[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on the Maghreb and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Maghreb Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each roundup to maghreb@jadaliyya.com]
Algeria
الاطباء المقيمين: صمت محير لحسبلاوي و حجار حول إضراب دام ٨ اشهر During a continued eight-month strike by resident doctors, the ministries of health and higher education did little to bring an end to the tensions by failing to actively participate in negotiations, according to strike participants.
De l’arabisation à l’agonie de Boumediène, racontée par un témoin privilégié A book review of Ahmed Taleb-Ibrahimi’s memoir that covers his close proximity to former Algerian President Houari Boumediène.
أسر جزائرية تهجر البيوت لتناول الإفطار على الشاطئ An increasing number of Algerian families travel to the beach for iftar during the month of Ramadan as it falls during the summer, bringing together people from a number of different social and economic classes.
Cutting off internet during high school exams The Algerian Ministry of National Education announced an hour-long blackout of internet service nationwide after the start of each High School Certificate Examination to prevent leakage of the exam questions.
«Seule une transition républicaine confortée par l’ANP peut sauver le pays de l’éclatement» An interview with Moulay Chentouf, coordinator of the national bureau of the Party for Secularism and Democracy (PLD), ahead of Algerian elections.
Spain's Gas Natural Fenosa signs €30bn supply deal with Algeria to 2030 In an agreement worth about thirty billion euros, major Spanish energy company Gas Natural Fenosa renewed a deal to take natural gas from Algeria’s state-energy company Sonatrach for the next twelve years.
Libya
مجلس الأمن يمدد حظر السلاح على ليبيا عاما The United Nations Security Council announced an extension of the arms embargo on Libya and the arrival if weapons inspection ships due to ongoing internal conflicts between militant groups and the failure to reach a viable political solution.
Migrants : la France et la Libye « renforcent leur coopération » French President Emmanuel Macron and Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj spoke over the phone about deepening their cooperation in order to cope with the influx of migrants.
النمسا تستضيف الڤمة الليبية--الأوروبية الأولى للنفط والغاز Austria plans to host the first Libyan-European summit on oil and natural gas at the end of June in Vienna, focusing on new trade and investment ideas instead of Libyan oil infrastructure and general security.
PC rejects British possible use of frozen Libyan assets for IRA compensation The Government of National Accord (GNA), under the Fayez Serraj Presidency Council, rejected a plan by the British House of Commons to utilize frozen Libyan assets held in Britain in order to compensate victims of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), citing how the plan attempts to circumvent Libya’s sovereignty and the international agreement governing the frozen assets.
En Libye, nouveaux combats autour de terminaux pétroliers Members of the Benghazi Defense Brigade (BDB) attack two sites in the oil crescent, currently under General Khalifa Haftar’s control.
Clashes halt oil loadings at major Libyan ports of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf Two major Libyan oil ports closed and evacuated due to attacks on storage tanks and terminals by militant groups opposed to Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA), which took control of the ports in 2016, leading to a production loss of approximately 240,000 barrels per day.
Mauritania
تعديل وزراي: دمج قطاعات وزراية واستقدام "مبعوث أممي" للخارجية The president of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, announced a ministerial reshuffle ousting four cabinet-level officials in exchange for two new faces, the integration of several sectors, and the inclusion of a United Nations (UN) envoy to the diplomatic corps in preparation for the African Summit.
Maroc-Mauritanie : première royale ? Morocco’s King Mohammed VI is expected to participate in the African Union summit later this month, set to take place in Nouakchott, Mauritania. This would be Mohammed VI’s first visit to the country.
مجلس الوزراء يناقش الامتيازات والضمان الصحي للجنة المستقلة The Mauritanian Cabinet agreed to amend a decree from 2012 in order to re-evaluate wages and privileges, such as health insurance of the chairman and members of the Steering Committee of the National Independent Electoral Commission
The unspeakable truth about slavery in Mauritania Despite government denials and the formal illegality of slavery in the country since 1981, tens of thousands of people continue to be affected by slavery as laborers, domestic servants, or child brides in Mauritania, with local rights groups estimating that up to twenty percent of the population is enslaved in some manner.
