Arabic and French
versions of the website will lead many observers to think that the provisional release was the
result of a deal with the Moroccan deep state.
October 30th: Morocco recalls its ambassador in Algiers for consultation. This decision was taken
following the speech of President Bouteflika - given by his Minister of Justice Tayeb Louh two
days before in Abuja, in which Algeria demands a close monitoring of human rights in Western
Sahara. The ambassador will resume his duties a few days later, on November 4.
November 3rd: Noureddine Ayouch presents the recommendations of the international conference
on education to the Royal Cabinet and to the Head of Government. Among the proposals, the
introduction of Darija (Moroccan dialect) and the questioning of religious teaching both provoke a
wide debate.
November 20th-22nd: King Mohammed VI pays an official visit to United States heading a
delegation including Finance Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the president of CGEM and the
CEOs of Attijariwafa Bank and OCP (Phosphates company). After the crisis of MINURSO in
April, Barack Obama has reassured Mohammed VI about his support in the Western Sahara conflict
and renewed his confidence in the political and economical reforms that have been initiated by the
monarchy.
January 7th, 2014: The Polisario Front adopted a new diplomatic plan for 2014 to reclaim the
initiative and work on gaining recognition from more countries. The initiative came after the
Moroccan decision to adopt a new offensive diplomacy in the conflict over Western Sahara.
January 8th: The court of appeals in Kenitra ruled a life-term jail sentence on the police officer
Hassan Elballouti for killing three of his work colleagues in Belksiri. This crime shook the
Moroccan population. The trial was not fair according to the defense attorney.
January 10th: The French newspaper Le Monde revealed that Paris diplomacy works hard to
maintain its political and economic leadership in Morocco over other powerful countries such as
China, USA, and Spain.
January 11th: The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) presented a draft resolution to
criminalize excommunication.
January 18th: The 20th meeting of Al Quds Committee led by Morocco was held while the
Palestinian case showed a disturbing progress. The king Mohammed VI, took chair of the meeting
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
in Marrakesh in the presence of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
January 19th: The minister of housing and secretary general of the Progress and Socialism Party
(PPS) Nabil Benabdallah suffered a head injury after protesters in Assa threw stones at him while
he was leading a political meeting.
January 20th: Morocco bought three French made drones using Israeli technology called Harfang.
January 22nd, 2014: about 25 students in Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra were arrested after
boycotting final exams in a protest against the “unprecedented police intervention at all university
campus.”
January 22nd: An international report classified Morocco at a relatively low rank concerning the
economic freedom. Morocco was ranked 113th worldwide.
January 28th: The ministry of Foreign affairs summoned the Algerian ambassador to notify him at
protest about what has become known as ‘’ The Syrian refugee case ‘’ after the expulsion of about
70 Syrian citizens by the Algerian authorities, which made them seek refuge in Morocco through
its eastern frontiers.
January 29th: Three main workers’ trade unions released a combined statement entitled The
combined statement (…) “ to confront, what they call, the savage liberal policies of Benkirane’s
government .”
January 29th: High school students in Tangier took to the streets to protest against the new
graduation system Massar and all the “ bad experiences” they were going through. Similar protests
took place in more than 20 Moroccan cities.
January 31st: King Mohammed VI received Bilal Ag Cherif, secretary general of the National
Movement for the Liberation of Azawad -MNLA (Mali).
February 6th: The minister of Finance Mohammed Boussaid confirmed that the pension proposal
reform will go ahead. Meanwhile, thousands of workers went out to protest in Rabat against this
plan and to refuse the cuts in the government budget.
February 06th: Morocco has bought two multi-use military and civilian satellites of Blids type from
France. Algeria considers this as a surveillance to their military movement.
February 8th: Security forces blocked all Rabat’s streets leading to the Ministry of justice in order
to stop the judges from protesting in front of it. They had to move their protest to the social
complex that belongs to the ministry in the Riad neighborhood.
February 9th: Kenitra: five university students who were in an open hunger strike reached their 35
days: Fainting cases increased among them. Some of them lost their ability to walk.
February 11th: It has been one month since the journalist Ali Anzoula unsuccessfully presented a
plea so that he could re-open his online newspaper Lakome.com. This made Lakome.com the first
electronic media to be closed by authorities since the adoption of the 2011 constitution.
February 13th: Morocco is ranked 136 out of 180 countries in the annual report made by Reporters
without Borders concerning press freedom.
