STAFFDEL CAMMACK: CAN MOROCCO BE FRANCHISED?

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 RABAT 001340 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/MAG, NEA/PI, DRL, LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM MO OVIP SUBJECT: STAFFDEL CAMMACK: CAN MOROCCO BE FRANCHISED? Classified By: Polcouns Craig Karp. Reasons l.4 (B) and (D). -------------- SUMMARY: -------------- ¶1. (SBU) During an August 8-10 visit, Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee Staff Member Perry Cammack heard that reformers in Morocco, unlike in many other Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, already have a safe space within which to operate, and are working to expand existing gains. At the same time, Morocco's success is the result of the country's unique context, and does not necessarily reflect a process that can be "franchised" across the MENA region. In every meeting, Cammack was told that continued foreign engagement and assistance (financial, technical and political) were crucial to the country's ability to sustain forward momentum. End Summary. -------------- MOROCCO HAS A VISION AND A STRATEGY -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Director-General Ambassador Youssef Amrani told Cammack during an August 9 meeting at the MFA that Morocco is "moving fast" in the direction of reform. "We make mistakes, but we have a plan and we know where we are going." The King's vision, manifested through the GOM's current activities, is to build up a democratic state with "legitimate and respected institutions." To achieve that goal, Amrani said that Morocco has adopted a participatory strategy in which all stakeholders have input in the design, implementation and evaluation of reforms. He held up the September elections, and their attendant monitoring component, as an example of this approach in action. Amrani proudly showed off his new voter registration card, generated using the MOI's recently launched computerized anti-fraud system. Would-be voters now have to go in person and show identification to collect their registrations, are assigned to a specific polling station annotated on the card, and are cross-referenced against a national electronic database to help prevent duplicate registrations and voting in multiple districts by the same person. ¶3. (SBU) He cautioned Cammack not to sell Morocco to the Senate as a model for the MENA region, however. While there were many lessons that Morocco is willing to share with other countries, he said that the specific role of the monarchy in society, and the throne's current incumbent, had a lot to do with how events unfolded. -------------- -------------- TRADE AND EDUCATION ARE COUNTERTERRORISM TOOLS... -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Amrani went on to say that national stability is the most effective vehicle for countering extremism, and the best way to attain it is by allowing citizens to realize their potential through political and economic openness. He welcomed the Free Trade Agreement and said the GOM wants access to European and U.S. markets to strengthen Morocco's economic base through trade. Improving the education system is the GOM's highest priority, both as an instrument of development and as a counterterrorism tool. If students receive skills through schooling that allow them to find RABAT 00001340 002 OF 004 jobs, they will be less susceptible to the lure of Salafist recruiters, who prey on the unemployed and marginalized. (Comment: This conversation took place before the abortive August 13 Meknes bombing, reportedly carried out by a degreed engineer who held a relatively well-paid civil service job at a local tax office. End Comment.) Amrani said that Morocco is one of the few MENA countries to actively scrub its textbooks of extremist rhetoric and slant, and the GOM is working directly with mosques to stem the flow of inflammatory rhetoric. He pointed to recent legal developments, such as the passing of a money laundering law, to show that Morocco is attacking terrorists across a broad front. -------------- ...AS IS ENGAGEMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) Amrani said that "Morocco delivers" for its allies, of which he stated the U.S. is the strongest, and is active in the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP) through Arab trans-national bodies and direct contact with Israel. Lack of progress in the MEPP, as well as the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, "nourish extremists' roots," who use the situations to justify their actions. In response to a question about how average Moroccans view Iraq, he said quite emphatically that the USG must listen to the advice of its allies in the region, like Morocco, and sometimes work through intermediaries to let them explain the USG's message. He said the USG must deploy more Arabic speaking diplomats and officials in the Middle East, remain engaged in the MEPP after the 2008 Presidential election, and be willing to talk to Iran and Syria. "Lebanon cannot be solved without Syria and Iraq cannot be solved without Iran, so diplomatic dialogue must be a part of the process." -------------- NOT THE TWO STATES WE WERE THINKING OF -------------- ¶6. (C) Regarding the Palestinian Authority, he joked that the current "two state solution" in Gaza and the West Bank was not what the GOM had envisioned. The USG should continue working through Abu Mazen to find a way to "ease the burden on the Palestinian people." When Cammack asked whether the GOM thought the Israeli, Palestinian and U.S. leaders' could be effective in the MEPP given their weak political positions, Amrani said that, regardless of their domestic status, it was important for them to start the process and work on confidence building measures. He also thought Israeli Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni wanted to be Prime Minister and had a vision for the MEPP that she would bring with her into office if elected. ¶7. (C) Amrani launched into a discussion of Western Sahara by reading a copy of