HACA Warns 3 Moroccan Channels For Running an Orange Telecom Ads

By Kawtar Ennaji

Rabat –  On June 14, the Higher Council for Audiovisual Communication, known as HACA, issued a warning to the National Broadcasting and Television Company (SNRT), the “SOREAD 2M” and Medi1 TV over the controversial running of an Orange Telecom commercial.

The HACA noted, as part of the monitoring of audiovisual programs, that one of the  “Orange Morocco” commercials contains a scene including the quote: “Ndir Selfi mâa Omar ou nâayet lweld Aïcha wakha ikoun f’Kandahar“.

The sound sequence translates as: “I take a selfie with Omar and I call Ould Aisha even though he is in Kandahar” (Afghanistan). For the HACA, this is an “implicit reference to the phenomenon of recruiting young people to join illegal organizations.”

Accompanied by the voice over; the commercial screened a scene which shows a group of young people dressed in short jellabas, including a bearded man. The scene depicts an innocuous communication from the Moroccan streets with a friend in Kandahar,  Afghanistan.

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The HACA considered that, given the symbolic significance of this geographical reference and even in the absence of direct incitement, “this passage is likely to constitute a normalization and banalization, by humor, of joining entities and regions known to be harboring organizations classified as terrorists. “

All of these elements “put the commercial’s content in non-compliance with the legal and regulatory provisions in force, particularly those relating to ethical commitments.”

The “Orange Telecom” advert was broadcast from May 9 to 13 (the first week of Ramadan).

After having sent  a letter,dated May 20, to SNRT, “SOREAD 2M” and Médi 1 TV, concerning the recorded observations, the HACA finally sent an official warning to the three television companies.

The warning will be published in the Official Bulletin, says a statement released by the Council on Sunday June 16.