G5 Sahel : des députés français à Nouakchott Members of the G5 Sahel gather for a meeting in Nouakchott, in addition to French diplomats, with the aim of instituting a parliamentary framework for the West African regional bloc.
Mauritania's 'nomadic spirit' comes alive in Canadian restaurant La Khaima, the only Mauritanian restaurant outside the country, located in Montreal, Canada, represents a number of traditions and struggles within Mauritania and its diaspora.
Morocco
خاص..عاملات موسميات ذهبن لإسبانيا حوامل ووضع مواليدهن في حقول الفراولة After Spanish newspaper El País released a report on pregnant Moroccan women working in Spanish strawberry fields, data confirms that a number of the women who travelled to southern Spain as seasonal workers, gave birth in the fields and faced sexual harassment and assault, raising several legal and human rights questions.
250.000 mineurs marocains travaillent, la majorité dans un emploi "dangereux" A report from the High Commission of Planning finds that 250,000 minors are working in Morocco, a majority of whom are working in dangerous conditions.
خلاف "الرياضة" هل دفع المغرب إلى مقاطعة اجتماع السعودية After Saudi Arabia and a number of other Arab countries voted against the Moroccan bid to host the 2026 World Cup, Morocco announced the decision not to attend a meeting of ministers of information, scheduled to take place in Jeddah.
Another chapter in Morocco's history of World Cup bidding failure The joint bid by the United States, Canada, and Mexico to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup defeated the Moroccan bid by 134 votes to sixty-five, marking Morocco’s fourth failed bid to host the international sporting event.
Maroc : Le kif, une drogue néfaste pour l’environnement rifain An examination of the harmful impact growing kif has had on the environment in Morocco’s northern Rif region.
Hicham Benohoud's best photograph: the boy with the cardboard feet Photographer Hicham Benohoud characterizes Moroccan society as stuck “in limbo” and his experiences photographing students while he taught art in Marrakech.
Tunisia
شبهة فساد: القطب القضائي يطالب برفع الحصانة عن سفيان The Economic and Financial Judicial Court requested that the People’s Assembly temporarily lift immunity for one of its deputies on the suspicion of corruption.
الإمارات خططت لانقلاب على السلطة في تونس French sources report that recently dismissed former Tunisian Minister of the Interior Lotfi Braham secretly met with high-ranking intelligence officers from the United Arab Emirates in an attempt to plan a coup in Tunisia.
Tunisie : Samir Dilou, d’Ennahdha à la justice transitionnelle Jeune Afrique profiles Samir Dilou, former government minister turned anti-corruption lawyer.
Army Supreme Council meet after failed coup attempt After intelligence services in France, Germany, and Algeria uncovered a plan by the United Arab Emirates to reportedly overthrow Tunisia’s democratic regime, Tunisian president, Beji Caid Essebsi, chaired a meeting of the Supreme Council of Armies to discuss border security and military cooperation with allies.
Tunisie : limogeages et mutations au sein de la garde nationale Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed shakes up the administration of the country’s national guard.
For Some in Tunisia, Ramadan Is a Test of Personal Freedom Approximately one hundred protesters demonstrated against the closing of cafes and restaurants during the month of Ramadan by eating and drinking in central Tunis in the middle of the day, indicating an ongoing tension between social pressures to observe Ramadan and the individual freedoms enshrined in the country’s new constitution.
Western Sahara
رئيس الجمهورية يؤكد أن الثورة طويلة الأمد ولكن الخاتمة هي النصر والاستقلال Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali announced his preparedness to continue the struggle for independence in the long-term and despite whatever losses the Polisario Front may incur in order to achieve the goals of freedom and independence.
Quel sera le rôle du conflit du Sahara occidental lors de la présidentielle algérienne? An examination of France’s position in the Western Saharan conflict.
