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$60 million ransom demanded for aid-workers & Algerian diplomats held in northern Mali
Moroccan American Center for Policy (Washington, DC, May 10, 2012) —Today marks more than 200 days of captivity for Western aid-workers Rossella Urru of Italy and Ainhoa Fernández de Rincón and Enric Gonyacons of Spain, kidnapped October 23 from the Polisario-run refugee camps near Tindouf in Algeria by an al-Qaeda offshoot, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), reportedly with assistance from camp insiders. News accounts indicate the kidnap victims are believed to be held in northern Mali. [Continue Reading...]
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Ambassadors Selwa Roosevelt, Edward Gabriel honored as
“Arab Americans of the Year”
Washington, DC (May 1, 2012) — On Saturday, Ambassadors Selwa “Lucky” Roosevelt, White House Chief of Protocol for President Ronald Reagan, and Edward M. Gabriel, US Ambassador to Morocco during the Administration of President Bill Clinton, were honored in Detroit, Michigan as “Arab Americans of the Year” for their distinguished service to their country and communities. [Continue Reading...]
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Report documents Polisario camps as recruiting ground for al-Qaeda in Sahara
Washington, DC (April 24, 2012) — As the takeover of Mali’s historic Timbuktu by al-Qaeda and other militants highlights volatility in Africa’s Sahara/Sahel, a new report documents how refugee camps run by the separatist Polisario Front near Tindouf, Algeria have become a recruiting ground for terrorists and traffickers in the region. The report urges UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) to also focus aid to the camps on durable solutions that help resettle refugees, improve humanitarian conditions, and stop perpetuating another source of instability. [Continue Reading...]
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Foreign Policy Panel Urges US Act to End Western Sahara Conflict “Now” - Experts, former US diplomats discuss Western Sahara crisis & the need for US Leadership to end it
Washington, DC (April 4, 2012) — Yesterday, in Washington, DC, foreign policy experts and former US diplomats participated in a roundtable, ”The Western Sahara Crisis: Why US Leadership is Needed Now,” which focused on the urgent need for concrete US action in support of its long-standing policy for a solution to the Western Sahara conflict based on autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty—a policy backed by the Clinton, Bush and Obama Administrations and reiterated by bipartisan majorities of both the US House and Senate. Now, more than ever, according to the panel, the Western Sahara dispute contributes to instability in the Sahara/Sahel region—home to deteriorating humanitarian conditions for Sahrawi refugees and an increasingly volatile security situation. [Continue Reading...]
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US, France Voice Strong Support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan to Resolve Western Sahara Dispute, Remove Obstacle to Peace in Region—Also praise Morocco’s role in advancing human rights, democratic reforms
Washington, DC (March 12)—Echoing a recent statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe called Morocco’s autonomy initiative for Western Sahara “the only realistic proposal” for resolving the decades-old conflict over the territory. On a trip to the region last month, Clinton said Morocco’s autonomy initiative is “serious, realistic, and credible” and reaffirmed that US policy “has remained constant.” [Continue Reading... ]
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Sec. Clinton Praises Morocco as Leader for Peace, Democracy in Region—Reaffirms Moroccan autonomy solution in Western Sahara as ‘serious, realistic, credible’
Washington, DC (March 1) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking to press in Rabat on Sunday with Moroccan Foreign Minister Saad Dine El Otmani, praised Morocco as a leader on Arab Spring reforms and a key partner for peace in the region. She described Morocco’s autonomy initiative to resolve the Western Sahara conflict as “serious, realistic, and credible” and reiterated that US policy “has remained constant.” The US policy supporting a solution based on autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty to end the decades-old dispute has earned the backing of three US Administrations—Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Barack Obama—as well as that of bipartisan majorities in both Houses of Congress. [Continue Reading... ]
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Study Warns of Rising al-Qaeda Threat in North Africa –
Urges closing Polisario camps which have become recruiting ground for terrorists
Washington, DC (Feb. 3)—A new study by the International Center for Terrorism Studies (ICTS) warns that al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) poses a “dangerous threat” to the region and beyond as it seeks to exploit Arab Spring instability and expand terrorist ties to other militants across Africa’s Sahel. The report recommends closing the Polisario Front’s refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria, which the study says “are a recruiting ground for terrorists, traffickers, and other criminal enterprises.” It calls on the US and international community to “prioritize” resettling the refugees. [Continue Reading... ]
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For first time, directs that US aid to Morocco can be used in W. Sahara; Urges State Dept to make resolving W. Sahara dispute a US foreign policy priority; Important steps to bolster, extend Morocco’s reform agenda
Washington, DC (Dec. 23, 2011)—Congress has approved and the President today signed a bill taking action to extend US assistance for Morocco’s reforms to the Western Sahara and advance the longstanding US policy calling for a solution to the Western Sahara conflict based on autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. The action —included in the 2012 Omnibus Spending Report—for the first time directs that US program assistance to Morocco may be used in all “regions and territories administered by Morocco,” including the Western Sahara. [Continue Reading... ]
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Morocco Turns ‘Arab Spring’ Challenges into Opportunity for Reform
Experts, former US diplomats analyze ‘Moroccan’ response to unprecedented unrest in Arab world
Washington, DC (December 8, 2011) — Today, a panel of foreign policy experts and former US diplomats in Washington, DC discussed Morocco’s recent elections and the challenges that lie ahead for the ongoing reform process. The roundtable, ”What’s next for Morocco? Assessing opportunities and challenges after the elections,” came less than two weeks after Morocco held its first parliamentary elections following major constitutional reforms approved in a national referendum in July. [Continue Reading...]
