[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 week`s roundup to maghreb@jadaliyya.com by Thursday night of every week]
Algeria
Are There Lessons to be Learnt From Algeria’s Past? Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck examines similarities and differences between Algeria’s struggle with the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in the 1990s and the rise of the Islamic State.
الجزائر: مقتل اثنين في أعمال شغب Two people were killed last Friday in clashes between residents and police during demonstrations against poor living conditions in southern Algeria.
Brahimi wins BBC African Footballer of the Year award 2014 Algeria’s midfielder Yacine Brahimi became the first Algerian to win the prestigious award.
Natalya Vince on 1960s Algeria: Women, Public Space and Moral Panic Dr. Natalya Vince looks at the place of women in public space in 1960s Algeria during a talk at the London School of Economics’ Middle East Center.
بو تفليقة: ملتزمون بفض النزاعات في ليبيا ومالي Algerian President makes a public statement about the country’s commitment to conflict resolution in Libya and Mali.
Baya Mahieddine: The Young Artist Who Inspired Picasso This piece explores the work and life of Baya Mahieddine, a self-taught Algerian artist that inspired Picasso’s body of work entitled “Women of Algeria.”
La lente agonie du dollar, les mondialisations et l’Algérie (partie1) Abderrahmane Hadj Nacer, the former director of Algeria’s Central Bank, discusses the power of oligarchy in Algeria and the world economy.
L’assassin d’Hervé Gourdel abattu par l’armée algérienne Algerian Justice Minister Tayeb Louh announced that elements of the Armée nationale populaire (ANP) killed one of Hervé Gourdel’s kidnappers. The role of the Islamic State in Algeria remains under careful scrutiny by military and civilian authorities.
Libya
Libya`s Haftar pledges to take imminent control of Benghazi and Tripoli General Haftar, an ally of the eastern based Tobruk parliament, plans to take Benghazi within the next two weeks and Tripoli in three months.
Libya`s Nafoura oilfield will resume production on Monday-officials The eastern oil field Nafoura has reopened this week, raising questions about how oil production is worsening the conflict and providing funds to militant groups.
U.S. Gulf Arab Ally Sees Risk of ‘Huge Ticking Bomb’ in Libya Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ Minister of Foreign Affairs, critiques the NATO-led coalition for its minimal role in the stability of the country after Gaddafi’s ouster.
`Libya is destroying itself` Conflict expert Andreas Dittmann explores the possibility and consequences of Libya becoming a “failed state.”
Mauritania
La justice mauritanienne bien indulgente avec les narcotrafiquants Mauritania’s economic capital Nouadhibou has become a site of international drug trafficking, including a 2007 incident where 630 kilos of cocaine were found at the airport, that potentially implicates the government.
Anti-Slavery Campaigners Arrested in Mauritania, the Country With the World`s Highest Slavery Rate Vice News investigates the recent arrest of the ten prominent anti-slavery activists in the town of Rosso.
Govt Cracks Down On Land Reform Activists The anti-slavery activists arrested in Rosso were targeted for their land reform campaign that demanded the right for former slaves and descendants of slaves to own land.
Mauritanian women and spread of divorce Al-Arabiya’s “special mission” finds high rates of divorce in the country’s rural areas and men shirking their responsibilities towards their former families.
Morocco
Morocco rights groups boycotting Marrakech meeting US media outlets such as the New York Times and Washington Post covered the story of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights boycotting an international human rights conference held in Marrakech.
La FIDH dresse un tableau noir des libertés au Maroc The International Federation for Human Rights published a critical report on Morocco two days before its annual conference started in Marrakech.
Morocco`s World Human Rights Forum a `sham` to some The “#SHAMEeForum” points out the hypocrisy of Morocco hosting an international human rights conference in the midst of its systematic abuses and recent crackdown of the country’s most independent rights groups.
الحقوقية الاحتجاجات مع والتضامن الدراسة في بحقها للمطالبة الطعام عن إضراب في شرف وفاء Rights activist and 20 February Movement member Wafaa Charaf went on hunger strike for forty-eight hours in protest of her detention conditions and demanded her right to access to educational resources in prison.
