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- Press Release: US Christian Leaders Call Morocco “Island of Peace,” Highlight Morocco’s Record of Re Jun 17 2010Garth Neuffer202.470.2055FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 17, 2010US Christian Leaders Call Morocco “Island of Peace,” Highlight Morocco’s Record of Religious ToleranceWashington, DC (June 17, 2010) — Today, US Christian leaders highlighted Morocco’s long history of friendship and cooperation with the US, its deep respect for religious tolerance and “historic generosity toward foreign Christians.” In a press conference at the National Press Club, the leaders, members of the National Clergy Council’s (NCC) Executive Committee, also presented findings from their recent trip to Morocco, "Morocco Report: An Overview of Current Tensions Related to the Deportation of Christians from Morocco."“In a world where religious, ethnic and political tensions are building to explosive levels, Morocco remains an island of peace,” said the Reverend Rob Schenck, President of the NCC.Schenck, joined by the Reverend Dr. Kenneth Barney and the Reverend Dr. Harry Thomas, shared their positive experiences in Morocco and the atmosphere of tolerance they personally witnessed during several visits to the North African country over the last six years. The group stated that Christians are safe and welcome to practice their faith in Morocco, emphasizing that the NCC experienced no evidence of animosity towards foreign Christians and no forms of persecution. In fact, the group called the dialogue with representatives from Morocco's religious and civic communities “meaningful” and “frank and unrestricted.”The NCC’s Morocco Report: An Overview of Current Tensions Related to the Deportation of Christians from Morocco provides critical insight into the recent deportations following interviews and meetings with both Moroccan Authorities and the Christian Community in Morocco:· Morocco is unique in the Muslim world in its tolerance of and appreciation for other religious expressions.· The extraordinary cooperation of Morocco and the United States is invaluable to the international war against terrorism and extremism.· Morocco extended an open invitation to members of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the US Congress to travel to Morocco to gather facts and discuss critical issues related to religious freedom. They are optimistic that a reasonable and mutually acceptable understanding will result from such a visit.The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials, and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. For more, please visit www.moroccanamericanpolicy.org.This material is distributed by the Moroccan American Center for Policy on behalf of the Government of Morocco. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
PR press release-Christian Leaders praise Morocco FINAL 6-17-10.pdf - Press Release: Concrete, Immediate US Action Needed to Implement the Policy of Three US Presidents Apr 30 2010CONTACT: Calvin Dark202.309.0372FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, April 30, 2010Concrete, Immediate US Action Needed to Implement the Policy of Three US Presidents on the Western SaharaIn this month’s MIT International Review, former senior US diplomats highlight urgent need to implement long-standing US policy supporting autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty for Western SaharaWashington, DC (April 30) — As the UN Security Council takes action on renewing MINURSO, the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, an article proposing concrete steps for resolving the decades-old conflict was published today by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s International Review. In the article, former US Ambassador to Morocco Edward M. Gabriel and former Foreign Service Officer Robert M. Holley call for immediate action to implement US policy supporting a compromise solution based on broad autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. Gabriel was US Ambassador and Holley was Political Counselor at the US Embassy in Morocco when the policy was adopted during the Clinton Administration. Both were active participants in the review that led to the policy’s formulation.Gabriel and Holley provide in-depth analysis of why the current US Western Sahara policy was initiated during the Clinton Administration, its continued support by the Bush and Obama Administrations, and the support of bipartisan majorities in the US House and Senate. The authors call for specific concrete actions to fully implement the policy, end three decades of conflict in the area, and prevent a failed state in North Africa:Ø lifting the current US State Department ban on visits to Western Sahara by senior US officials, including Ambassadors in Morocco and Algeria;Ø rescinding restrictions on US development assistance funds in the disputed territory; andØ aligning State Department bureaucrats’ internal decision-making vis-à-vis the Western Sahara with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s recent remarks.In remarks last November during a trip to Morocco, Secretary Clinton reaffirmed US policy that, “This is a plan that originated in the Clinton Administration. It was reaffirmed in the Bush Administration and it remains the policy of the United States in the Obama Administration. […] I don’t want anyone in the region or elsewhere to have any doubt about our policy, which remains the same.” [http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/11/131354.htm].** For full text of the article, “US Policy on the Western Sahara: Implementing the Policy of Three Presidents,” please visit: [http://www.mitir-magazine.com/]**The MIT International Review is an interdisciplinary journal of international affairs which aspires to support solution-oriented discourse on challenges facing the global community.###The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials, and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. For more, please visit www.moroccanamericanpolicy.orgThis material is distributed by the Moroccan American Center for Policy on behalf of the Government of Morocco. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
FINAL_Press_Release_MIT_Article042110.pdf - Press Release: Foreign Policy Panel Urges US to Support Moroccan Compromise Autonomy Plan as Only Vi Apr 23 2010
Garth Neuffer
202.470.2055
gneuffer@moroccanamericancenter.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, April 23, 2010
Foreign Policy Panel Urges US to Support Moroccan Compromise Autonomy Plan as Only Viable Solution to Prevent a Failed State in
Washington, DC (April 23)—Experts on Africa and governance warned Wednesday that an independent Western Sahara led by the Polisario Front would surely become another failed state, and pose a serious new threat to global security and regional stability. The panel urged US foreign policymakers to take clear steps to support Morocco’s compromise plan for broad autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the only viable solution to end the long-running Western Sahara conflict and address the growing instability and terrorism in North Africa and the Sahel.
