During the riots that shook Tunisia on daily basis , many Moroccans have been following the events live either on facebook, Twitter ,youtube and the like.They gave their point of view , replayed the videos of the manifestations, supported the Tunisian and the Egyptian people on their actions toward democracy, denounced virtually the barbarian acts by the mercenaries . This episode has but further strengthened the presence of Moroccans on the Social Media outlets in which they showed their incisiveness.
Thanks to the easy and cheapest access to different telecommunication carriers there are now around 80,000 Moroccan bloggers in the Kingdom,and approximately 2 million who use social network.An increase of 10,000% subscribers has been registered in five years ( Source : National Agency of Telecommunication Authority (NTRA).
The recent events in Morocco show that it started from these social media tools which were undoubtedly ignited from the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. The question is , will these manifestation continue? Will there be a real revolution or an exception? Will the butterfly revolution in the Arab world stop at the doors of the Moroccan Kingdom?
Objectively and one has to admit that Morocco has the means to manage a social protest given the fact that it has undertaken major reforms in the last eleven years and it continues to do so however on the other hand , Morocco has the same requests of young people of the MENA regions in the labor market due to the inequality at work .Adding to that, dissatisfaction with the Moroccan policy has been high in the last four years. Youth are mostly detached from Trade unions and political parties, the high level of abstentions in the last elections speak of themselves. This leads to conclude that there is a lot to do in governance ,thus Morocco is not an exception from making these youth going into the street and ask for change in the government and renewing its body while being with the monarchy and respecting its duties. Just to recall, since the enthronement of the king Mohammed VI , press freedom improved, non-profit organization increased and benefited from the government aid and the Arab world`s only truth and reconciliation committee was set to address the past human rights violations.
Yet a lot has to be done and this call will give a boost in the change process in Morocco and a strong message to the king`s entourage namely government officials. No one denies that the king has done a lot since he came the throne, he has instilled a politics of proximity with his people.
Today`s event will allow the government and the political elite to realize that the situation is not on their side and they have to set up to the plate and follow the king`s willingness and determination in the betterment of the country excluding nepotism and favoritism.
On the other hand of the game,to bring about the real change ,youth and everyone have to set up to the polls and vote with determination and conviction-this will be a catalyst in Morocco`s 2012 elections
Yasmine Hasnaoui ,
Assistant Professor,Amherst
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