King Hassan Celebrates 30 Years of Rule Amidst Calls for Democratization

By Jamal Amiar

Red flags with green stars are posted on all buildings, and portraits of King Hassan II festoon shop windows and the avenues in preparation for March 3 observances of the 30th anniversary of the Moroccan monarch's accession to power. King Hassan was only 32 years old on Feb. 28, 1961, when his father, King Mohamed V, died. King Mohamed was one of the men who led Morocco to independence from French and Spanish rule in 1956.

When King Hassan came to power, Morocco, like dozens of other newly independent states in Africa and Asia, faced the dual challenges of political and economic development. Ever since, the history of Morocco has been inseparably intertwined with the rule of its king, who bears the political title of head of state, the religious title of commander of the faithful and the military title of commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

A Pro-Western Stance

During the three decades of his reign, King Hassan has given a pro-Western tone to Moroccan diplomacy. He also has promoted a free enterprise economy and, more cautiously, development of a "controlled" democracy. In recent months, although social and political unrest has risen sharply, King Hassan's political and economic choices have remained staunchly pro-Western. France is at present Morocco's main trading partner, followed by Spain, Germany and the United States.

French military advisers work closely with the Moroccan army, and the United States has two military bases in the kingdom. Throughout the years, Morocco has demonstrated its pro-Western tilt by intervening militarily on behalf of pro-Western elements in sub-Saharan Africa. Examples are Moroccan military participation with other nations in Benin and in Zaire.

Rabat has also maintained contacts with Israel, to which many Moroccan Jews emigrated a generation ago. King Hassan has made it clear that Moroccan emigres to Israel are free to visit their families in Morocco, and some Jewish emigres have returned to resume living in Morocco. Israeli Premier Shimon Peres visited Morocco in July 1986.

The most challenging issue King Hassan has had to face during his 30 years' reign, however, is that of democracy. When he ascended to the throne, King Hassan promulgated a new constitution, and elections were held.

The result, however, was a majority for the nationalist and leftist forces. A struggle for power between the monarchy and those forces, exacerbated by the Cold War, continued without respite throughout the 1960s.

The Moroccan opposition then was largely composed of the nationalist Istiqlal party, the USFP (Socialist Union of Popular Forces) and a variety of small but very active leftist groups. These opposition parties either leaned towards the ideas of pan-Arab nationalism, then led by President Nasser of Egypt, or the ideas of scientific socialism, actively promulgated by Moscow.

Tensions rose between the monarchy and opposition that claimed that, despite its electoral majority, it did not truly share in the exercise of power. By the time Morocco found itself at war with Algeria in 1963, many Moroccan opposition leaders seemed to support Algiers against the Moroccan monarch. Soon after, all political activity was banned and the king ruled with the backing of the security forces.

Tensions remained, however. In 1965, for instance, riots rocked towns throughout the kingdom, leaving many dead and many missing. Later that same year, charismatic opposition leader Mehdi Ben Barka was kidnapped and killed in France, where he had been living in exile since 1962. A period of repression and one-man rule began that did not cease until 1977.

Meanwhile, for three years in a row, in 1971, 1972 and 1973, military coups were attempted, resulting in massive trials and in executions.

The Green March

Morocco's internal political health took a turn for the better, however, as King Hassan devoted a major effort to returning to Moroccan rule lands that had been colonized by European powers. Although Morocco had formally attained its independence in 1956, 20 years later the Western Sahara remained under Spanish rule. What Moroccans would call the issue of the Western Sahara Province was one around which Moroccans were virtually unanimous.

The Moroccan government had begun raising the issue in diplomatic circles in 1973. In 1975 the palace, as Moroccans call King Hassan's government, proposed that 350,000 Moroccans march south to reclaim peacefully the Spanish-ruled Western Sahara province. At the same time the king proposed that democracy would be restored.

The Green March took place on Nov. 6, 1975, and in 1977 the country held its first democratic elections since 1962.

