MOROCCO'S SCHOOL FOR FUTURE GOVERNORS SEEKS U.S.

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000151

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL/AAE, NEA/PI, NEA/PD AND NEA/MAG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2019
TAGS: EAID PGOV PHUM MASS KDEM KWMN MO
SUBJECT: MOROCCO'S SCHOOL FOR FUTURE GOVERNORS SEEKS U.S.
ENGAGEMENT

Classified By: CDA Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: A military academy that is a combination
of A-100, ROTC, and an MPA program, the newly revamped
Institute for Territorial Administrators in Kenitra, trains
the future cadre that will run Morocco's local governance
system. The new curriculum aims to instill democratic values
in Moroccan administrators and prepare them to better
interface with the international community, the U.S. in
particular. The full participation of women and minority
groups in government, compulsory English and Tamazight (a
Berber dialect),and training in human rights, democracy and
public liberty are keystones of the program. It is a
military/civilian institution headed by a general. The
students are in the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) for the length
of the two-year course, but become civilians upon graduation
and remain FAR reservists for the duration of their Ministry
of the Interior (MOI) careers. The curriculum is based on
the king's decade-old mandate to create a "new concept of
authority" in which public service is emphasized over regime
security. Our hosts expressed a strong desire for U.S.
participation in the program, as a means of boosting the
pro-reform agenda, an objective that Post supports. End
Summary.


2. (UN) On January 22, PolCouns and Poloff visited the
Ministry of the Interior's Royal Institute of Territorial
Administration (IRAT),and specifically its Officer Training
School (Ecole de Perfectionnement des Cadres),located in
Kenitra. Underscoring the importance Rabat places on this
program, Brigadier General M'Hamed Allam and Governor Amine
M'Zouri, Director of Studies, led the tour. Rachid Rguibi,
Director of International Affairs at the Ministry of
Interior, and Abdellatif Bencherifa, the Wali (Governor) of
Kenitra, also attended.

A New Concept of Authority
--------------


3. (SBU) Responding to the King's desire to instill a "new
concept of authority" in the MOI (i.e. moving beyond the
traditional mandate of regime security toward public
service),officials revamped the curriculum of the MOI's
Officer Training School in 2007. The new curriculum is
geared to creating an administrative class committed to
democratic ideals, and prepared to engage with the U.S. Our
hosts expressed a strong desire for U.S. participation in the
program, saying they hoped U.S. experts could occasionally
provide lectures about their field of expertise. They also
asked for assistance in finding native English speakers to
teach in their English language program.


4. (C) During our visit, the school's Director of Studies,
Governor Amine M'Zouri, pulled PolOff out of earshot of the
military officers and emphasized the King's specific
instruction to maintain strong civilian influence over the
program. M'Zouri said his role was to ensure that the
civilian perspective continued to be well represented and
cited the expanded course load as evidence. For example, the
school now offers courses on the civilian control of
government, public liberty, and service, as well as specific
training on drug trafficking, extremism, illegal migration,
and human rights. While students must learn either French or
Spanish, English and Tamazight (Morocco's most widespread
Berber dialect) are compulsory -- a significant gesture to
pluralism and Morocco's Berber community. Underlining the
school's commitment to openness and communication, all
students will eventually have access to the internet from
their dormitories, and are encouraged to interact with the
international community through cyberspace.

Students Favorable to the U.S., Want More Contact
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) Current students told PolCouns and PolOff, in
English, about their commitment to democracy, openness, and
working for the people of Morocco. One female student, a
Sahrawi(a member of the ethnic/tribal group predominant in
southern Morocco and the Western Sahara),emphasized what she
had learned about the importance of respecting human rights,
and said she looks forward to being a public servant after
graduation. Many expressed favorable views of the U.S.,
including a desire to participate in a U.S.-based internship.


7. (SBU) With the greater emphasis on civilian issues, what
was once a program with a heavy military focus, is now an
elite, highly competitive program designed to create
well-rounded, globally aware local administrators or Caids.
Students receive the equivalent of a Master of Arts in public
administration and are members of the FAR for the duration of

the two-year program. Upon graduation, the students become
civilians and remain reservists for the length of their MOI
careers. The 120 students currently enrolled in the school
were selected out of over 10,000 applications from Ministry
of Interior personnel through a rigorous written and oral
examination process. Most students are between the ages of
25 and 35, and 20 percent of them are women, a fact our hosts
proudly and repeatedly emphasized. The program also has an
exchange component, and in the past has offered instruction
to students from Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon.


8. (C) Comment: Although the Mission, especially the Office
of Security Cooperation, has had a long relationship with the
Officer Training School, the newly reorganized program
underscores Morocco's efforts to better institutionalize
democratic values and this appears to be genuinely in process
at the school. It also illustrates the GOM's belief that the
future of Morocco depends on its ability to engage
effectively with the U.S. Post will explore ways in which we
might provide assistance to this program, where appropriate.


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Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website;
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat
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Jackson