Vol 40 No 16 | MOROCCO Desert kingdom or desert republic? 6th August 1999 Whether Rabat cooperates with the United Nations' planned referendum on Western Sahara next July will be a key test of King Mohammed VI's political muscle. His father, King Hassan...
Vol 39 No 23 | MOROCCO Twin peaks 20th November 1998 Contract-chasing companies, local politicians and many of Casablanca’s four million or so residents will focus, on 21-28 November, on the tenth anniversary of the city’s twinning w...
Vol 39 No 9 | MOROCCO Blair-ites in the desert 1st May 1998 King Hassan's liberalisation provides more space for Islamists and infuriates Algiers Old animosities between Algiers and Rabat are re-emerging. This time it's over Islamist infiltrators and the planned referendum on Western Sahara (see Box). Algeria's still powerfu...
Vol 39 No 9 | MOROCCO A voting mirage 1st May 1998 United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan risks losing face in the Western Sahara. The referendum planned for 7 December - to decid.e at last whether the territory joins Morocco ...
Vol 38 No 25 | ALGERIAMOROCCO Rule by authority 19th December 1997 The latest elections haven't changed the Maghreb governments' absolutist methods For all their differences, the rulers of the two big Maghreb neighbours share some important traits. They fear Islamist revolutionaries and are offering a small share of power to s...
Vol 38 No 23 | MOROCCO Voting for Driss 21st November 1997 The big winner in the 14 November general election was Interior Minister Driss Basri. Following some way behind were the biggest opposition party, the Union Socialiste des Forces P...
Vol 38 No 2 | MOROCCO Generation game 17th January 1997 Cautious moves towards more openness are part of King Hassan's plans for his heir This year's elections, probably in May or June, may bring opposition parties into government but the political opening will be limited. Much of the power will stay with the Palace ...
Vol 37 No 17 | MOROCCO Making a hash of it 23rd August 1996 The price of cannabis has soared this summer in Britain and other European markets. Smokers can lay much of the blame on Driss Basri, Interior Minister of Morocco, which is thought...
Vol 37 No 14 | MOROCCO Rabat tries reform 5th July 1996 Worries about King Hassan's successor and an apparent power vacuum dominate politics Political change is in the air. The heavy-handed and apparently politically motivated crack down on drug smugglers pitted the government, led by Interior Minister Driss Basri, agai...
Vol 37 No 8 | MOROCCO Palace moves 12th April 1996 The King is better. After a painful recovery from bronchial pneumonia, he attended the Sharm el Sheikh terrorism summit in March and means to visit his old friend Jacques Chirac in...