The photograph shows the girl taking a selfie with her father wearing his cleaning uniform. She wrote in the caption, “This is my father who raises me and sacrifices for me.”
Moroccan social activist Errami Abdelali re-posted the photo. He expressed his respect for the young girl’s courage, who is not shy to unveil her father’s employment, writing, “People like you are rare.”
Facebook users interacted passionately with the photo that was widely shared. They also expressed their admiration for the girl, who is most thankful to her father’s sacrifices and profession.
Rabat - Radical anti-Islam group the North West Infidels (NWI) left Liverpool, England red-faced today after being heavily outnumbered by anti-fascist demonstrators during a planned march.
The group, who cite an opposition to ‘radical Islam and immigrants’ in their mission statement, planned to march throughout the center of the city, but were restricted due to the mass opposition they found from members of the group Unite Against Fascism (UAF).
Around 200 members of the North West Infidels gathered, and could be seen making Nazi salutes, shouting abuse about migrants, and making offensive remarks about the Prophet Mohammed, according to reports by RT.
The hostilities were short-lived, as an estimated 500 members of the UAF forced the group into a side street from the city center.
This is not the first time fascist groups have failed in spreading anti-Islamic rhetoric in the city. In September of last year, Neo-Nazi group ‘National Action’ was forced to abandon their planned protest march due to a “huge anti-fascist backlash”.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, spokesperson for the Anti-Fascist Network (AFN) Tom Ascaso described the day’s events as a big victory that showed “there is no place for fascism in their great city.”
“Today was a massive defeat for any hopes of a far-right street movement in Britain,” he said. “They mobilized nearly everybody the far-right can put out onto the streets. Anti-fascists only had 24 hours notice of their intention to march but still ensured the far-right protest was a total disaster. Fascists were prevented from marching in Liverpool again, showing collective direct action is still one of the best ways of restricting the growth of fascism.”
A variety of studies have shown growing anti-Islamic sentiment in the United Kingdom in recent years, but many will see incidents such as today as proof that people with hateful views are very much in the minority in the United Kingdom.
Casablanca -The International Islamic Trade Finance Cooperation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Attijariwafa Bank.
The MoU will focus on opportunities for joint trade financing in Morocco and Africa in accordance with the Principles of Islamic Shariah.
The signing ceremony took place in line with the opening ceremony of the 4th International Forum for Africa Development, organized by Attijariwafa bank on February 25-26 in Casablanca. The MoU was signed by Hani Salem Sonbol, Acting CEO of ITFC and Mohamed El Kettani, Chairman and CEO of Attijariwafa bank.
The main objective of the MoU is to promote a long term and comprehensive relationship between ITFC and Attijariwafa bank in different areas that include bilateral treasury and interbank transactions for liquidity investment and borrowing foreign exchange. In addition, the cooperation will involve identifying opportunities for structured trade finance operations in Morocco and other markets.
“This signing is a set up for a strategic partnership and aims at developing unique trade finance solutions which serve the needs of our member countries in the region. It is ITFC’s mandate to seek partnerships to promote intra-trade among OIC Member countries and improve the livelihood of its people," said Hani Sonbol.
On his part El Kettani said, "The signing of this MoU with ITFC reflects our mutual willingness to support Dar Safaa in its first steps in the Islamic Finance arena, and on the continental level, to spearhead the trade flows between Morocco and Sub Saharan Africa.”
ITFC provided over US$2 billion in financing to support Morocco’s strategic sectors since its inception in 2008, specifically for the energy and steel industries.
Rabat - Police in Fort Wayne, Indiana are investigating the shooting of three young Muslim Men this week, in what has been described as an ‘execution-style’ killing.
Muhannad Tairab, 17, Adam Mekki, 20, and Mohamedtaha Omar, 23 of Sudanese and Chadian descent were discovered at the abandoned ‘party house’ on Wednesday evening, by police following a tip-off.
Autopsy reports suggest the men were each shot multiple times. While no motive has been given for the killings, police have warned against assumptions that the men were targeted because of their backgrounds.
“Hopefully, you know, we'll be able to focus on exactly what the reason was, but as I said before, no reason to believe this was any type of hate crime, or focused because of their religion or their nationality whatsoever,' said Safety Director Rusty York in an interview with ABC 21 Alive.
Residents of the largely peaceful neighbourhood hope that the deaths, which represent the areas’ first triple homicide in over a decade, are unrelated to their Islamic faith.