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Experts at Congressional Hearing Warn of Threat to US from
Nigeria-Based Boko Haram, Link to AQIM
Cite danger of expanding terrorist ties across Africa’s Sahel, flooded by Libyan arms
Washington, DC (Nov. 30)—At a hearing today of the House Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, experts warned that the Nigeria-based militant group, Boko Haram, is posing an emerging threat to US interests and the US homeland. The panel also heard compelling evidence that Boko Haram has established links to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which is expanding a broad network of terrorist ties to militant groups across Africa’s Sahel, including Somalia-based al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and members of the separatist Polisario Front based inAlgeria. [Continue Reading...]
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PJD takes lead in seats; Sec. of State Clinton, UK, France, and others praise Morocco vote as ‘important milestone’ for peaceful change in region
Washington, DC (Nov. 26) — Moroccans voted yesterday in the country’s first Parliamentary election since recent Constitutional reforms that increased the power of Morocco’s Parliament. Voters chose from among 5,873 candidates and 33 different parties to fill 395 seats. Seventy seats were set aside for younger adult and women members to ensure Parliament includes new faces reflecting the nation’s changing population. With 288 of 305 local constituent seats decided, provisional results show the Justice and Development party (PJD) won 80, Independence party won 45, National Rally for Independents (RNI) won 38, Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won 33, Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) won 29, Popular Movement (MP) won 22, Constitutional Union (UC) won 15, and Progress and Socialism Party (PPS) won 11. Under the new Constitution, the head of government is to be appointed from the party with the most seats. Early results indicate a coalition government will emerge with PJD likely in the lead. [Continue Reading... ]
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For FAQs, check out MoroccoOnTheMove.com
Washington, DC (November 18, 2011) — On November 25, Moroccans will go to the polls to cast their vote in historic parliamentary elections following the adoption of broad Constitutional reforms in July. This will be the first Parliamentary election in the region since the Arab Spring began. Nearly 4,000 Moroccan, US, and international observers, including the National Democratic Institute and Morocco’s National Human Rights Council, are currently working with Moroccan civil society leaders to train and assist in carrying out the elections as well as ensure against irregularities on election day. To date, more than 13.6 million Moroccans have registered to vote. [Continue Reading...]
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Washington, DC (Nov.10, 2011) — Foreign policy experts at Brookings and the Atlantic Council noted encouraging signs in changes sweeping North Africa and the Middle East, most notably reforms and elections in Morocco and Tunisia. But they also warned of looming threats from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), now strengthened by a flood of Libyan weapons and ties with other militant groups in the region, including the Polisario Front, whose members last month reportedly helped AQIM kidnap Western aid workers from a Polisario refugee camp in Algeria. [Continue Reading...]
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Polisario Insiders Reportedly Helped al-Qaeda Kidnap Western Aid Workers from Refugee Camps
UN Sec. Gen expresses “deep concern,” calls for their “immediate release”
Washington, DC (November 4, 2011) — Three European aid workers continue to be held by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) after being kidnapped from refugee camps controlled by the Polisario Front near Tindouf, Algeria last week. According to reports, Polisario members in the camps helped the kidnappers by supplying weapons and directions to the victims’ location. The two Spanish and one Italian hostages are being held at an undisclosed location. They remain alive, though no demands or conditions for their release have been made, despite considerable efforts by the international community. [Continue Reading...]
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Washington, DC (Oct. 21)—The United Nations’ 193 member nations voted in New York City today to approve Morocco’s bid to serve as one of five new non-permanent members on the UN Security Council in 2012-2013. Morocco received 151 votes from the UN’s members in the first round of voting, well over the two-thirds required, and will join the 15-member UN Security Council in January. [Continue Reading...]
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Washington, DC (August 26, 2011)— This week, following the largely complete take-over of Tripoli by the opposition forces of the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC), new reports have surfaced that more than 500 of Moammar Qaddafi’s mercenaries who were captured and arrested are members of the Polisario Front. [Continue Reading...]
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Washington, DC (August 5)—Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Members of Congress voiced congratulations and strong support for Morocco’s new Constitution, which strengthens and advances the country’s commitment to human rights, freedom and equality, participatory democracy and governance. [Continue Reading...]
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King Mohammed VI Sends Message to President Obama as
US, EU, France, and Spain Praise Historic Morocco Vote,
Support Democratic Reforms Promoting Rights and Rule of Law
Washington, DC (July 4)—As praise from world leaders continues for Morocco’s historic July 1 vote approving its Constitutional reforms, His Majesty King Mohammed VI sent a message to President Barack Obama expressing July 4th congratulations and pride in the ‘long-standing friendship’ and ‘strategic partnership’ that has defined the two nations’ relations for more than two centuries. In 1777, Morocco was the first nation to recognize US independence and in 1787 it signed America’s longest “Treaty of Friendship and Peace.” [Continue Reading...]
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“It is the Moroccan people who will have the last word,” His Majesty King Mohammed VI
Washington, DC (March 10)—Yesterday, His Majesty King Mohammed VI announced a comprehensive set of constitutional reforms and far-reaching regionalization initiative to advance and broaden the democratic reforms that have been underway in the country for more than two decades. The new proposals will strengthenMorocco’s elected government, move forward on an independent judiciary, and further empower local communities and regions. Revisions to the Constitution will be made with input from its political parties and civil society and be voted on by the Moroccan people. [Continue Reading...]
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