February 15th: After spending one year in jail, two student activists in Marrakech, Hamid
Elbaghdadi and Ibrahim Najmi, have been released. Eight other student activists are still in the
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
Marrakech prison.
February 18th: The ministry of Interior stated that elements of the Algerian army shot a Moroccan
surveillance center in Eastern Morocco.
February 19th: Pomed, a US NGO, announced that its 2014 Leaders for Democracy Award will be
given to Moroccan journalists :Ali Anouzla and Aboubakr Jamai.
February 20th: The 20 February Movement celebrates its third anniversary in about 54 towns. The
movement confirms that its fight targets “corruption and despotism”. It also declares that the 20th
of February will be celebrated, every year, as the People’s Day.
February 22nd, 2014: Morocco protested to Paris because of a lawsuit filed in France against
Abdellatif Hammouchi the Director of the main Moroccan Intelligence agency which is commonly
known as DST. The Moroccan ministry of Foreign affairs summoned the French ambassador in
Rabat and presented him a strong protest of the kingdom. This is the beginning of a crisis between
the two countries that will last the whole year.
February 23rd: Morocco released a statement demanding clarification from France about the
publication in the press of a former defaming declaration by French ambassador François Delattre.
February 23rd : The ministry of justice released a statement announcing the suspension of judicial
cooperation between Morocco and France.
March 3rd: A 20 year old activist Ahmed Benammar died in a car accident at midnight. The police
department informed his friends that they found him dead, but members of the 20 February
Movement said that it was probably an “ assassination”.
March 4th: The Kenitra primary court ruled 8 month sentences against imprisoned students because
of political activities. All of them are members of the 2O February movement.
March 4th: An American diplomatic delegation visited Laayoune city in order to write a field report
about the political and human rights situation in Sahara.
March 8th: The Moroccan association of human rights- AMDH released a statement criticizing the
Moroccan government for not carrying out a national investigation about complaints of citizens
saying that they have been tortured. This statement was released after the French justice began to
investigate about the director of DST, a Moroccan intelligence agency.
March 12th: The National Committee for Solidarity with Mustapha Hasnaoui demands the release
of this journalist. It held a press conference after a UN team came out with a decision for the
immediate release of Hasnaoui and Ali Aarrass, another political detainee.
March 13th: The release of the Arab “Marrakech Statement on Fighting Terrorism “. This statement
makes a new twist for the Arab countries to reclaim the security initiative after the Arab spring.
March 23rd: The Parti Socialiste Unifié (PSU), the PADS, and the Congrès National Ittihadi declare
the foundation of a leftist federation whose main objective is the realization of a parliamentary
monarchy.
March 25th: The president of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) Driss Elyazami
admitted excessive use of force by public authorities to stop protests.
March 26th: Islamic and leftist groups organized a protest in Rabat to denounce death sentences
issued by Egyptian courts against 529 members of the Moslem Brotherhood and other opponents to
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
the military regime.
March 29th: In its annual report about Neighboring Policy, the European Union criticizes Morocco
for its slow progress in moving forward with the democratic reforms. The EU considers that Justice,
the fight of corruption, gender equality, and freedoms suffer most from delays.
March 30th: On the occasion of Palestinian ‘’ Land Day”, youth from the 20 February Movement
and other activists in Casablanca were repressed by police leading to some injuries.
March 31st: The former leader of the socialist party- USFP, Mohammed Elyazghi criticized bitterly
the role of Minurso in the Western Sahara.
April 6th: Ibn Rochd Centre for Studies and Communication organized in Rabat a bargaining
meeting between Islamists and secular movements. Leaders from al Adl wal Ihssan association,
PJD, PSU, the Democratic Path and other groups explored possibilities of working together towards
a democratic regime in Morocco.
April 6th: About 30 thousand people participated in a march that was organized in Casablanca by
three workers’ trade unions. This “Day of Anger” was organized under the slogan of social justice.
April 6th: The police arrested 11 young people members of the 20 February Movement during
their participation in the 6th of April unions march under the accusation that the youth were
attacking police agents. A video record proved the opposite and it also showed that the arrests
happened because of slogans against the monarchy.
April 9th: Prince Hicham Alaoui, a cousin of the King, declared in an interview with France 24
channel, that his newly released book, Diary of a Banned Prince. Morocco Tomorrow did not talk
about state secrets and that it is rather dedicated to unmasking Morocco’s political system
combination.
April 10th: Secretary general of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon has recommended an extension
of another year for the United Nations Mission in Western Sahara-Minurso, with 15 additional
observers, without any changes in its tasks.
