A gateway to Africa MO ROC CO On individual Het verdriet liberties van de Rif in Morocco preface As Fouad Laroui points out, there are quite some prejudices and assumptions 30 JANUARI 2020 in the Netherlands when subjects relat- De rechtsstaat als speelbal ing to Morocco are discussed. ‘Everyone van de politiek is free to draw their own conclusions – but first, look at the facts.’ Laroui Alex Brenninkmeijer en Maarten states that a lot has been done over the Groothuizen over de toekomst van last years to modernize the country. de rechtsstaat (n.a.v. idee 206). That being said, critical remarks are Sociëteit De Witte Den Haag made in this idee on for instance the tijd 20.00 — 22.00 uur freedom of the press, the functioning of democracy and the rights of atheists Morocco in Morocco. These are themes that are closely linked to fundamental so- What is it exactly that you’re looking at cial-liberal convictions, and therefore here? Why is an issue of a social-liberal demand our attention and concerns. magazine dedicated to a single country? In her article in this idee Kethya Berra- And why are the majority of articles in da concludes that individual liberties English? Well, to start with the last: by are still contested in Morocco. This is doing so we hope to reach a larger num- largely due to an overall political climate ber of readers in Europe and in North that is not consistent with the country Africa, through our contacts within pledge towards the building of democra- Liberal International and other (social-) cy. Social conservatism as expressed by liberal movements. And getting back vocal parts of the Moroccan society also to the first, there are various reasons negatively impacts the crystallization to dedicate an issue of idee to Morocco. of individual liberties. More than 400.000 Dutch citizens have a Moroccan background. Thousands of Another reason for an idee dedicated to Dutch spend their holidays in the coun- Morocco can be found in D66 being an try. Morocco plays a crucial role in the internationally oriented party that has negations on new refugee- and migra- adopted as one of its guiding principles Meer informatie over evenementen tion policies. Morocco is an important ‘Think and act internationally’. We think vanmierlostichting.d66.nl/agenda trading partner of the European Union. it is only logical to adopt this principle Finally fundamental debates take place in our daily work and dedicate one issue in Morocco on religious freedom, wom- of idee a year to a purely international en’s rights, the role of the king and the theme. appreciation of minorities. The basic facts may well be known, but what else Through this issue we strive to en- do we need to know about Morocco? courage an exchange of ideas between Moroccan and Dutch liberals, and to create a more solid discussion within D66 and Dutch politics as a whole, on subjects where Morocco and Moroccans play a crucial role. 1 Joost Röselaers editor-in-chief idee [email protected] idee December 2019 table of content introducing Morocco What's More… 06 ‘Everyone is free to draw their own 90 De valkuil van de versimpeling theme conclusions – but first, look at the facts’ door Marty Smits & Joost Sneller & Joris Backer interview Fouad Laroui 98 Duurzaamheid is alleen voor MOROCCO 13 Kennismaking met Marokko de welgestelde, happy few door Herman Obdeijn Sociaal-liberaal debat PJ Beers & Tobias van Elferen 20 Het verdriet van de Rif 100 Iedere stad een Koolmeesloket door Sietske de Boer door Marthe Hesselmans & Astrid Elfferich Current Challenges in Morocco 105 De emancipatie van het individu en scheidslijnen in samenleving 25 Een transithaven naar een utopie In reactie op ‘Wat is sociaal-liberalisme?’ Sjors Wijlhuizen door Abdelkader Benali 108 Een voet tussen de (achter)deur 29 Witte redders Bericht uit de Eerste Kamer Boris Dittrich door Hassnae Bouazza 111 ‘Sociaal-liberalisme mag geen 34 Heersen en regeren bij de gratie Gods 13 Veronica-liberalisme worden’ door Paolo De Mas Kennismaking Sociaal-liberaal buiten de politiek Hans Vijlbrief met Marokko 42 The fall of freedom of press – again 120 Mensenrechten, handelsbelangen Een geschiedenisles by Willemijn de Koning en technologie versmelten in China door Herman Obdeijn 46 Morocco – Gateway to Africa Column Marietje Schaake by Hoba Gull 50 Is Morocco becoming less religious? by Gert Jan Geling foto vrouwenhof i.o.v. talisman travel design travel talisman vrouwenhof i.o.v. foto 54 On individual liberties in Morocco by Kethya Berrada Moroccans in the Netherlands 06 58 Fouad Laroui The op-ed 58 The op-ed of the convenient truth by Jan Paternotte ‘Everyone is of the free to draw their convenient 63 In search for a place to ‘just be a Muslim’ own conclusions truth by Nina ter Laan & Merel Kahmann conclusions Moroccans – but first, in the 68 Dubbelzinnig 90 door Asis Aynan look at the facts’ Netherlands De valkuil van de roos interview by Jan Paternotte 72 versimpeling The rise of ‘Louis Vuitton’ Islam variant? o C by Erkan Ilyas Őzşen eel Een pleidooi voor foto foto zelfvertrouwen