CAIRO, June 21, 2011 (AFP) –
The outgoing secretary general of the Arab League, Amr Mussa, on Tuesday praised Morocco’s King Mohammed VI for a reform drive that will see a new constitution put to a referendum on July 1.
“The secretary general considers this plan to be an important step on the way to securing the pillars of democracy,” Egyptian state news agency MENA quoted a statement from the Arab League as saying.
The reform plan “falls within the framework of the process of development and modernisation undertaken by the kingdom of Morocco, and we hope it will continue and deepen in the coming period,” the statement said.
King Mohammed has proposed a plan that aims to “strengthen the pillars of a socially democratic, parliamentary constitutional monarchy,” while preserving the king’s powers as head of state and “commander of the faithful.”
The plan has been generally well received by the political class but rejected by Morocco’s protest movement.