Amb. Sanders' statement on the GOM's proposal, saying "we are happy with her words." The GOM's Western Sahara proposal was a basis for negotiation and was arrived at through consultation with internal and international stakeholders, and as such was legitimate. He said that everything was on the table, but that it took two to negotiate. He referenced Spain as a country where provincial autonomy worked well and said the Sahrawis should be willing to see the possibilities inherent in that type of arrangement. RABAT 00001340 003 OF 004 -------------- WE NEED YOUR OXYGEN, YOU NEED OUR CREDIBILITY -------------- ¶8. (C) Amrani expressed gratitude for U.S. assistance, saying that the GOM needed "your (U.S.) oxygen because we need to breathe." He asked for continued and increased support, and thanked the USG for the Millennium Challenge grant. He followed up by asking why Morocco's other foreign assistance streams had been cut. He reiterated the GOM's desire to work closely with the U.S. saying that the USG could "rely on Morocco" and should lean on the GOM because it has credibility in the MENA region. He added that the USG should increase public diplomacy and international visitor programs because personal contact is the only way to overcome stereotypes. In the bidonvilles (slums),many houses have a satellite dish, so the only way for the USG to counter its negative image in the media is to engage in "personal diplomacy." He added that the Peace Corps was an excellent example of grass roots diplomacy. MFA Americas Desk Chief Wassane Zailachi urged Cammack to encourage Senator Biden to visit Morocco. -------------- RABID REFORMERS, BUT STAUNCH MONARCHISTS -------------- ¶9. (SBU) At a lunch hosted by Polcouns, Cammack discussed human rights and Morocco's reforms with Amina Bouayach, President of the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights (OMDH) and a recent International Visitor Program returnee. Bouayach, recently named one of "100 leaders who move Morocco" by Tel Quel Magazine, reinforced Amrani's contention that Morocco's progress is a result of the current (and to some extent the previous) king's vision; and because the monarchy is structured in society in a way that allows the king to implement ideas. Regarding the U.S. image in the Middle East, she said Iraq was the biggest obstacle to any improvement, likening it to Viet Nam. ¶10. (SBU) An August 10 MEETING with Nezha Alaoui, President of prominent NGO Union de l'Action Feminine, provided Cammack with an overview of the women's movement in Morocco. Alaoui said the effort to update the Moudawanna (civil code) that began in the early 1990s catalyzed the wider democratic reforms now taking place. In regards to fundamentalist resistance to modernization, she said that the King, as Commander of the Faithful, was empowered to update laws such as the Moudawanna that have their roots in Quranic teachings, as long as he kept within the spirit of Islam. As such, there was no contradiction between reform and religion. "The Quran is sacred, not the Mudawanna or other laws." ¶11. (C) Morocco's weak tribal system and strong central government and monarchy also facilitate reform in ways not possible in MENA countries with entrenched traditional governance structures like Yemen and SAUDI Arabia. The king has always played a role in women's issues and Morocco benefited from a historical confluence of internal and external events when Mohammed VI was enthroned. "If he had risen two years earlier, or two years later, things would have been very different." (Comment: Many reformers and activists who would be considered anti-establishment radicals in other countries are intensely pro-monarchy in Morocco and look to the King for protection and inspiration as the nation's bulwark against extremism. Much of the old left, RABAT 00001340 004 OF 004 including many former Communists, is focused on working within the system to help it evolve, rather than seeking to do away with the existing order. End comment.) -------------- BUT WHAT DOES THE FARMER IN THE RIF THINK? -------------- ¶12. (SBU) A USAID organized roundtable allowed Cammack to meet Democracy and Governance (DG) Program Chiefs of Party. AID has been supporting the "supply side" of the political equation by working with parties and government, but is beginning to focus more on the "demand" side through outreach to citizens and civil society. In Morocco, the DG program supports existing Moroccan reform efforts rather initiating reform as in other countries. A large focus has been on encouraging elected officials to communicate with, and be responsive to, citizenry through constituent services. Grass roots politics does not exist in Morocco yet, but that is changing. The PJD in particular is building a "bottom up" base that has helped it become a major player. At this stage, however, political machinations and reform in Rabat have only passing relevance to rural populations. ¶13. (SBU) During a subsequent August 10 MEETING with members of the MEPI Alumni Association, participants said that their MEPI sponsored visits to the U.S. altered many of their misconceptions about the country. One speaker said an exchange trip "changed my life." In this forum too, the alumni thought that Morocco could share lessons with its neighbors, but that it had found a "uniquely Moroccan solution to a regional problem." A vocal minority felt that the reforms were of concern to city dwellers, but had little relevance or effect on lives of farmers and poor traders in rural areas. One participant said that he did not know his trip to the U.S. was funded by MEPI through a partner organization until he returned to Morocco. He said that all overseas travelers should know that they benefited from a USG sponsored program. (Comment: We have seen in this early contact that the MEPI Alumni Network is a useful outreach tool. End Comment) ¶14. (U) STAFFDEL Cammack did not have the opportunity to clear this cable. ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ***************************************** RILEY