On Closing Al Jazeera’s Office in Morocco

By Jamal Elabiad

The Moroccan government eventually did what it had been contemplating doing for years: closing the office of Al Jazeera in Rabat. There are many reasons behind the closure of the channel’s office, but the most important one is that the Doha-based channel, according to the Moroccan Communications Minister Khalid Naciri, is pro-the Polisario Front.

If you ask Khlaid Naciri or any other Moroccan government official to shed more light on how Al Jazeera TV channel served the agenda of the Polisario, he will, for instance, say that Al Jazeera opens its microphone only to the proponents of the Polisario Front, but it invariably turns its back on critics and opponents of the Front. In other words, Al Jazeera would have given as much attention as possible to Mutapha Salma Ould Sidi Mouloud] Fr[ had he criticized the Moroccan autonomy project, and the sole reason behind the blanket coverage Al Jazeera gave to Aminatou Haidar is the fact that she is a separatist.

It’s regrettable that most Moroccan newspapers toed the Moroccan government line when it comes to the reasons behind the shutdown of Al Jazeera‘s office in Rabat. Add to this that some of them accused Al Jazeera of reporting a one-side of the story. According to them, Al Jazeera gives voice only to the separatists, but it seldom invites Moroccan government officials and Polisario opponents to comment on a news story related to the Sahara issue.

For me, as for others, such newspapers throw stones at others though their houses are made of glass. It’s plain clear that the Moroccan Communications Ministry was the sole source they relied on to let their readers know about the reasons behind the closure of Al Jazeera’s bureau, and that almost none of them conducted an interview with one of Al Jazeera’s reporters in Morocco so that their readers could know what the other side of the story thought of the reasons that led the Moroccan government to shut down Al Jazeera’s office in Rabat. The same, needless to say, is true of Moroccan TV channels, particularly 2M and RTM.

What Moroccans would have known had their newspapers and TV channels asked Al-Jazeera's bureau director or one of its journalists in Morocco to comment on the reasons the Moroccan government gave for closing the bureau of Al Jazeera is that Al Jazeera did invite Moroccan government officials to comment on different Moroccan affairs, including the Sahara issue, but most of them said no to Al Jazeera’s invitations.

Recently, I asked on Facebook one of Al Jazeera’s reporters in Morocco why Moroccan government officials usually refused to discuss on Al Jazeera topics related to the Moroccan Sahara. He wrote in reply to my question that they avoided appearing on Al Jazeera, particularly when they knew that the topic under discussion would be “the Western Sahara”, in order not to lose their seats through making comments that may enrage “the highest circles of power” in Morocco.

In brief, the Moroccan government closed the bureau of Al Jazeera, not because it is pro-the Polisario or something similar, but because most Moroccan government members do not have the guts to answer the deep and provocative questions Al Jazeera journalists always ask their guests.

This article first appeared on Al Jazeera Talk English.

In Response to Mr. Hassim’s Response

By Jamal Elabiad

Recently, Mr. Mohammed Hassim, an ELT supervisor, sent me an e-mail clarifying and correcting some "wrong" information in my latest article about Connecting Classrooms Project (CCP). After reading Mr. Hassim's response as many times as possible, I decided to write an article responding to the most controversial points mentioned in his response. But before going forward, I thank all those who have commented on the article, and I promise to respond to their comments when the time comes.

"This source of information is a secondary source and not a primary one just because he is not the coordinator and he did not take part in Connecting Classrooms Project (CCP) which is the main topic of your article."

For me, the middle school is a reliable source for several reasons. First, he took part in ACCESS program four years ago. Second, he rejected the offer of participating in CCP for the reason I mentioned in the article. Third, the middle school teacher I relied on was a previous student of the high school teacher who recommended him to the project coordinator. Fourth, I know my source quite well. Therefore, he can't tell me lies.

"You based all your ideas and conclusions on that secondary source without even taking the trouble of consulting primary sources which/whom you easily have access to. I am the coordinator and you know me personally."

I have never posted news stories on my blog for one reason: I am not good at writing them. It's opinion pieces that I always publish on my blog. When we write opinion pieces, we turn only to the sources that will help us convince our readers of the focal point of our articles. And If I had written a news story about connecting Classrooms project, I would have asked as many project coordinators and teachers as possible simply because the project coordinator and the teachers who I preferred not to give their names are just examples in point.

"We talked about CCP many times in front the teachers in Zagora and you were present. In the last pedagogical meeting we held in October 2010; I talked about many projects including CCP and Connecting Classrooms Online (CCO). And I said that the projects are open to all teachers. I distributed a CD-ROM containing all the projects and I told you all to take time to look over them and later we will agree on a schedule based on the projects you are interested in."

I really do not know for certain why you mentioned all these details. Possibly, you think that the rationale behind writing such a piece was that I was not invited to participate in the project. To be honest, taking part in the BC or RELO projects and visiting England or the USA has never been (and will never be) one of my concerns, for I know pretty well the agenda such projects serve, either in Morocco or elsewhere. My rationale behind writing the article is to keep my blog readers, particularly teachers of English, familiar with the criteria that were used for selecting teachers to participate in CCP. In brief, wrong are those who think I have an account to settle behind writing that article.

"The choice of the teachers and schools is left to the inspectors because they are in the best position to do so"

Yes, you are right. But, most teachers do not know when and where those teachers were selected. Normally, the project coordinators should have organized meetings with all the teachers they supervise so as to let them know of the project and the requirements teachers should meet to take part in it. Was such a procedure respected? I do not think yes.

"The latter reason is justified by the fact that teachers in Zagora don't want to stay in Zagora for long. The project lasts for 5 years; so we cannot start with a different teacher each year. The reason he presented to me personally for not taking part in the project was that he had no intention to stay in Zagora for long. The second middle school teacher who took part in CCP was selected to take part in the project for the same two above-mentioned reasons: he is a qualified teacher and he is from Zagora."

I know that the teacher who was selected immediately after the middle school rejected the offer is from Zagora. I also know that the teacher decided not to move to another city only when he was offered the opportunity to take part in CCP. In other words, the teacher applied two times to move somewhere else before he joined the project, but it was the gains the teacher would get from the project that convinced him to stay in Zagora for the coming three years or so. By the way, among the things the teacher gained from participating in the project was a one-week visit to an English city. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I mention this because I am quite sure that there were teachers who would have decided to stay in Zagora had they known of the benefits they would reap from taking part in CCP.

"I don't know why this "Moroccan ELT association" is mentioned here…….But you have no right to blame them or anyone else for belonging to an association even if you don't agree with that."

I have never blamed anybody for belonging to the ELT association. Everyone is free to be a member of the association that serves his/her interests and goals. And the reason why I mentioned the ELT association was just to tell readers that the common denominator between the high school teacher and the project coordinator is their belonging to the ELT association.

"but it's difficult to regain friends you lose because of that or to heal the deep wounds you cause them. Personally, I get upset for a certain time, then I forget about it soon. But not all people are like me. Be careful!"

I appreciate very much the pieces of advice you concluded your response with. But I am sorry to say that all my friends should be open to criticism. Otherwise, I will surely lose them. And have no doubt that I am ready to apologize to all those who were offended by the articles I have posted so far on my blog. Kindest regards.