in een Culture in Morocco sociaal-liberale politiek 78 Morocco’s languages: a sign of diversity? door Marty Smits, Joost Sneller 25 29 by Jan Jaap de Ruiter & Joris Backer Transithaven Witte redders naar een utopie De strijd van 83 Culture as soft power in Morocco Jongeren in de Marokkaanse by Léon Buskens Tanger vrouw @VMStichting by Abdelkader Benali by Hassnae Bouazza #deidee vanmierlostichting.nl idee December 2019 Morocco 06 Fouad Laroui · interview 07 Fouad Laroui’s life has thus far been a colourful one. Born Moroccan in Oujda, he lived in France, Great Britain, graduated in Mathematics, Physics and received his PhD in Econometrics. Eventually, he settled down in the country he felt at home the most: the Netherlands. There he has expanded his career, teaching French literature at the University of Am- sterdam, and establishing himself as a writer and poet. His diverse background becomes obvious dur- ing the conversation. He talks a lot, swiftly shifts be- tween topics and clearly uses the interview to address interview particular issues. Unsurprisingly, he immediately Fouad Laroui starts with the most controversial topic of all. interview by Milan Assies & Joost Röselaers “This idee’s theme is Morocco. That is good, but it means we have to talk about Western Sahara, since it is the one subject that keeps on popping up in most diplomatic discussions when it comes to Moroc- co. This issue has been misunderstood and mischaracterized by many Dutch media and political actors – unfortunately, also by some members of D66. Firstly, we must realize that the Sahara desert is huge: it stretches across 10 million square kilometres, from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, and is shared by twelve different countries, from Morocco and Mauri- tania to Egypt. However, the area that we are talking about (Western Sa- hara, or ‘the South provinces’ as Morocco calls it) is only 250.000 square kilometres – 4% of the whole Sahara desert. When you hear people talk- ‘ Everyone is free to draw ing about the disputed territory, and they call it ‘Sahara’, and they speak of ‘the Sahrawi’s’, you get the impression that Morocco is controlling the entire Sahara desert. That is not the case. For instance, Algeria controls their own conclusions more than 2 mln. square kilometres of it: almost ten times Morocco’s share. Nobody objects to that. Same thing for Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, Egypt, the Soudan, etc. Nobody demands the independence of – but first, look at the facts’ their part of the Sahara. Now, how many people live in Western Sahara? In 1973, Spain – which was then the colonial power before it gave back the territory to Morocco in 1975 – organised a census. The census showed that 77.000 Sahrawi’s were living there – that’s it. Was it a viable country? It was a kind of village, with less inhabitants than Purmerend. Can you imagine Purmerend as a country? Let’s be realistic.” idee December 2019 Morocco 08 Fouad Laroui · interview 09 Do the Sahrawi’s want independence? “Good question. But who are the Is it possible to openly criticise the king in Morocco? “No, you cannot Sahrawi’s? I once was in Oosterbeek to talk about my newest book. Some- do that, not in public. The country has, just as the Netherlands until re- one asked me about my opinion on the Sahara. A question quite unrelat- cently, laws against criticizing the king. However, in Morocco these laws ed to my book, but I engaged anyway. I tried to illustrate the complexities are not symbolic; they are actively enforced. That this still is the case, is by talking about Frisian independence. Let’s suppose that some Frisians because Morocco has a long way to go in educating its people, develop- ask for independence and that the UN asks The Netherlands to organize ing a healthy public debate and establishing a kind of ‘ethics of discus- a referendum. OK. But who should be allowed to vote? The Frisians in sion’. Until then, it will be a tricky subject. This does not mean, however, Frisia? All Frisians in the Netherlands? All Dutch people in the Nether- that Morocco is not a democracy. It depends on your perspective on what lands? All the Dutch who live in Frisia? What about the Frisians living constitutes a democracy. If you take the Swiss model as an example, not in Australia? What about someone who is half-Frisian and lives in The many countries can be called democracies. However, in Morocco, these Hague? Does she have no say in the matter? In Oosterbeek, people imme- are the facts: there are elections within a system that encompasses twen- diately started fierce discussions on that, which illustrated my point: it ty something political parties – ranging from islamists to nationalists to is impossible to organize a referendum on Western Sahara because the communists to extreme-left; there is a parliament with lively debates; concerned parties – Morocco, Algeria, the Polisario, Mauritania – will the government operates within the boundaries of the rule of law; there never agree on who should vote.