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Morocco

Country in northwest Africa, bounded to the north and northwest by the Mediterranean Sea, to the east and southeast by Algeria, and to the south by Western Sahara.

Government

Under the 1992 constitution, Morocco is an Islamic state headed by an hereditary monarch. There is a 333-member chamber of representatives, the Majlis An-Nuwab, serving a six-year term; 222 are directly elected by universal suffrage and the remainder are chosen by an electoral college of local councillors and employers' and employees' representatives. The king appoints a cabinet and prime minister who are responsible to the assembly and the king. Legislative powers are shared between the monarch and the assembly, each being able to initiate laws. The king may dissolve the assembly by decree, after taking constitutional advice, and the assembly may dismiss the government through a vote of no-confidence.

History

Originally occupied by Berber tribes, the coastal regions of the area now known as Morocco were under Phoenician and then Carthaginian rule from the 10th to the 3rd centuries BC. Both the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians used their bases on the Berber coast for their trade with the Iberian Peninsula.

When the Romans began to expand their territory in North Africa in the 1st century BC, they first took the Mediterranean ports and did not penetrate inland, but the later province of Mauritania Tingitana extended south of Fès. The Vandal invasion in the early 5th century largely bypassed Morocco as it headed for the fertile region that is now Tunisia, and Morocco reverted to rule by Berber chieftains. There was a further invasion, this time by Visigoths, in the 6th century.

The coming of Islam

Islam, brought by Arab invaders, reached the far west of North Africa in AD 684, and the converted Berbers played an important part in the Islamic conquest of Spain. The schismatic doctrine of Khawarijism, which denied the purely Arab nature of early Islam, caused much internal strife in the mid-8th century.

It was not until Idris I (a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima and the Caliph Ali) sought refuge from Baghdad that Morocco was subjugated to a single ruler. The Idrisid dynasty, which he founded, lasted from 788 to 986, coming under increasing threat in its last years from the Umayyad dynasty of Spain and the Fatimids of the eastern Maghreb.

Almoravids and Almohads

Conquest came from another direction, however. The religious zeal of a powerful Berber leader from the region between the Senegal and Niger rivers (in modern Mali/Mauritania) persuaded him to lead a jihad (holy war) against the heretics to the north. As these Almoravids (al-Murabitun, people of the frontier fortresses) moved north in the 11th century, they spread their empire into Morocco, Algeria, and Spain, where they halted the Christian Reconquista (reconquest from the Moors). Under the Almoravid dynasty medieval Moroccan culture reached a peak, for example in the founding of Marrakesh.

By the early 12th century, however, the Almoravid dynasty was waning, to be superseded by another religious movement, stemming from the Atlas Mountains. These were the Almohads, (al-Muwahhidun, unitarians). Led by a Mahdi (messiah), they conquered Tunisia and as far east as Cyrenaica (in modern Libya), and held Muslim Spain. The Almohads' empire began to break up with their defeat in Spain by the Christians at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, and gradually the eastern regions established independence.

Morocco from the 14th to the 18th centuries

The Merinid dynasty that followed was incapable of holding back the Bedouin tribes that swept across North Africa, so that the Arabization of Morocco began from the mid-14th century. By 1500 the Spanish and Portuguese had taken several enclaves on the coast of Morocco, including Ceuta, Tangier, Ifni, Arcila, and Agadir.

Resistance to this encroachment came from the revival of sharifian leadership (a sharif is a descendant of the Prophet, and Morocco is still styled ‘the Sharifian kingdom’). The Portuguese were defeated and the sharifs withstood pressure from the Ottoman Turks, who had established their presence in Algeria. It was a time of prosperity, and the Moroccan court established contact with many countries in Europe, including England.

In 1664 the Alawi sharifs came to power, and their rule has continued since. Moulay Ismail (1672-1727) brought Morocco to another high point of unity and influence, and it was he who first showed preference to France.