A Democracy Under Control

During the months preceding the 1977 elections, however, the palace had done some work to ensure that the second experiment with democracy would be less turbulent than the first. Political parties with leaders close to the monarchy were established.

Ahmed Osman, a brother-in-law of the king and a former prime minister who also had served as ambassador to Washington, set up the RNI (National Gathering of Independents). Maati Bouabid, a former labor union leader and prime minister, established the UC (Constitutional Union).

Political forces close to the palace won the 1977 elections, but the opposition contested the results. The same scenario was played again in 1983. In 1989, because of the continuing Sahara conflict, King Hassan postponed the scheduled elections for two years.

Democracy is not yet an uncontested fact of life in Morocco 35 years after independence. Besides contested electoral results, press censorship remains strong. The Ministry of the Interior is also the Ministry of Information, and key positions in politics and business are held by men with family links to the palace.

Africa's largest private firm (excluding South Africa), the Moroccan holding company ONA, is headed by King Hassan's son in-law, Fouad Filali. Fouad Filali's father, Abdellatif Filali, is Morocco's foreign minister. The ONA owns more than 10 percent of the country's productive capabilities, including media outlets and real estate.

Twenty years ago, Princeton University scholar John Waterbury described in his book, The Commander of the Faithful, how power is exercised through business and family links in Morocco. The links remain in place, and the books about them continue to appear.

Last October, French author Gilles Perrault published in Paris what became a bestseller entitled Notre Ami Le Roi (Our Friend the King), criticizing the king's rule and links between the Moroccan monarchy and the French elite.

Now, another critical account of Moroccan politics is scheduled for publication this spring in France. The author, this time, is a Moroccan political exile, Mournen Diouri, and his title is A Qui Appartient le Maroc? (To Whom Belongs Morocco?). His topic will be the concentration of wealth in Morocco and its effect on national life.

A Tarnished Anniversary

Nor have the months leading up to the March 3 anniversary been tranquil at home. Last Dec. 14, a call for a general strike led to bloody riots in the major Moroccan interior towns of Tangiers and Fez.

In a speech following those events, King Hassan warned that he would reinstate a state of emergency if further unrest took place either for social reasons or because of the Gulf crisis. Riots had taken place in 1981 and 1984, and the Dec. 14 events could have been predicted. Earlier in 1990, labor unions had asked the government to increase the minimum wage. When the government refused, the unions CDT (Workers' Democratic Confederation, close to the USFP party) and the UGTM (Moroccan Workers' General Union, close to the Istiqlal party) called for a general strike to be held on April 19, 1990. Then, a few days before the scheduled strike, the government decreed a 10-percent rise in the minimum wage.

A strike was thereby averted in the spring. The unions continued to press, however, for two other claims. They wanted reinstatement of workers laid off after the strikes of 1981 and 1984, and also a rise in family allowances.

When negotiations led to no agreement, labor unions called for the Dec. 14 general strike. This time, instead of giving in the face of a strike deadline, the government threatened that "according to the constitution, it is illegal to hold a general strike." The general strike was held, nevertheless, and people were killed during the ensuing riots.

The months since then, therefore, have been a period of high political tension with calls for an independent investigation of the Dec. 14 events leading to possible constitutional reform.

In addition to this long-standing social and political unrest, the war in the Gulf has created further political tension in Morocco. While Rabat acted quickly to send troops to defend Saudi Arabia, since the start of actual fighting pro-Iraq popular sentiment is increasing. Although the government has prohibited all street demonstrations in support of Iraq, nationalist and leftist groups called for a general strike on Jan. 30. In response, King Hassan has called for an immediate cease-fire in the Gulf hostilities. The Moroccan monarch has also instructed the Moroccan Red Crescent to collect blood donations for the Iraqi victims of the fighting.

Jamal Amiar is a US-educated radio journalist based in Tangier, Morocco.