If it were the case, the incident would be the most prominent case of anti-Islamic hate crime America has seen since the Chapel Hill killings of 2015, in which three Muslims were murdered by gun men because of their religion.
York did confirm that the house the men were discovered at was not their place of residence, but rather a well known location to police “where young people would go. There was no adult supervision. To hang out, to drink, maybe smoke marijuana, it was one of those type homes. “
The men were not thought to be involved with local gangs according to police, but at this stage it has not been ruled out as a possible motive.
Rabat - Amid the acute indignation over the extensive bans on Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, and Facebook, most participants in the annual Maroc Web Awards (MWA) are withdrawing due to suspension VoiP services.
The three main telecom providers of Morocco (Maroc Telecom, Meditel, and Inwi), which are the contest’s sponsors, made the suspension effective on Friday.
The decisions to withdraw came after Maroc Telecom providers blocked all calls through VoiP services with WiFi connection.
The participants announced their withdrawal on Facebook, expressing their dismay towards the telecommunications triumvirate, which regard their consumers as "sheep.".
Bilal Aljouhari, a Moroccan YouTuber who was a MWA nominee in the “Personality of the Year” category, announced his withdrawal on Facebook on Saturday. , “I can’t participate in a competition that is sponsored by companies that does not care for its consumers, and because of the their decision to ban VoiP services. This is some sort of sick joke,” he said.”
After Aljouhari, the withdrawals just kept coming. Marouane Lamharzi Alaoui, a Moroccan engineer, Carte.ma’s CEO, and nominee for the “Video of the Year,” announced his withdrawal on Facebook. He was nominated for his epic video entitled “From Sahara to the Sky.”
Alaoui apologized to his voters and organizers for not proceeding with the competition.
The engineer also suggested launching a campaign in order to file a lawsuit against ANRT, stating that the ban of the VoiP services is “illegal.”
Social media users launched a campaign to express their anger at the decision to block VoiP services by disliking the official pages of the telecom companies on Facebook.
24 hours after the campaign was launched, the number of the companys’ fans have been greatly reduced.
The number of Maroc Telecom’s fans decreased by 6.69 percent, or 163, 674 likes, Inwi 6.73 percent, or 137,364 likes, and Meditel by 5.84 percent, or 128,415 likes.
The Maroc Web Awards is considered the biggest competition involving the creative talent of youth in the MENA region. Its goal is to promote digital arts and creativity.
Rabat - Moroccan actress Loubna Abidar could be asked to leave French soil at any moment after her short-stay visa expired.
The actress stirred controversy since last May for her role in Nabil Ayouch’s film ‘Much Loved,” which depicts the daily lives of four prostitutes in Marrakech.
Ayouch and Abidar came under heavy fire after porn-like footages of the film were leaked on social media.
Following the controversy caused by the film, Moroccan authorities decided to ban it in Morocco.
Last November, Abidar left Morocco and decided to settle in France following claims that she was assaulted by an anonymous citizen in Casablanca.
In an interview with French daily newspaper Le Figaro last week, the Moroccan actress said that she wants to settle and live in France, adding, however, that her visa has expired.
“I want to live here. [...] My problem is that my tourist visa expired. Today, I am illegally in France. I do not have papers,” she was quoted by the French newspaper as saying.
Abidar went on to add that she has no other choices than going back to Morocco since French law requires that she go back to her country of origin in order to apply for a long stay visa.
“The normal procedure requires me to go to Morocco to apply for a long stay visa. But if I go there, I'm afraid they would not let me leave,” she added.
Rabat - Abdi Mohamed, a 17-year-old Muslim boy from Kenya, was hospitalized Saturday night after two Utah police officers shot him in the chest and stomach near a homeless shelter.
The shooting happened at 8:15 p.m. when police saw him arguing with a man while holding a broomstick, Fox 13, a local news source reported. After Abdi refused to drop the broomstick upon request, the officers proceeded to shoot him three times in the upper half of his body.
Mohammed was one of two suspects in an alleged assault, according to a statement released by the Salt Lake City police department (SLCPD) on Sunday.
"On Saturday, February 27, at approximately 8:00 p.m., officers witnessed two males with metal objects attacking a male victim,” the statement reads. “Officers confronted the two suspects and ordered them to drop the weapons. One of the males complied and dropped the weapon, the other continued to advance on the victim and was shot by officers.”