دور لروسيا في الصحراء الغربية؟ The United Nations Security Council’s April renewal of the peacekeeping observer mandate on Western Sahara (MINURSO) signals increasing Russian influence in the conflict as it attempts to balance interests between Algeria and Morocco, Iran, and the Polisario Front.
Amendment of EU-Morocco association agreement to include Western Sahara, Sidati expresses condemnation The Sahrawi minister for Europe, Mohamed Sidati, denounced the European Commission’s adoption a European Union-Morocco agreement amended to include Western Sahara on the grounds that it allowed economic activity to take place on the territory without the consent of the Western Saharan people.
Sahara occidental, les enjeux capitaux du mandat de l’ONU A critical overview of the United Nations Security Council vote on the Western Sahara, which renewed the peacekeeping mission for six months instead of the usual year.
Western Sahara conflict impacts Morocco 2026 World Cup bid The conflict between Morocco and Western Sahara appears to have impacted the former’s failed bid to host the 2026 World Cup, as governments supporting Western Sahara encouraged their delegations to vote against the Moroccan bid.
Latest from Jadaliyya
Revue de presse sur les élections municipales en Tunisie An overview of French media coverage in Tunisia’s recent municipal election.
Muriam Haleh Davis and Thomas Serres, eds. North Africa and the Making of Europe: Governance, Institutions and Culture (New Texts Out Now) An interview with editors of North Africa and the Making of Europe elaborates on how “marginal” areas such as North Africa have had a significant impact on the development of Europe.
No Love Lost and Love Gained: On the Morocco-Iran Rift Morocco’s decision to sever ties with Iran and accusations of Iranian support for the Polisario Front comes after decades of tensions with Iran since its 1979 revolution, but the recent changes stem more from an attempt to solidify the relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the United States than it does spite for Iran.
Samia Henni, Architecture of Counterrevolution: The French Army in Northern Algeria (New Texts Out Now) An interview with Samia Henni on her latest book that examines the often neglected aspects of France’s efforts to maintain Algeria under French rule during the Algerian War of Independence.
The Life Span of Alternative Media: Cases of Lake and Mamfakinch in Morocco Journalists and activists in Morocco helped to launch a new wave of alternative online media before, during, and after the 2011 Arab Spring; two alternative media in particular, Lakome and Mamfakinch, demonstrate in their life cycles trends of interaction between alternative media, politics, and economic powers.
Jeffrey R. Halverson and Nathaniel Greenberg, Islamists of the Maghreb (New Texts Out Now) Jeffry Halverson and Nathaniel Greenberg discuss their book, Islamists of the Maghreb, in light of the central role that Maghreb countries played in the Arab Spring.
زحف الثورة المضادة Seven years after the Arab Spring began in Tunisia, issues of revolution and counterrevolution persist, as does the urban-rural divide.
James McDougall, A History of Algeria (New Texts Out Now) Interview with historian James McDougall on his latest book entitled A History of Algeria.
Tunisia and the International Community since 2011: Rentierism, Patronage and Moral Hazard Despite perceptions of a democratic Tunisia, the incoming flow of loans has upheld an undemocratic practice of patronage, failing to address protesters’ dominant socioeconomic grievances.
Morocco's Hirak Movement: The People Versus the Makhzen Morocco’s growing Hirak protests against the regime, now spreading throughout the country, receive a historical and political analysis.
Political Parties, Elections, and the Illusion of Opposition in Morocco As shown by the results of the October 2016 parliamentary elections, King Mohammed VI’s control over Moroccan politics demonstrates a pattern of increasing influence in the party system.
The Battleground for the Morocco-Algeria Rivalry The regional rivalry between Morocco and Algeria expands beyond conflict over Western Sahara to competition throughout Africa in light of Morocco’s foreign policy turn towards the continent.
حراك الريف: النظام يراهن على الحسم الامني Following months of protests in Morocco’s northern Rif region, the regime’s security forces assert their dominance in managing the ongoing crisis through widespread arrests and repression.