The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) hosted the panel at the Council on Foreign Relations which included Dr. J. Peter Pham, Senior Fellow and Director, Africa Project, National Committee on American Foreign Policy, and ASMEA Vice President; Ambassador Herman J. Cohen, former Assistant Secretary of State for Africa; and Dr. Ricardo René Larémont, Professor of Political Science and Sociology, SUNY Binghamton.
Dr. Pham presented his new paper, “Not another Failed State: Toward a Realistic Solution in Western Sahara,” and asserted that “resolving the Western Sahara conflict does matter, now more than ever.” He pointed out that “an independent Western Sahara wouldn’t be viable; in fact, it would be a threat to the international community, to the region, and to the people who lived there.” Such a scenario raises “the terrible specter of another failed state, one that neither Africa nor the world needs.”
Pham highlighted numerous factors contributing to a failed state in a Polisario-controlled Western Sahara. He concluded that the Polisario, in its current manifestation, lacks all of the basic structures of a state, including a permanent population, a defined territory, international recognition, and a viable system of governance.
Dr. Pham called Morocco’s autonomy plan “the best way forward for all interested parties” and “for the stability and security in the region.” He urged the US to work on the ground to establish conditions for autonomy and sustainable development. He also highlighted two recent letters signed by 233 US House members and 54 US senators which expressed concern about regional stability in North Africa and the Sahel and called on the US Administration to support a solution based on autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.
“The world has changed dramatically since the conflict began,” Dr. Pham warned; “no longer can a frozen conflict in an ungoverned region be safely ignored.” Dr. Pham stressed that this is especially the case in the Sahara where terrorists such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and criminal groups seek to undermine state authority and foment instability. Dr. Larémont added that Western Sahara is part of the Sahel, a region in ecological and political crisis extending all the way across Africa, often ignored, but vitally important as a highway for illegal trafficking in humans, narcotics, and illicit goods, and a haven for terrorist networks.
Amb. Cohen said Morocco’s compromise autonomy “proposal is the best possible deal” for Sahrawis because it gives them control over local government and institutions and guarantees their economic means to survive. He called the plan “an extremely good offer for all parties involved” and said the reason “it isn’t happening is Algeria.”
Dr. Pham concluded his remarks citing humanitarian concerns of the decades-long Western Sahara conflict: “None of the guarantees of international law are being provided to the Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf.” He added that poverty in the refugee camps in Algeria was also becoming an urgent security concern, creating conditions in which extremism can flourish, and a recruiting pool that can be easily exploited by terrorist groups in the area.
* Dr. Pham’s paper appears in the inaugural issue of ASMEA’s new Journal of the Middle East and Africa. To obtain a copy, please contact Suzanne Kurtz with ASMEA at sgk@asmeascholars.org or 202.680.9255. For a recent column by Dr. Pham on the issue, go to: http://www.nationalinterest.org/Article.aspx?id=23280
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The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials, and interested publics in the
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PR_Failed States Panel_ReleaseFINAL042310.pdf
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