Saudi message for Moroccan King cements relations
As Morocco steps up its Saudi relations and flirts with autocracy, the country may well assume the same human rights status as its Gulf Cooperation Council neighbours in the near future.
The Moroccan King, Mohammed VI received Saudi Prince, Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and a hand delivered message from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Casablanca, on 7th May, AFP reported.
The tradition of passing handwritten messages between the two monarchs was observed last year in August, as King Mohammed VI enquired about mutually beneficial support strategies “in various fields”.
This February, we saw Morocco’s chief of police, Abdellatif Hammouchi enhance security ties with Saudi Arabia at the World Defence Show, which assisted “the strengthening of global security and stability.”, MEO claimed.
However, watchdog group, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) criticised “Morocco’s growing authoritarianism,” and called upon the palace to release imprisoned journalists who were victims of “political, judicial, and media persecution”.
READ: James M. Dorsey: Why Morocco could beat Saudi World Cup bid
For many Moroccans and journalists, Hammouchi was the instigator of the autocratic crack-down on the freedoms of speech, expression, and information, as under his ruling many journalists have been silenced by blackmail or by imprisonment and charges of trumped-up sex allegations and scandals.
One of the most renowned cases of journalists suffering under Morocco’s oppressive censorship is that of Omar Radi and Soulaimane Raissouni. Human rights groups believe that their incarceration is based upon the writer’s critiques of the government, and not the numerous charges of embezzlement, collaboration with foreign intelligence, and rape.
The strengthening of Morocco and Saudi Arabia’s security and environmental ties signifies the fraternal relations that King Mohammed VI frequently reiterates.
For example, ACWA Power International – a Saudi renewable energy company – funded the $9 billion solar plant in Ouarzazate, Morocco. The world’s largest concentrated solar power plant has been recognised as a crucial milestone in Morocco’s aims to make renewable energy represent 52% of its installed capacity by 2023.
However, Morocco may need to ramp up its efforts even more in order to reach the ambitious 52% goal for 2030 after the country failed to reach its renewable energy target in 2020.
AFP/RSF/MEO
