Morocco World News/ Maghreb Intelligence
Morocco World News/ Maghreb Intelligence
Rabat, April 29, 2012
“Iit’s a bitter defeat that Abdelilah Benkiran’s government went through,” according to a former minister of the Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires ( USFP). Faced with this persistence of the public pole’s directors, the Justice and Development Party (PJD), was pushed into making mistakes within 15 days.
While the battle over the application of the specifications elaborated by the inexperienced Minister of Communication, Mustapha Elkhalfi, seems to be in the Islamist government’s interest, the head of the government chooses, during a study day organized by his party, to violently attack the royal entourage and threatened to take to the streets in order to “defend the constitution.”
The outrageous discourses seem to have irritated the royal palace, which prefers not to intervene between the professionals of the sector and the ministry in charge. The wrong steps taken by Benkirane became fatal for him, explains the socialist source.
Last Sunday, this crisis took a new turn. Mohamed V received in his palace in Rabat Mustapha Elkhalfi, with the presence of Ebdelilah Benkiran and the Minister of State Abdallah Baha, the eminence grise of Benkiran. The monarch wanted to know by himself the details related to the televisions reform project from the lips of the first concerned. The king would have said to the Islamist leaders that he was for reform, but this should happen without jeopardizing the identity and linguistic plurality of the kingdom, “a serene approach is totally different from the nervousness shown -without-reason by some members of government,” commented a minister of Benkiran’s team.
During the meeting with the PJD’s general secretariat, the government’s chief came back with better feelings by smoothing his language. After having assured the newswire service Reuters that his remarks about the royal entourage were not put in their context, he also took the opposite view of Abdelali Hamieddine’ declarations – an influential member of the party, who confirmed that Abdelilah Benkiran had “sensed that, that media appearances of public channels’ executives (Salima Sheikh and Samira Sitail) enjoyed the green light from influential circles.”
Furthermore, the head of the government has confirmed before the PJD general secretariat that the specifications would be reviewed, particularly with regard to their language component. The main news show of 2M presented in French should not change its timing- a principal demand of the channel administration.
On the other hand, “Attajdid,” the PJD mouthpiece that was violently attacking these last weeks the “French-speaking elite,” has not devoted but a little space to this issue since last Wednesday. Its front page was devoted to the publication of the lists of beneficiaries of sand quarries. “A diversion that is not fortuitous and which looks like a capitulation in the open field,” quips a media professional close to the PJD.
Finally, the communiqué issued after the meeting last Tuesday of Soread 2M Board, says it all on the results of the confrontation that opposed, for two weeks, the Islamist government of Abdelilah Benkirane to those who refuse the application of the specifications set by the Communication Minister, Mustapha El Khalfi.
Both the language in which the communiqué was written- in French- and the tone of it shows that the battle has turned in favor of the 2M administration, Salim Sheikh and Samira Sitail. Indeed, the communiqué of the Board wanted to inform Moroccan public opinion that it has “taken note of arrangements made by Soread 2M for the implementation of terms of references.” A pithy phrase that sounds like a disavowal for El Khalfi.
Translated by Jaouad Maniani and Edited By Warren April
