Morocco World News/Maghreb Intelligence
Morocco World News/Maghreb Intelligence
October 16, 2011
Maghreb-Intelligence managed to get exclusive extracts from a secret report prepared by the French intelligence unit that was set up following the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. All “French services” participate in this unit, including the DCRI (Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence), the DGSE (Directorate-General for External Security), and the national coordinator of intelligence, housed at the Elysee Palace.
The extracts from the report by the monitoring program called “Salamander” includes information concerning two Moroccan figures, Zineb El Gazhoui, founder of the MALI movement ( Alternative Movement for Individual Freedoms), and Ali Amar, former editor of Journal Hebdomadaire. The report lays emphasis on the relations between the co-founder of the MALI movement with Sihem Hebchi, president of Ni Putes Ni Soumises (NPNS) and Arnaud Montebourg’s spokesperson for the Socialist primaries in 2011.
According to the report, the aim of the two women was to reactivate NPNS’s Moroccan cell and set up the project of a digital platform of female Arab bloggers called “Hurrya” – freedom in Arabic. Sihem Habchi would also have helped to place Zineb El Ghazoui interviews in “Jeune Afrique” and in the Algerian newspaper “El Watan”.
However, it seems that the two women are not on good terms anymore, partly because of the support by Sihem Habchi to Arnaud Montebourg’s campaign. Moreover, El Ghazoui supposedly published an internal document belonging to NPNS, discrediting Sihem Habchi through Ali Amar’s networks in the French press: Street 89, Slate.fr, Politis, and Charlie Hebdo.
According to the “Salamander” file, Ali Amar has even contacted Philippe Val from Radio France and Martine Gozlan from Marianne to publicize this document even further.
The extracts obtained by Maghreb-Intelligence also mention the relationship between Zineb El Ghazoui and Frédéric Wojdyla, based in Rome and known to be close to the Syrians, who she would meet regularly in Brussels and who would have supported her financially.
According to the French services, the intervention of El Ghazoui during the Summer University of EELV, which had caused a stir on Youtube, was completely “scripted” by Ali Amar, who would have told her which questions to ask.
Finally, the extracts of the report Salamander from which Maghreb Intelligence has read mention Sihem Hebch’s “aberrant” lifestyle, including taxi bills that can reach up to 3,000 euros per month.
An first version of this article appeared in French in Maghreb Intelligence.
Translated by Luise Riondel.
Edited by Benjamin Villanti.