In the aftermath of the shooting, 100 officers were dispatched in order to contain crowds who “shouted and threw objects at the police” as a response to the officers’ actions, Fox reported.
Selam Mohammed, a friend of the victim who was accompanying him at the time, said the police gave him only one chance to surrender the broom before they began shooting.
'The police said 'drop it' once, then they shot him four times,' Mohammed told Fox. “'We were trying to break it up before the police even came, but the police ran in on foot and pulled their guns out already... not even trying to tase him or anything.”
“There is no doubt what happened is a tragedy for all involved and for our entire city,” the Mayor of Salt Lake City, Jackie Biskupski, said in a statement. Biskupski added that she recognizes that this is the third “significant use of force” incident for the city’s police department in the past month.
The incident and footage from the two officers’ body cameras are being investigated by the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake. The results of the investigation will be forwarded to the District Attorney’s office for “a final determination on the shooting,” according to the statement by the police.
The two officers involved in the shooting are currently on administrative leave, a SLCPD officer told The Guardian.
Rabat - Morocco agreed on Monday to take back Moroccans who have had their asylum application rejected by the German government, according to The Local, a German news source.
The pledge was made by Mohamed Hassad, Morocco’s Minister of the Interior, after a meeting with his German counterpart, Thomas de Maiziere. The German minister recently began a tour of North Africa to urge Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia to cooperate and take back their nationals once their asylum cases have been turned down.
Last week, Berlin sent letters to the 17 countries it believes to be most reluctant to cooperate on the issue. Most of the countries are from North and West Africa and South Asia.
Before his trip to the region, Maiziere said many of the rejected applicants did not have their travel documents or gave false identification information, making it increasingly difficult to send them back to their native countries.
Hassad and De Maiziere agreed to focus on identifying those Moroccans who sought refugee in Germany during 2015 while pretending to be Syrian.
Germany is currently considering putting Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia on a “safe countries of origin” list, which would make it harder for people from those countries to be approved for asylum, the newspaper reported.
Pointing to discrimination against homosexuals and curbs on free speech, some human rights groups have opposed a "safe" designation for the three Maghreb countries.
According to The Local, only 21,000 of the 200,000 asylum-seekers who were turned down in 2015 left Germany.
Rabat - In the midst of difficult competition to gain more viewers, a private Albanian channel asked its news anchors to appear topless with an open-bust jacket in order to boost viewership numbers.
The presenters proceeded to read the news in this fashion, with nothing underneath their jackets, in order to seduce the channel’s viewers, according to AFP.
Faced with fierce competition in Albania, Zjarr TV ownerIsmet Drishti came up with an unprecedented concept to attract a large number of viewers.
“Albania’s TV channels are manipulated by political power,” Drishti told AFP. “The audience is in major need of a medium that will broadcast the information like it is- naked.”
Drishti believes that the idea is a win-win situation: present the news and publicize the TV channel. “We do not sell sex; we reproduce the news as it is. It is symbolic and good publicity," Drishti added.
Drishti also mentioned that his TV channel’s audience is constantly growing, adding that the TV’s bulletin is broadcast by cable. “Actually, these bare bulletins broadcast by cable and the internet resulted in a listening audience that continues to increase,” he said.
Greta Hoxhaj, a news anchor that presents the news every day at 7:30pm, appeared with Zjarr TV’s staff half-topless.
Hoxhaj describes the shortcut she took on her rise to fame: “I worked hard for five years in local television where I remained unnoticed," she told AFP. “However, within three months doing Zjarr TV I became a star.”
Rabat - Morocco and Germany have agreed to sign a new agreement on global security, which will cover all forms of criminality, particularly terrorism, Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said Monday.
"We have agreed to sign a new agreement on global security, which covers all forms of criminality, particularly terrorism", Hassad told the press following his talks with his German peer Thomas de Maizière.
He noted that talks with the German minister, whose visit to Morocco comes following the phone call between HM King Mohammed VI and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, discussed cooperation between the two countries regarding migration and procedures to repatriate Moroccans who irregularly travelled to Germany in the wake of the recent refugee flows.
"We have identified a number of people who left from Morocco within this flow. They amount to several dozen people", he added.
For his part, the German Minister underlined that the security agreement which is being finalized will "cover all fields of cooperation against international terrorism, smuggling, trafficking, organized crime and illegal immigration".
