When it comes to writing, I am rather a slow trickling bleeder, NOT a gusher by any stretch of imagination. However, the events unfolding in the MENA region have fueled my appetite for writing and stoked my flaming fervor to weigh in on the always predictable reaction to those who dare to make their grievances public. The March 26th savage assault on demonstrating teachers has catapulted me back to pondering a bigger charade known as the Moroccan Equity and Reconciliation Commission, Morocco’s highly lauded and incredibly deceptive attempt at transitional Justice.

The sacking of Driss Al basri boded very well with all Moroccans. Al Basri security apparatus notoriously cracked down on outspoken dissenters and those suspected or even rumored to be critical of the regime. This was not the only great news; at the behest of Mohamed VI, a commission was established to investigate the abuses of the past and to compensate the victims and their families for the ills of an era commonly known as “the years of lead”. It was the first ever initiative set up by a son to undo the offenses of his father. This initiative, widely known by its French acronym: IER, was also setting a precedent by holding public hearings so that victims are encouraged to come forward and openly recount their stories without fear of government reprisal. What was once a deep rooted fear of even broaching the topic of human rights abuses, was quickly dissipating

King Mohammed VI promised a holistic national healing and the prevention of future abuse from ever reoccurring. Victims came out and openly testified about their own wretched and hellish living conditions that they or their loved ones were put through; they poured their hearts out in a way that made for a nice and juicy televised program that attracted high viewership only rivaled by a high profile international soccer match. This, however, was a much better spectacle; these were real people telling real stories of blood and near death experiences with real warm tears. The regime has already earned a reputation for being brutal; hearing those stories from the horse’s mouth and having them buttressed by solid stats and accurate dates was very gratifying to watch. The victims did not mind to be part of that spectacle because it was extremely therapeutic and somewhat vindictive. The IER commissioners listened, took notes, drafted reports, and made lengthy recommendations. The cameras were rolling, the lights were on. Some of the victims spoke stoically, and others broke down as they tearfully detailed their ordeals. In some instances, the whole exercise was reduced to this redemptive and theological narrative where victims were consoled and reminded that Allah is the ultimate adjudicator and that they should just find it within their hearts to forgive and forget. When considering this call to take the moral high road and try to place it within the entire enterprise of equity and reconciliation, the latter seems more like an exercise in futility. In other words, victims could have been spared the agonizing emotional journey of having to painfully recall an aching and sometimes recalcitrant memory and just offered to defer their hearings to the hereafter
The large and diverse segments of the audience loved that whole drama; Moroccans would often recall those testimonies and rank the ones that were most touching. People were starting to romanticize about those stories of pain and suffering. The lines were starting to blur between watching an IER hearing and a tear jerking romantic movie. In a way, this was the best locally produced TV program that the Moroccan state TV has ever created and diffused, uncut and unpolished. There was no more talk about holding people accountable or contextualizing this exercise in terms of transitioning to a society with strong democratic institutions. The government skillfully turned this justice deficit into a prime time political pornography fit for family enjoyment. The outcome could not have been more serving to the regime. The fact is that this whole saga amounted to nothing more than a media circus and political theatre starring a deftly vetted washed up group of repenting Leftists. The regime was looking to build legitimacy and the old Left seemed like the perfect pick to lull society into believing that a change is taking root. The many years of imprisonments and exile that most Leftists and Marxists had under their belts were their biggest and best assets and the regime knew how to cash those assets for public trust using an old tactic known as cooptation. After all, who would dare question the integrity of those who have scars to prove that they couldn’t possibly be in cahoots with a sinful regime? We all vividly remember Ahmed Harzenni flashing his 18 years of incarceration in the face of a Moroccan American who was tacitly accusing him of being a turncoat. The regime knew how to borrow that credence and use it for its full worth. The general public was still savoring the taste of the political drama that was widely televised until it became clear that publicizing those testimonies was implicating those who were still holding prominent positions and exposing a state behavior that should forever remain classified.

The old left, once a class of political iconoclasts, has forever become domesticated. Using the old cooptation ploy, the establishment managed to fragment a once ardently challenging class of leftist leaning political militants, and turned the story of pain and state violence into one of romance, religion, distortion and distraction. This whole chapter in the history of Morocco was yet another act of deception and a flagrant assault on the public’s already bruised existence. The sinful state not only scored big in swaying over a very resentful public through the power of TV drama, but also set the proverbial stage for a diluted element of the old Left to repent and divorce itself of what made them stand out: sticking out for dignity. The Moroccan Transitional Justice system is analogous with a mountain going into labor just to give birth to a mouse. The experience was simply cathartic and an opportunity for victims to release their bottled up emotions, not an earnest attempt at good governance whose ultimate goals are mending state institutions, communal redress, restoring human rights, and repairing a severely fractured justice system….

As far as the government is concerned, a leftist Marxist agenda was equally as threatening as that of an Islamist. Yet, when the government was looking to staff the IER, it was those radical Leftists who were often a sharp thorn on the side of the establishment who were tapped for this gig. No Islamist was ever called to serve on the IER commission. The Islamists were known for showing distinct courage in addressing the causes of socio economic disparities. Interestingly enough, Leftists like Abdelhamid Amine and Ahmed Sabbar who kept on criticizing the commission’s mandate as inherently flawed and unproductive, admit that there is a strange convergence between the Islamist and the Radical Left stands. Mr. Sabbar has a lot to prove now to his old comrades now that he accepted to be appointed as Secretary General to the newly formed National Council for Human Rights. The old Leftists who accepted to join the rank and file of the IER were provided for very handsomely, they all occupy cushy jobs and positions of prestige. Some new governmental agencies have been created simply to justify the comfortable salaries that these individuals derive from the government. Some of them are being sent on diplomatic missions across the world making the case for Morocco’s legitimate claim over the Western Sahara. Ironically enough for most of them, it was their stand on the issue of Western Sahara that robbed them of nearly two decades of life either in jail or exile.

Transitional Justice will remain a catch phrase and public relations gambit so long as it is not endowed with a broad vision of addressing the past, cultivating a culture of accountability and abolishing the culture of impunity and fear.
While I may sound cynical about the goals and the achievements of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission, I acknowledge that the establishment of this commission should get all the credit for this nascent culture of human rights that is starting to take hold in Morocco. The country may not present the ideal model to be emulated but there is no denying that the prognosis of human rights in Morocco could potentially be pretty promising provided that Public Relations specialists are kept out of it. Morocco has forced the discourse of human rights to the surface but it is delusional to assume that the country has transitioned to a political environment where citizens’ social status has no bearing on how they are treated. The laws still do not apply to everyone equally. Due process is still not being extended to everyone equally. Moroccans are still feeling vulnerable especially with the recent incidents of imprisonment of independent media professionals and bloggers for some preposterous reasons; corruption is neither punished nor deterred; political clout and leverage are still the way contracts are awarded. The justice system is just as fractured as it has ever been with no sign of improvement in sight.

Mr. Mohamed Brahimi studied Organizational Management, and then Journalism from Suffolk University in Boston, He has a graduate Degree in Political science. Mr. Brahimi is currently working for Harvard University as an associate researcher. He is a founder of the Arabic- English “Al Arab News” newspaper that caters to Muslims and propagates the importance of civic engagement. He is also the founder of The Moroccan American Civic and Cultural Association, a not for profit organization that emphasizes the importance of Volunteerism and the quest to reach the level of mainstream society. Mr. Brahimi also serves as a Board Director in one of Massachusetts largest cap agencies whose mission is to fight poverty and homelessness and to empower minority groups