1991 ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT

UNCLAS RABAT 010076 DEPARTMENT FOR S/CT FOR BREELAND E.O. 12356: N/A TAGS: PTER MO SUBJECT: 1991 ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT REF: STATE 346420 ¶1. POST RESPONSES ARE KEYED TO QUESTIONS LISTED IN REFTEL PARA ¶5. A) THERE WERE NO HOST GOVERNMENT PROSECUTIONS INVOLVING INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM THIS YEAR. THE MOROCCAN JUDICIARY HAS CHARGED 29 STUDENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST ORGANIZATION "JUSTICE AND CHARITY" AT OUJDA UNIVERSITY WITH THE KIDNAPPING AND MURDER OF AT LEAST TWO STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY IN EARLY NOVEMBER. B) NO EXTRADITIONS OF SUSPECTED TERRORISTS WERE CARRIED OUT OR REQUESTED IN 1991. C) THERE ARE NO IMPEDIMENTS TO GOM PROSECUTIONS OF TERRORISTS. MOROCCO DOES NOT HAVE AN EXTRADITION TREATY WITH THE U.S., BUT WOULD LIKELY COOPERATE ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS WITH ANY REQUEST FOR THE EXTRADITION OF A TERRORIST. D) THE MOROCCAN GOVERNMENT HAS CONSISTENTLY DEMONSTRATED A WILLINGNESS TO RESPOND TO SECURITY CONCERNS, ESPECIALLY THOSE INVOLVING POTENTIAL TERRORIST THREATS. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE GULF WAR, THE GOM UNDERTOOK EXCEPTIONAL SECURITY MEASURES TO PREEMPT POSSIBLE TERRORIST ACTIONS IN MOROCCO, AND PROVIDED ENHANCED SECURITY FOR U.S. FACILITIES AND PERSONNEL. THE GOM, HOWEVER, PREFERS TO HANDLE THESE ISSUES QUIETLY AND DOES NOT GENERALLY ISSUE PUBLIC STATEMENTS ON SECURITY MATTERS. E) THE GOM PARTICIPATES AS AN OBSERVER IN THE ANNUAL MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE OF THE TREVI GROUP. THE GOM ALSO PARTICIPATED IN SEPTEMBER 1990 IN A REVIEW OF THE U.S.-MOROCCO BILATERAL AGREEMENT ON COUNTERTERRORISM, NARCOTICS AND ORGANIZED CRIME, PART OF AN ONGOING BILATERAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES ON COUNTERTERRORISM ISSUES. F) THE GOM DOES NOT SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM, EITHER RHETORICALLY OR MATERIALLY. G) MOROCCO IS LINKED TO LIBYA BY BOTH COUNTRIES' MEMBERSHIP IN THE ARAB MAGHREB UNION, AS WELL AS BY EXTENSIVE COMMERCIAL TIES. THE GOM HAS SOUGHT THE LIFTING OF SANCTIONS AGAINST LIBYA, BUT HAS NOT SUPPORTED LIBYA ON A TERRORISM ISSUE. MOROCCO STRONGLY SUPPORTS THE PALESTINIANS' CLAIM TO SELF-DETERMINATION, AND CONSIDERS THE PLO TO BE THE LEGITIMATE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. MOROCCO HAS LONG WORKED TO MODERATE THE PLO, HOWEVER, AND SUPPORTS A PEACEFUL, NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT OF THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT. THE GOM ENCOURAGES THE PLO TO LIVE UP TO ITS COMMITMENT TO RENOUNCE TERRORISM. H) THE GOM DEMONSTRATED HEIGHTENED SENSITIVITY TO TERRORIST THREATS RESULTING FROM THE GULF WAR. THIS HEIGHTENED SENSITIVITY HAS CONTINUED INTO THE POST-WAR PERIOD, RESULTING IN INCREASED RESPONSIVENESS TO USG SECURITY CONCERNS. THE GOM IS ALSO INCREASINGLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR DOMESTIC TERRORISM, BOTH AS THE RESULT OF EXTREMIST OPPOSITION TO MIDDLE EAST PEACE NEGOTIATIONS AND THE RECENT STUDENT VIOLENCE BETWEEN ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST AND LEFTIST STUDENT FACTIONS. USSERY