As for the repatriation of Moroccan nationals who claim refugee status on groundless bases, he said the two parties agreed to "repatriate as many people as possible", adding that the identification process will last for 45 days.
Rabat - On Friday, February 26, 2016, The Delegation of the Ministry of Health recruited medical and nursing staff to fly aboard a medical helicopter at an altitude higher than 2000 meters, under the supervision of the Department of Urgent Medical Assistance of Marrakesh (SAMU in French) towards rural villages like Sitty Fatma and Amenzal.
The medical staff was sent order to conduct the necessary examinations and provide the necessary medicines for the benefit of the citizens of these rural areas. In addition to this, they offered vaccinations for women and children, according to the National Program of Immunization.
These villages are surrounded by snow that prevents access by road, leaving them without vital medical resources, and thus requiring the use of entrance of professional via helicopter.
Both the governor of Haouz province and the regional representative kept eye on all the stages that the medical convoy went through by checking on all health cases of citizens living in the village.
Thanks to coordination between the Houz prefecture and the Regional Directorate of Health of Marrakech-Tansift-Haouz region, the medical helicopter was able to fly between Tahannaout and Amenzal village to provide medical check-ups for more than 200 people and deliver medicines and medical supplies. They were also able to vaccinate a total of 46 women and children and monitor the health of five pregnant women.
The procedures taken aimed to support health coverage services in remote areas with difficult access caused by climatic fluctuations.
Rabat - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Monday its nuclear capacity assessment report for Morocco, which is legally necessary for the development of nuclear power program.
After the country’s venture into solar power with the launch of the Noor complex in Ouarzazate, Morocco is considering beginning a nuclear power project by 2030.
In preparation for the development of a nuclear energy program, Morocco invited experts from the UN-affiliated IAEA in October to assess Morocco’s capacity to sustain such a program.
"The IAEA has carried out well-structured work that will allow us to assess our real capacity to use nuclear energy in all its aspects. The report is positive overall," said Abdelkader Amara, the Moroccan energy minister, in the presence of experts from the IAEA.
The mission of the group of international experts, who traveled to Morocco October 25, focused on evaluating Morocco in 19 areas concerning technical and regulatory aspects of nuclear energy, as well as management of radioactive waste and human resources.
According to the director of the nuclear energy division of the IAEA, Dohee Hahn, "Morocco has the experience and skills that would enable it to launch its nuclear power program. In terms of human resources and training capacities in the nuclear field, we enjoyed seeing Morocco’s early awareness of these needs. "
The UN body has also issued several recommendations for Morocco. These are "proposed when the aspects related to the implementation of conditions for development of nuclear infrastructure is incomplete, "the report said.
The recommendations include encouraging intergovernmental communication, developing a blueprint for the advancement of a nuclear program, and strengthening Morocco’s commitment to nuclear safety by developing a well-composed strategy.
"Morocco will have its nuclear infrastructure, but it is not for tomorrow,” Amara said. “From the date the decision is made to energy production, it takes between 12 and 15 years. We will not see nuclear infrastructure before 2030."
Rabat - Over five decades ago, amid the holy rituals of Ramadan, on February 29, 1960, just before 11:40 pm, the citizens of Agadir had no idea of the horrific disaster that would soon impact their lives and their country’s history forever.
An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale struck the city that night, taking the lives of nearly a third of the city’s population. Approximately 15,000 were killed, 25,000 were injured, and 35,000 became homeless in a mere 15 seconds.
The earthquake is regarded as the most devastating natural disaster in Moroccan history thus far. The catastrophe was caused by the volcanic tectonic fault in the South Atlas, the mountain range that extends from the Figuig region in the southeast to the Canary Islands through Agadir.
The 15-second cataclysm was swelled by several horizontal and vertical waves caused by a seismic span of nearly 4 kilometers. The entire area surrounding Agadir was afflicted due to fragile infrastructure.
The shadow of the tragic event still haunts Moroccans, who recall the horrific times the kingdom went through every anniversary that left so many of them homeless, orphaned and physically disabled.
In 2014, on the 54th anniversary of the earthquake, the daily Arabic newspaper Al Massae reported that several Moroccans who suffered from severe psychological shock after the disaster traveled outside the kingdom to receive special medical treatment.
