Unrest

With all of the uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East coupled with questions from people I've seen, I thought it might be nice to update those who still check back occasionally on the blog on the situation in Morocco.

The situation in Morocco is quite unique. The overwhelming majority of the people in Morocco love their king. To understand their support of King Mohamed VI, it is necessary to know a little of Morocco's history. Mohamed VI's f

ather, Hassan II, ruled the country from 1966 until his death in 1999. He was known for his very conservative rule and poor human rights record. He strengthened the Alaouite Dynasty. From the 1960's to the 1980's he had thousands of dissidents jailed, killed, exiled, or forcibly disappeared.

King Mohamed VI, however, is known as the people's king. He has expanded spending for schools and other welfare programs. He and his family are seen as being quite progressive. His sisters, who head different departments across the government, choose not to wear any sort of head coverings. One sister in particular, the head of the Equestrian Department, even goes so far as to always wear pants.

This isn't to say that Morocco is problem free. There are many issues that have not been addressed by the government, and there is still a large proportion of the population below the poverty level. It is still dangerous to speak out directly against the king, and highly frowned upon to imply that the Western Sahara is an independent country (I don't know if any of you noticed the map change part way through the year on my blog).

I have been in contact with friends who are still in Morocco, and they tell me that every few days there will be half-hearted demonstrations in Meknes, gatherings of 15 to 20 people. The demonstrations don't last long, and they lose steam quickly. What it boils down to is this: Moroccans love their king too much to want any drastic changes.