Moroccan authorities banned two magazines from newsstands over the weekend after they published a poll about the 10-year reign of King Mohammed VI. Official MAP news agency said independent weeklies, Tel Quel, a French-language publication, and Nichane, an Arabic-language magazine, were seized for failing to respect the 1958 press code.
Communications Minister Khalid Naciri told the Associated Press on Sunday that the poll, carried out in conjunction with the French daily Le Monde, was at issue. "Any publication, be it foreign or Moroccan, that publishes the poll will be banned," the minister said. "Monarchy cannot be the subject of opinion polls and those who practice this sport are aware of the consequences."
A Casablanca court on Tuesday rejected the magazines' appeal against the ban. "The complaint by the TelQuel group asking for the annulment of the interior ministry's decision is acceptable in its form, but not in substance," ruled the court after a hearing. On Monday night, Moroccan authorities also banned sales in the country of the issue of French daily Le Monde dated August 4 because it carried the same poll about the king's first decade in power, which was widely celebrated across the country last week.
Only the current issues of the two magazines were banned, MAP reported. The magazines were banned even thought the poll results were reportedly favourable.
"This poll reveals that 91 per cent of Moroccans who were interviewed say that the performance of the reign of King Mohammed VI is positive or very positive," TelQuel director Ahmed Benchemsi told AFP. The poll coincided with the celebrations on Thursday of the 10th anniversary of Mohammed's accession to the throne after the death of his father Hassan II.
"Once again the Moroccan authorities have scored an own goal. To mark the tenth anniversary of the king's accession to the throne, they have been trumpeting new liberties they claim he initiated in matters of press freedom and civil liberties," said Jim Boumelha, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) President."By banning the publication of a mere opinion poll, the authorities have shown they are still prepared to behave as intolerant dictators."
According to the Syndicat National de la Presse Marocaine (SNPM), an IFJ affiliate, the decision was doubly illegal as there is no legislative text that allows the pulping of newspapers without a judicial order nor any legislation that forbids the publication of opinion polls.
"Opinion polls, the world over, are well-proven tools to advance democracy and governance. By saying that their king cannot be subject to an evaluation by his own people, the Moroccan authorities have once again set back freedom of opinion and freedom of the press. They will be judged by their actions and will find it more and more difficult to convince the world that they are sincere democrats," added Boumelha.