Al Massae added that the earthquake was an opportunity for others to search for precious properties beneath the ruins, while many Moroccans still mourned the victims. In addition, several people profited from the tragedy by investing in large-scale businesses at the expense of others’ properties.
That same year, the daily Arabic newspaper, Al Akhbar, covered the story of a poor Moroccan carrier who became wealthy after the tragic event.
In Berber, the word “Agadir” is used to describe a wall-enclosing fortress or town. Agadir still remains one of the largest tourist hubs in the kingdom and among the preferred destination for tourists in the world. Last year, around 888,848 tourists visited the city, according to the city’s Regional Tourist Council (CRT).
Rabat - Saudi Controversial cleric Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni has survived an assassination attempt on Tuesday in Philippines, Saudi media reported, adding that two bodyguards were killed in the attack.
Al-Qarni was shot and wounded following a lecture that he hosted at a university in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines, Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya News channel reporte
Al Arabiya quoted a Filipino official as saying that Sheikh Ayed al-Qarni was transferred to a hospital in Manila and is “fine” after being shot in the hand by an unknown gunman in Zamboanga.
Early reports suggested two of his bodyguards were killed in a shooting exchange with unknown assailant. No official confirmation has come out yet.
Local news website Manila Times quoted Helen Galvez, a police spokesperson as saying that Sheikh Turki Assaegh, a religious attaché at the Saudi Embassy in Manila was also injured in the attack.
Zamboanga-based TV channel said Al Qarni was shot by an unidentified gunman when he was about to enter his service vehicle.
According to the same source, the assailant was killed by security men while trying to escape.
Helen Galvez said it remains unknown how the gunman managed to sneak the gun he used in attacking al-Qarni and Assaegh despite “strict security measures” at the university gates.
Al-Qarni has been on the USA “Do Not Fly” list since 2012.
Rabat - The first IKEA store in Morocco will open on March 16, after a six-month delay caused by a diplomatic row between Sweden and Morocco, Marino Maganto, the CEO of IKEA Morocco told Huffpost Maghreb.
Last September, Morocco blocked the opening of the first IKEA store in the country because the location did not acquire a “certificate of conformity” from the community and local law enforcement. The announcement came after Sweden ordered an internal review of the country’s policy regarding the Sahara issue.
After the completion of the review, Sweden issued a formal statement clarifying that the Polisario self-proclaimed Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) “does not satisfy the conditions to qualify as an independent state,” and that “the [Polisario] front does not have the ingredients to establish a sovereign state.” The decision ended the diplomatic row between Morocco and Sweden.
When asked about the political issue that delayed the store opening, Maganto said IKEA Morocco "never considered this as a crisis, even if it is obviously a loss from sales... But the amount of the loss is difficult to assess. We talk about a few millions."
According to an article in The Arab Weekly magazine, some Moroccans have criticized IKEA for pricing items higher in the Morocco catalogue than in European catalogue. The magazine noted that the increased prices were in place to match prices offered by local competitors.
The CEO said that IKEA prices its products based on the region in which it operates and continues to try to offer low prices to all its customers.
"We have almost 2,000 items in the catalog cheaper than in Europe. We have some more expensive products, some less expensive, and others the same price. We will work to lower prices from year to year and to make our products accessible to the Moroccan people."
Rabat - Japanese companies seek to reinforce their presence in Morocco, Director General of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Mizuno Daisuke, said Tuesday.
"Japanese economic operators are interested in the investment opportunities in Morocco in various sectors, notably automobile, aeronautics, agribusiness and energy", Daisuke said during a meeting between Minister of Industry, Trade, investment and the digital economy, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, and a delegation composed of 54 Japanese businessmen.
Elalamy stressed during this meeting on the necessity for Morocco and Japan to better benefit from their respective economic potential to reach a mutually beneficial bilateral partnership.
He highlighted the competitive advantages offered by Morocco to achieve this goal, and the various ambitious strategies adopted to boost the industrial sector in Morocco.
The meeting was an opportunity to examine the means to reinforce economic relation between Morocco and Japan in the fields of investment and trade relations.
JETRO, a Japanese government-related organization that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world, inaugurated in 2014 its bureau in Rabat, the first of its kind in Maghreb region.
Rabat - Moroccan model Amal Saber has said that Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed “special nights” with her while he was still dating Russian supermodel Irina Shayk.
The 26-year-old Amal Saber, who immigrated to Spain as a child, made the statement in an interview with the Spanish magazine Interviu.
