KING ANNOUNCES BIG CHANGES IN MOROCCAN WESTERN

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000908

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA, IO/UNP, AND NEA/MAG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/10/2019
TAGS: PGOV PBTS PINS PHUM PREL MO WI
SUBJECT: KING ANNOUNCES BIG CHANGES IN MOROCCAN WESTERN
SAHARA POLICY

REF: A. RABAT 0776

B. RABAT 0849

Classified By: PolCouns Gregory Thome for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: King Mohammed VI has announced several
significant changes to Morocco's "domestic" policies for the
Western Sahara. These include a concerted effort to entice
refugees from the Tindouf camps "to repent and return" to
Moroccan-controlled Sahara and a five point plan that aims to
accelerate democratic decentralization and devolve more
self-governing authority to the region. At the same time,
the King underscored what appears to be a policy of
decreasing tolerance toward Moroccan separatists and those
who sympathize with them. There is much good in the king's
calls to reinvigorate decentralization and explore refugee
return. His more worrisome rhetoric regarding "treason"
represents, in large part, a populist effort to stoke
national support for Saharan integration, and may result in a
major crackdown on Saharan activists. The Secretary's recent
public reaffirmation of support for Morocco's autonomy plan
for the Sahara may help the GOM regain its international
equilibrium and reduce the chances for overreactions. END
SUMMARY.

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King Proposes New Policies for Western Sahara
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2. (U) The GOM commemorated the 34th anniversary of the
Green March with much more pomp, circumstance and patriotic
fervor than usual. November 6 is normally a less boisterous
holiday that commemorates the day when former King Hassan II
led hundreds of thousands of peaceful, "spontaneous"
Moroccans on a march into Western Sahara to force Spain to
relinquish the territory to Moroccan control. This year,
however, the GOM marked the anniversary of the 1975 event
with a series of parades, rallies and a major policy speech
from King Mohammed VI, in which he outlined a series of new
domestic and international policy initiatives for the region.


3. (SBU) Most noteworthy among the King's proposals was a
five point plan aimed at accelerating democratic
decentralization in the "Southern Provinces." The Palace has
long expressed its desire to expand self-governance in all
regions of Morocco, but it is no secret that a large part of
the motivation for this slow-moving initiative is aimed at
the Western Sahara. GOM leaders are well aware that the
credibility and feasibility of Morocco's proposed solution to
the Sahara impasse -- its autonomy plan -- are dependent on
the real devolution of significant authority, currently
tightly controlled by the Palace, to the Western Sahara.
With this in mind, the King announced that "the spirit of the
Green March should be rekindled" via a plan that aims to:

-- accelerate decentralization of governing authority
nationwide, and to the Southern Provinces in particular;

-- enhance good governance by sending to the region a cadre
of more effective administrators and expanding their
authority;

-- launch a major restructuring of the Royal Advisory Council
for Saharan Affairs, a body of hand-picked Sahrawis who are
supposed to work hand in hand with the Palace to promote the
political, economic and cultural integration of the region
into Moroccan society; and

-- enlist greater civil society participation in all these
efforts.


4. (SBU) Notably, and perhaps somewhat more problematically,
the King also announced a series of human development and job
creation projects specifically designed to entice refugees
from the Tindouf camps in Algeria "to repent and return to
their motherland." Morocco already favors increasing family
visitation between the camps and the GOM-controlled regions,
and even expressed its strong support for building a direct
road link as part of an effort to enhance the confidence
building measures (CBMs) currently being implemented by the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Ref A). Now, the King
specifically reiterated a call on UNHCR (and Algeria) to
"fulfill their international commitments" and begin
accelerating repatriation.

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Carrots and Sticks

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5. (U) While the King's speech focused heavily on carrots
like decentralization, good governance and job creation, it
also included unvarnished sticks and clear warnings.
Mohammed VI said that the GOM would no longer tolerate the
activities of separatists and other "enemies of Morocco who
cloak themselves" under the guise of human rights
organizations but are in truth collaborating with "foreign
agents" to undermine Moroccan territorial integrity. Making
a clear reference to the seven Sahrawi activists who were
arrested in Casablanca in October after they participated in
a Polisario military parade (Ref B),the King condemned such
activists as "traitors" and informed the nation in strident
terms that, on the question of the Sahara, there was "no
middle ground between patriotism and treason."


6. (SBU) In response to the king's Green March speech, the
Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM),which is closely
linked to the Palace, quickly announced that it would
introduce legislation to further criminalize treason and to
better define the crime of -- and the potential punishments
for -- collaboration with foreign intelligence agents.
Several PAM MPs sought publicly to pre-empt criticism from
human rights activists by clarifying that their draft
legislation would seek to protect both the rights of the
accused and the society at large by requiring that such
crimes be tried in a civilian court. (NOTE: Currently, the
case of the seven Sahrawi activists is being prepared for
trial before military tribunals. END NOTE.

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Swedish Diplomat PNG'ed
--------------


7. (C) The same week as the king's Green March speech, the
GOM decided abruptly to declare a Swedish diplomat "persona
non grata" over her allegedly inappropriate contacts with
Saharan independence activists. The diplomat, a close
Embassy contact, was pro-active on Saharan issues and
maintained extensive contacts with Sahrawi separatists and
human rights NGOs. GOM officials told us that the timing of
the PNG decision and the King's speech was purely
coincidental. However, they had also complained bitterly to
us in the past about the Swede's vocal criticisms of alleged
human rights abuses in the Sahara and their perception that
she tended to take any allegation of abuse at face value
without considering the possible ulterior motives of those
making them. She did admit privately that she has shared
with an activist a packet she had received from the MFA that
contained open-source materials and Ministry of the Interior
comments regarding the allegedly treasonous activities of the
seven currently facing the military tribunal. However, she
also opined that the GOM expelled her less because of her
activities in Morocco and more because of two other factors:
(1) the Swedish government,s awarding of a major human
rights prize to a prominent separatist last month and (2) the
Swedish Social Democratic Party,s public promise last week
to, if returned to government, recognize a Polisario
government.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) Moroccan reaction to the Secretary,s public and
private affirmations of USG support for Morocco,s autonomy
plan has been universally positive. GOM officials are both
relieved and certain that this will reinforce the excellent
bilateral relationship.


9. (C) Despite the harsh rhetoric toward alleged Saharan
separatists, there is much good in King Mohammed VI's Green
March speech. We find the detailed calls for more democratic
decentralization and good governance to be encouraging.
These long-standing initiatives are not proceeding quickly,
but as with all policy in Morocco the king's speech will
serve as a royal instruction to step up the process. His
focus on refugee repatriation is also very positive. UNHCR
still faces a tough task in getting Morocco and Algeria to
agree but, again, the King's focus is always a first step --
at least on the Moroccan side -- toward enhancing this and
other CBMs. As for the tough warnings regarding "treason"
and decreased tolerance of separatist opinion, they largely
represent a populist effort to stoke national opinion in
favor of the GOM's Sahara policies. We do not believe they
will translate into a massive crackdown, although activists

who make a practice of overtly antagonizing the authorities
(like the seven currently being held) are likely to think
twice until this storm blows over. As for the expulsion of
the Swede, we are hopeful that the Secretary's renewal of
public support for Morocco's autonomy plan during her
November 1-3 visit to Marrakesh will help the GOM regain its
equilibrium in the international arena, thereby reducing the
chances for similar over-reactions. END COMMENT.


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