A member of Morocco’s “February 20″ movement shouts slogans during a protest in Rabat on December 23, 2012. AFP PHOTO/FADEL SENNA
High-visibility political crises may already be underway in Egypt and Tunisia, but Morocco’s bleak internal situation should not be ignored. Two years after tens of thousands of Moroccans swarmed the streets to demand governmental reform, activists celebrated the February 20 protests on Wednesday at a sparsely attended demonstration in front of the Moroccan Parliament in Rabat. Unlike popular uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East that successfully ousted longstanding autocratic rulers in Egypt, Tunisia and elswhere, Morocco’s February 20 movement has largely fizzled in the intervening years, handicapped by its own disorganization, the missed opportunity to join forces with smaller protests led by unemployed graduates, and notably, a heavy clampdown by the country’s Islamist government.
In the wake of 2011 protests, Rabat was predictably quick to respond to the defiant February 20 protesters with a two-pronged strategy of pseudo-reform and repression, i.e. feigning reform through a draft constitution that was overwhelmingly adopted in a national referendum based on its promises of real change — in reality, it gave the government even wider powers — and arresting dozens of anti-government activists, many of whom are still behind bars today, according to human rights group Amnesty International. (Though no further arrests have been reported at subsequent rallies in 2012 and 2013.) The group was also weakened by limited international interest (not unlike uprisings in another monarch-led Arab nation, Bahrain) and a dwindling national following: although February 20 leaders effectively used social media to rally supporters to the 2011 demonstration, they have since struggled to build support at the grassroots level.
But not for a lack of justified demands. Encouraged by the wave of revolutionary movements during the Arab Spring, February 20 protesters sought improved economic conditions, an end to corruption and the release of all political prisoners. Though Morocco has long been considered one of the region’s most stable countries, it nonetheless remains plagued by corruption and a monarchy that enjoys near-absolute powers. This despite the fact that a little over ten years ago, the nation seemed poised for a transition to democracy. King Mohammed VI had succeeded his father, King Hassan II, a heavy-handed ruler whose decades-long reign was marked by political repression. Today, little has changed as evidenced by rampant poverty in both urban and rural centers — offering stark contrast to the opulent lifestyles of the country’s king and political elite — and the continued lack of government transparency (the king has drawn heavy criticism for his involvement in profitable business ventures even while acting as the “ultimate arbiter” of Morocco’s business world).
Activists are now hoping to benefit from simmering public discontent and Morocco’s slowing economy (a historically explosive combination) to re-ignite interest in the February 20 movement. But a recent uptick in the number of unlawful detentions and usages of torture against political dissidents, coupled with low protest turnout, is discouraging. The prevailing atmosphere of resignation is equally challenging — many in Morocco are reluctant to challenge a 1000-year-old monarchy, a reluctance perhaps exacerbated by government scaremongering over the successful rebellion in Libya and and the bloody, ongoing one in Syria.
But frustrated whisperings, not so different from those in nearby Egypt and Tunisia, did mount to a roar two years ago — the first real challenge to Morocco’s status quo since a series of assassination attempts on King Hassan in the 1970s. And despite the obstacles impeding opposition groups, it’s feasible that Morocco’s current stagnation could build to a real impetus for change, particularly if the economy keeps stalling and the king keeps spending (his palace’s reported operating budget is nearly $1 million a day). Like his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, King Mohammed cannot stay immune from the residual consequences of the Arab Spring (in whatever form they may take in Morocco) simply by repressing dissent and hoping it dissipates. Meaning that the king’s grace period may be over sooner than he expects, though he will be hard-pressed to say that he didn’t see it coming.