European rivalry over Morocco

After the French conquered Algiers in 1830, Morocco helped the Algerian resistance leader, Abd al-Kader, realizing it might be next in line for conquest. In 1860 a brief war with Spain led to the cession of Ceuta and Ifni, small enclaves on the north and west coasts. But by the turn of the century European interest in Morocco had intensified beyond the power of the sultan to withstand. In 1904 Britain agreed to give up its influence in favour of France, in return for a reciprocal arrangement in Egypt, and within months Spain and France had agreed to ‘share’ Morocco: Spain would dominate the northern zone, and France the southern.

The Germans objected to the spread of French influence in Morocco, ushering in the first of the Moroccan Crises of 1905. This was diffused by the Algeciras Conference in 1906, at which an ‘open door’ policy was agreed by the European powers. However, this failed when Germany sought to force territorial concessions from France in 1911 by sending a gunboat, the Panther, to Agadir. The Agadir Incident ended in a Franco-German pact: Germany recognized France's pre-eminence in Morocco in exchange for territorial concessions in the Congo. In 1912 Morocco became a French protectorate. The Spanish kept certain rights under the authority of France, not the sultan.

Resistance to French rule

The first French resident-general, Gen Byautey, virtually ruled Morocco 1912-25. He was responsible for much modernization and for subjugating almost all of the country, notably by quelling the Riff revolt (1921-25) led by Abd al-Karim. The ‘pacification’ of the country was completed by 1934.

Nationalist parties and movements in the towns developed just as the last tribesmen were defeated. The most significant, the Istiqlal (Independence) Party, was formed in 1943, after Morocco had shown its support for the Free French movement in World War II. It was joined in its demands for constitutional government by the sultan, Muhammad bin Yousef (Muhammad V), who had been sultan since 1927. However, internal antagonism from the Berber tribesmen under Thami al-Glawi, the pasha of Marrakesh, who sought to resist all Western intrusions, brought the alliance to nothing. The sultan was forced into exile between 1953 and 1955, during which time there were demonstrations and terrorist incidents.

Independence achieved

The sultan was brought back by the French in triumph and in March 1956 the 1912 protectorate agreement was annulled, and Morocco became independent under Sultan Muhammad V. The former Spanish protectorate joined the new state, together with Tangier, which had previously been an international zone. The sultan was restyled king of Morocco in 1957.

The struggle for independence in Morocco was shorter and less harrowing than in neighbouring French Algeria, where the revolution was well under way by this date; this was partly because Morocco's colonial ties were much looser, and partly because Moroccan independence involved no substantial change in the form of government.

Morocco after independence

After independence the radical wing of the Istiqlal broke away to form the Union Nationale des Forces Populaires (UNFP) under Mehdi Ben Barka. This move in effect strengthened the role of the monarchy by splitting the opposition to the growing power of the royal court. Muhammad's son succeeded to the throne as King Hassan II in 1961, and after Hassan's accession a new constitution was introduced. This failed to rectify the situation, and the Istiqlal and UNFP both suffered political repression.

The miserable state of the domestic economy aggravated unrest, and in June 1965 Hassan declared a state of emergency, assuming full legislative and executive powers. A few months afterwards, Ben Barka was kidnapped and shot in Paris by Moroccan agents, with the aid of the French secret service. Hassan's chief of security, Gen Oufkir, was wanted for arrest in connection with the disappearance, and several lesser henchmen were tried and sentenced in Paris.

Hassan's personal rule

The king's rule faltered on, sustained chiefly by the external diversion of the Arab-Israeli conflict and internal repression. Various further constitutions have since been formulated in an attempt to balance personal royal rule with demands for greater democracy. The 1970 constitution was approved by 98% of the population (despite widespread opposition and boycotting) and a new legislative assembly was elected.

The real threat to the king came from the army, however. In 1971 an unsuccessful coup was staged at the king's birthday party at his Skhirate palace. Executions and purges followed. In August 1972 another, mid-air, attempt on his life was made, apparently under the direction of his confidant and defence minister, Gen Oufkir. Nevertheless, the regime continued to harass and imprison opposition party members.

In the early 1970s King Hassan won prestige in international affairs through his chairmanship of the Organization of African Unity, hosting an Islamic conference, and his military involvement in the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War. After the attempted coups, he initiated a programme of Moroccanization of business and land ownership, and with greatly increased prices of phosphates (Morocco's chief mineral product) he was able to stimulate industrialization.