8 أشهر سجنا في حق مغني الراب العرائشي “الشعبي” بتهمة بدون دليل..!! A Moroccan rapper from Larache is arrested and sentenced to eight months in prison for lyrics considered offensive to the police.
Chris Coleman: un Wikileaks marocain dont personne ne parle Telquel considers why national and international media has ignored the anonymous Twitter account called @chris_coleman24, which has been releasing classified documents about Moroccan diplomacy since 3 October.
Domestic Violence Shelters in Morocco Are Safe Havens the Government Is Failing to Support Megan O’Donnell examines the challenges that domestic violence shelters face from both the state and civil society in Morocco.
Photos Document Devastation After Floods Hit Morocco Deadly floods have engulfed southern regions in Morocco, causing the death of more than thirty people.
#100dhpouraider Members of Morocco`s social media community launch a crowd-funding initiative to support the victims of recent flooding in southern Morocco.
Tunisia
Recrutement des jeunes pour le djihad : La passivité de l’État tunisien Mabrouka Khedir investigates processes of radicalism among Tunisia’s youth through exploring the region of Oueslatia, where five youths just left to go fight in Syria.
La communication politique sur le devant de la scène Inkyfada examines how political communication is taking shape among parties as political pluralism expands in Tunisia.
Tunisia`s presidential election: A two-man race The Economist argues that the results of Tunisia’s first round of presidential elections reveal an acute geographic divide between the conservative and poorer south and the more elite and secular north.
Tunisia looks set to move forward by electing a figure from its past Reporting from Tunis, Marine Olivesi explains how old political elites from both Bourguiba and Ben Ali eras country are set to dominate the political scene.
Western Sahara
After UNHCR Censors Western Sahara From Its Report, No Explanation Inner City Press looks for answers about why the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) erased all references to the “Western Sahara” in its report on Sahrawi refugees.
Mohammed Abdelaziz: «Le Maroc joue un rôle négatif dans la région» The leader of the Polisario Movement argues that Morocco is purposefully blocking the United Nations (UN) mission in the Western Sahara and “continues to prevent the special representative of the UN Secretary-General, the Canadian Kim Bolduc, from assuming her work in Laayoune…”
Sahrawi Organizations of Human Rights Boycott World Forum On Human Rights Held in Marrakech Sahrawi rights groups joined the Moroccan Association of Human Rights and other associations in boycotting the World Forum on Human Rights in Marrakech.
Swiss company to construct solar plants in occupied Western Sahara The Swiss company Terra Sola Groupe AG will begin constructing solar plants in the Western Sahara through a contract with the Moroccan government, in violation of international law and the unsettled status of the occupied territory.
Most recent articles from Jadaliyya’s Maghreb Page
The Quest for a Way Out of Tunisia’s Constitutional Quagmire Myriam Guetat studies the political and legal implications of Tunisia’s wave of legislative and executive elections.
Open Letter to the Organizing Committee of the World Forum for Human Rights in Morocco The Rabat branch of the 20 February Movement addresses its concerns about the international committee organizing the World Forum for Human Rights in Morocco. The English, French, and Arabic versions are all included.
Migration, Fisheries, and the Supremacy of European Interests in Mauritania Hassan Ould Moctar elucidates the asymmetries of power that mark negotiations over fishing and migration between Mauritania and the European Union.
An Open Letter to King Mohammed VI Moroccan journalist Hamza Mahfoud wrote this letter on 11 November 2014, in response to King Mohammed VI`s speech marking the anniversary of the Green March. The open letter was originally published in Arabic on Huna Sotak and translated to English by Abdellah Laaraj.
Tunisia: The Victory of Secularism over Islamism? Youssef Ben Ismail argues that teleological understandings of history and triumphalist narratives of secularism’s victory over Islamism obscure the real dynamics at play in the Tunisian sociopolitical scene.
Qui sera l’Etat ? : Le soulèvement du Rif reconsidéré (1958-59) Nabil Mouline reexamines one of the most important and misunderstood events in Moroccan history, the Rif revolt of 1958-1959.
Radio France Internationale Interview with Jadaliyya Co-Editor Samia Errazzouki on General Strike in Morocco Samia Errazzouki discusses Morocco’s nationwide strike that took place on 29 October in the context of Morocco’s long history with the International Monetary Fund and structural adjustment programs.