Government bans three weeklies for attempt to state stability
Morocco, Politics, 12/4/2000

The Moroccan government decided Saturday to ban the publishing and circulation of three weeklies Le Journal, Demain and Assahifa, for having "deliberately attacked Morocco's most sacred institutional foundations" and for their clear attempt to destabilize the country's institutions.

In a communiqué by the Prime Minister issued Saturday evening, the government said these weeklies have been staging for several months a campaign meant "to harm the State stability." "After the armed forces and the Sahara, these papers crossed a new threshold in their campaign, challenging the constitutional principles founding the Kingdom's stability, and attacking head-on the democratic alternation experience that Morocco is endeavoring to build up and consolidate," the communiqué said, adding these papers have sowed doubt and confusion in Moroccans.

The decision, made in conformity with article 77 of the code of the press, conforms to the protection of the Nation's interests and sacred institutions, the communiqué said renewing the government's upholding of the freedom of speech.

The Moroccan press union "SNPM" expressed "firm opposition" to the ban decision and called for referring any dispute of the kind to justice.

Le Journal published in last week's issue a dossier on the circumstances of the coup attempt, led by General Oufkir in 1972. The weekly also run a letter reportedly by Fkih Basri, a leftist leader, and sent in the seventies to the late first secretary of the USFP, Abderrahim Bouabib, and Abderrahmane Youssoufi, current USFP first secretary, showing they were involved in the coup attempt. Assahifa and Demain published in their issues of this week comments on the dossier.

At a meeting with the press Saturday evening, Moroccan minister of culture and communication, Mohamed Achaari, said the news, stories and comments published by the three weeklies during the past two weeks were presented in a way and a style harming the country's institutions.

Achaari said these papers have attacked the country's institutions through the publishing of this dossier set up out of nothing and stuffed with groundless allegations. Such a behavior, far from being a mere thoughtless act seeking a sensational scoop stems from a deliberate intention to harm the country's sacred institutions. These papers attacked the country's territorial integrity, the monarchy institution, the army and the constitutional institutions, he added.

An authorized source said the banning of the weeklies was decided in conformity with article 77 of the code of the press which imparts to the prime minister the prerogatives to ban any publication having harmed the country's institutional foundations.

Member of the USFP and minister of social economy, small and medium enterprises and handicraft, Ahmed Lahlimi, told Acharq Al-Awsat daily what is important is not the letter itself nor the events it alludes to but the goal behind the publishing of this letter at this very moment.

He added that the events of the sixties and seventies were known by all and that this era is over as the page has been turned thanks to the common will of all, and most of all the will of the late king Hassan II, that had been determining. For Lahlimi there is no doubt the letter was published for political ends and with the aim to cast doubts on the ongoing democratic process.

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