The Western Sahara dispute

Hassan's greatest acclaim at home was won in 1975 when he finally emerged victorious from a years-old campaign to annex the phosphate-rich northern sector of Spanish Sahara (Western Sahara), which was seen as historically Moroccan.

In 1975 Spain ceded its former colony to Morocco and Mauritania, leaving them to divide it. Morocco took the northern sector, and Mauritania the southern sector. The inhabitants, who had not been consulted, reacted violently through an independence movement, the Polisario Front, supported by the third neighbour, Algeria.

Less than a year later, Morocco and Mauritania were involved in a war with Polisario guerrillas. With Algerian support, Polisario set up a government in exile in Algiers, the Sahrahwi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). This prompted Hassan to sever diplomatic relations with Algeria in 1976.

In 1979 Mauritania agreed a peace treaty with Polisario, and Morocco annexed the part of Western Sahara that Mauritania had vacated. Polisario reacted by intensifying its operations. In 1983 another ceasefire mediated by the Organization of African Unity failed to hold.

Although the war was costly, it allowed Hassan to capitalize on the patriotism it generated in his country. In 1984 he unexpectedly signed an agreement with Col Khaddhafi of Libya, who had been helping Polisario, guaranteeing economic and political cooperation and mutual defence. Meanwhile, Morocco was becoming more isolated as the SADR gained wider recognition.

Towards the end of 1987 the Polisario guerrillas agreed a ceasefire, but hostilities continued. However, in August 1988 a United Nations peace plan was accepted by both sides, calling for a referendum to permit the area's inhabitants to choose independence or incorporation into Morocco. Full diplomatic relations with Algeria were restored in 1988, and with Syria in 1989.

Morocco in the 1990s

In 1990-91 Morocco officially opposed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, although there was much popular support for Iraq.

Domestically, the surge in Islamic fundamentalism concerned the government. In August 1992 King Hassan appointed the veteran politician Muhammad Lamrani to head a government of independents. A new constitution was approved in a national referendum in September 1992, although it fell short of the democratic advances demanded by the king's opponents. In 1993, as part of the Middle East peace process, a peace accord was signed with Israel. The ruling centre-right coalition lost the first round of parliamentary elections in June 1993, but was returned to power in the second round of indirect elections in September, which gave it the most seats overall. Abd al-Latif Filali replaced Lamrani as prime minister in May 1994.

In September 1996 proposals revealed by King Hassan for a new two-chamber legislature were approved by referendum.

In 1997 further measures were taken towards the resolution of the dispute over Western Sahara. The government and rebels agreed on a plan mapping out the preparations for a referendum in which voters would decide the fate of the territory. The November 1997 assembly elections proved inconclusive and the formation of a coalition government seemed likely. After further elections in March 1998, Abderrahmane Youssoufi managed to form a centre-left coalition government. In September 1998 King Hassan formally appointed Yousoufi as the country's prime minister.

King Hassan died in July 1999 and was succeeded by his son Muhammad. Turning towards political liberalization, Muhammad sacked Driss Basri, who, for 20 years, had served as the country's all-powerful interior minister.

Social reform

In February 2000 King Muhammad embarked on a major programme of social and political reform, including strengthening the rights of women. Around 40,000 women marched in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, in 2000, to support a draft plan by the socialist government to improve women's status in the male-dominated society. The march was dwarfed by a demonstration against the plans to give women more rights. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims, many of them veiled women, protested against the reforms in Casablanca.

In July 2002, following an occupation of the uninhabited rocky outcrop of Perejil in the Strait of Gibraltar in July 2002 and the subsequent recapture of the islet by Spanish forces, the Moroccan and Spanish governments declared a truce in their ownership dispute under an accord brokered by the USA. However, the government continued to claim a number of other Spanish-held territories, including the north African city-enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.

Algeciras Conference Almoravid Casablanca Fès Ifni

Larache Lyautey, Louis Gonzalve Hubert Rabat Tangier Western Sahara