April 15th, 2014: Prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane held a meeting in Rabat with representatives
of the three workers’ unions that organized a protest march on April 6th.
April 18th, 2014: The King of Morocco Mohammed VI has sent a congratulatory telegram to
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, on the occasion of his re-election as President of Algeria.
April 19th: Saad Eddine Othmani, the former minister of Foreign affairs and cooperation of
Morocco confirmed that the Minurso should not expand its tasks to monitoring human rights in the
Sahara.
April 21st: Prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane has revealed in Rabat some details describing an
assassination attempt that targeted him in a mosque in France, in 1995, stressing that he
miraculously survived.
April 24th: As a follow-up to the April 6th national islamist-leftist meeting in Rabat, a regional
study day was to be organized at the university of Fes on the topic: Islamists, left and democracy.
The university leadership has prevented the meeting. A violent confrontation between Islamic and
leftist students caused the death of Abderrahim al Hasnaoui, a proPJD student. Many others were
injured. Critics of the regime blamed the inaction of the police.
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
April 26th: Dozens of public figures and activists gather in Rabat and found Freedom Now, an
association dedicated to defend the freedom of press and expression. Public authorities will refuse
to register the new association.
April 30th: The US Department of State praised “the solid cooperation” between the United States
and Morocco in the counter-terrorism field.
Mai 25th: About 1000 people from Rabat, Sale and Casablanca, participated in the 20 February
Movement march to denounce the “severe sentences” against the 20 February activists.
Mai 27th: Prime minister, Abdelilah Benkirane welcomed the the UN Human Rights
Commissioner, Navi Pillay. He praised the “strong partnership between Morocco and UN human
rights bodies.” Navi Pillay was also received by the king.
Mai 27th: The Moroccan Association for Human Rights member Ali Belmazian , declares to the
media that the death of political activist Karim Lachkar, in the police offices in Al Huceimas was
suspicious “because of the signs of torture that were observed on his body.”
Mai 27th: Prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane unveils the dates of professional, local and
“senatorial” elections. All of which would take place before the autumn parliamentary session in
2015.
Mai 28th: Christine Daure-Serfaty, widow of the famous Hassan II opponent Abraham Serfaty,
passes away at age 88.
Mai 28th: The 20 year old opinion detainee Hamza Hadi was wounded at his head by prison guards,
using an iron bar. He was taken into solitary confinement in Okacha prison in Casablanca.
Mai 29th: USFP party denounces the death of Karim Lachkar in police offices in Al Huceimas.
Mai 30th: King Mohammed VI accompanied by his son Moulay Hassan and his brother Moulay
Rachid arrived in Tunisia in an official visit. He was received by President Moncef Marzouki. This
was the first visit of Morocco’s king since the Tunisian revolution. This initiative has been praised
by Arab independent press as a valuable support to the democratic transition in Tunisia. The
General Union of the Tunisian Students (UGET) organized a protest in Tunis to denounce human
rights violations in Morocco.
June 2nd: The king of Morocco and the Tunisian president rekindled their “keenness to promote
and consolidate the construction of Maghreb unity”, and affirmed their commitment to the
Maghreb Union as a strategic option.
June 3rd: King Mohammed VI sent a congratulatory letter to Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, for winning
Presidential election in Egypt.
June 5th: Public authorities intervened in Karian Central, a Casablanca’s shantytown, to demolish a
number of illegal houses . This causes a violent confrontation that leaded to injuries in both sides.
Over 20 people were arrested.
June 8th: Foreign minister, Salaheddine Mezouar, represents king Mohammed VI to the
inauguration of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
June 10th: An American report ranked the Moroccan economy 12th concerning the amount of
EUSPRING - TIMELINE
taxes, which means Morocco has one of the highest indirect tax rates.
June 11th : Weeks before the 15th ‘’Throne day ‘’anniversary, the influent New York Times
reports that King Mohammed VI used his father’s tricks to rewrite the new constitution and that he
is currently repressing critics and backing away from his promises of democratization.
June 17th: Prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane compared women to “thurayat” (beautiful
chandeliers) intending to praise housekeeping role of mothers. This statement created a huge
scandal among feminist groups in Morocco.
June 17th: After spending ten weeks in prison, 9 members of the 20 February movement, the 6
April Group, were released on bail.
Critical junctures are events which have relevant implications for the empowerment of
citizenship rights and which have encouraged the debate at the political level and/or
mobilization at the social level.
EUSPRING - TIMELINE