Rabat – On the night of April 6 a mixed crowd of Anglophone Moroccans and expats gathered in Rabat for a panel discussion hosted by British broadcaster the BBC and the British Council. Hosted by veteran reporter Jonny Dymond at the glamorous Hassan Tower Hotel in Rabat, a panel of four Moroccan experts provided a lively discussion about Morocco’s future.
Yet one issue in particular appeared to unite the panel, while noticeably dividing the audience: freedom of speech in Morocco.
Earlier, the panel had discussed topics such as drought and desalination, gender issues, political engagement and other hot topics vital to Morocco’s future. Each topic elicited a variety of opinions from the panel, made up of USFP politician Khaoula Lachguar, civil society actor Manal Elattir, former government spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi and current Minister Younes Sekkouri.
While all topics drew a relatively muted response from the audience, the topic of freedom of speech in Morocco appeared to truly energize the crowd after over an hour of polite debate.
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Freedom of speech: progress or problem?
The BBC’s format for the discussion dictated that an audience-member ask the panel a question to start discussion on each topic. When it came to freedom of speech, a young Moroccan man mentioned that he continued to face legal action over a three-year old Facebook post in which he had criticized the government.
The young man’s question silenced the audience, while the panel responded by highlighting the progress made on the topic over the past three decades, while all panelists seemed to agree that the issue of freedom of speech was not a main concern in Morocco.
For the first time in the evening, the remarks sparked a strong reaction from the crowd, as a large number of young people raised their hand to speak on the issue.
What followed was a flurry of responses that highlighted a lingering divide between the perspective of mainstream politicians and those of many well-educated urban young Moroccans.
One person stood up to mention that many young Moroccans see leaving the country as their only hope, while others shared their opinions and feelings on what they clearly saw as a hot-button issue in Moroccan society.
The uniformity of the panel’s response on the issue contrasted with the vibrant and emotional reactions shared by primarily young Moroccans who expressed feeling alienated and oppressed by the current status quo on freedom of speech and its effect on the country’s media and public dialogue.
The panel discussion, which will be broadcast on the BBC World Service on April 9, is likely to spark further debate on the issue among its millions of listeners, and Moroccans in particular.
Generational divide
The jolt of energy that ran through the audience last night to me reveals a lingering disconnect between Morocco’s mainstream political class and particularly educated urban youth.
Like everywhere else in the world, young urban professionals and students represent the most progressive individuals in society, often contrasting wildly with the opinions of more conservative rural communities. In Morocco, the sub-group of Anglophone Moroccans likely represent the most progressive ideals even among the country’s urban youth.
Yet this global phenomenon appears to not fully explain last night’s disagreement, revealing an unspoken generational divide in Moroccan society.
This divide in many ways is logical. For older Moroccans, the current status quo on freedom of speech is a breath of fresh air and an unprecedented level of freedom compared to the “years of lead,” a time period of state repression that lasted for decades, and still lingers in the minds of many who experienced it.
While older Moroccans compare Morocco’s current levels of freedom of speech to those difficult years, younger -especially internationally-minded- Moroccans instead compare the issue to the situation in the more mature democracies of many Western states.
Mending the divide
As a Westerner myself, I would like to emphasize that even in the most liberal countries, the idea of full freedom of speech is also still more of an ideal than a reality.
The political concept of the “overton window” neatly explains the metaphorical window in which ideas in the West are determined to be either realistic or radical, a key indicator whether a new idea has any chance of being taken seriously by national politicians.
A key difference between the West’s approach and the issue highlighted by young Moroccans during last night’s BBC event, is that espousing “radical” ideas in the West rarely means facing legal repercussions from the state.
Western states can prosecute speech, and do so for similar reasons as in Morocco, namely speech that is deemed a threat to society or risks violence.
The issue with Morocco appears to be that it simply defines “threats” differently. And in my opinion, this assessment is based on an outdated perception of Morocco’s internal stability.
Free speech, a threat or an asset?
Morocco is genuinely developing and improving, both internally and on the international stage. The country’s growing prosperity and continued political stability means the country no longer needs to fear threats as much, especially the “threat” of public discontent.
No democracy has a citizenry that fully agrees on all topics, or supports all of the government’s policies. In many ways, opposition and critique to government policies drives positive change, pushes politicians to explain their ideas and builds a feeling of a shared project between citizen and government.
The irony is that Moroccan politicians do not have to fear the public, or their opinions.
Vast national efforts to expand social support and healthcare are set to solidify the social contract in the long-term. In the short-term, the new government has the opportunity to revolutionize its public communication and display its ability to discuss strong critiques, present data and elaborate on plans without feeling threatened by diverging opinions.
It is a sense of self-confidence in Morocco’s mission and vision that should empower politicians to embrace intense public debate. Citizens do not expect that the government obeys them, they simply need to feel that their voices are heard, and considered in the public debate.
Morocco’s strong response to COVID-19 and its positive outlook for a sustainable economic recovery should empower Moroccan politicians to welcome dissent and value critics in order to gradually remove the government’s fear of opposing opinions.
These efforts in turn can remove feelings of repression among the public and build confidence that Morocco’s future is in all of our hands.
Listening to critique does not present a weakness, it instead shows the strength and resilience of Moroccan society and its unique multicultural and international values.
In the end, we all share both rights and responsibilities in making sure there is a bright future for everyone living in Morocco. That future is possible, and simply requires us to trust in one another, and welcome dissenting opinions as a valuable and patriotic contribution towards our shared project of improving and defending the country we love.
The full panel discussion of the BBC World Questions series is set to be broadcast on the BBC World Service on April 9, after which it can be streamed online.