Amal said she met with Cristiano for the first time in late 2014 at an upscale Madrid club-restaurant.
“I was looking for the restroom, when a man stood up and showed me politely where I can find it... It was Ronaldo,” adding that he later invited her and a relative to join his table.
Amal told the Spanish publication that Ronaldo “invited her to his apartment later that night, where he shared with her melon champagne till dawn next to a photo of Irina Shayk.”
“I was a little drunk but I remember the house was dark, black and grey. We went into his bedroom and he had a bed with a large TV and a photo of Irina Shayk beside it,” she said.
“We drank melon champagne from some lovely bottles he said were left over from his birthday,” Amal said, adding that they stayed together until 5 a.m.
The Moroccan model went on to add that the footballer invited her to his apartment several times after their first encounter. “The first night was very special and there were more. But neither of us will forget that first one, because we were very affectionate,” she concluded.
Amal further claimed that Ronaldo blocked her on WhatsApp after breaking up with Shayk in January 2015.
Amal Saber, currently lives in Majorca. She was born in 1990, in Nadour, Northeastern Morocco and immigrated to Spain at the age of eight.
Rabat - A building under construction in Casablanca caved in on Monday, killing 3 construction workers and injuring 3 others.
Fire officials said the four-story building’s collapse was reported just before 10:30 a.m. at the Mandarona neighborhood, located in the district of Ain Chock, Casablanca. The building pancaked from the fourth floor to the basement level.
A statement by the fire department said three workers were immediately killed in the collapse, while three others were seriously injured after they were trapped beneath the rubble for hours.
“The three injured people were transported to the hospital and their condition is stable,” delegate of the Health Ministry to the district of Ain Chock, Lamia Hassani, told media following the incident.
While it remains unclear until now what caused the collapse, buildings officials said the company had all the necessary permits for the construction.
Meanwhile, Telquel cited the manager of the company that owns the building, Mohamed El Ghlid, as saying that a “human error was behind the collapse.”
Moroccan News Agency MAP said local authorities have opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the tragedy.
Rabat - Courts in England yesterday jailed two men over the killing of 81-year old Muslim man, Mushin Ahmed.
Dale Jones, the man believed to have led the attacks, will serve a minimum of 32 years in jail after being given a life sentence. His accomplice, Damien Hunt, was jailed for manslaughter and given a 14-year sentence.
Ahmed was making his way to morning prayers on August 10 of last year, when, at 3am, a group of men abused and beat him. His assailants left him with serious brain injuries from which he later died.
Tests showed that on the night of the attack, both Hunt and Jones had been drinking heavily and used cocaine. After one failed attack on an Asian taxi driver, the men turned their attention to Ahmed.
Courts had “no doubt” that the attack was carried out because of Ahmed’s Asian heritage, according to prosecutor Andrew Robertson.
“This extreme violence is nothing short of sickening and highlights just how dangerous these individuals are,” said Chief Inspector Victoria Short at the hearing.
"They have never given an explanation for their own vicious actions that evening, but the court heard how Mr. Ahmed was assaulted because of the color of his skin, a fact that is as disturbing as it is despicable," she added.
Peggy Ahmed, the victim’s widow, spoke about the pain the killers had put her family through. Describing her late husband as a hero to their many grandchildren, she told courts how she would spend the rest of her life without her husband. “My pain and loss is almost indescribable,” she said.
Rabat - The Moroccan National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT) ) has announced that a conference It will hold in Marrakech next month will utilize Skype services, despite Skype being banned for the Moroccan public.
The move is the latest in a long saga after Moroccan Telecom Companies fully blocked the usage of VoIP services last week.
The ANRT will host 55th conference of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) from March 5th to 10th in Marrakech . Those who can not attend the conference in person will be able to communicate via otherwise banned Skype services.
“Where a presenter is not physically present at the conference, Skype, Facetime, or Google Hangout will be used to connect the presenter to the in-room audio system with a bidirectional connection, and video will be projected on screen. This is a special, limited availability service,” reads an official document of the conference posted on the ICANN website.
The move to restrict VoIP communication sparked a fierce backlash from Moroccans, who claim the restriction is a limit on their right to communicate and will negativity affect small businesses.
The decision to ban the use of Skype, Facetime, WhatsApp and Hangout was backed by the ANRT. In a statement released last January, ANRT claimed that applications that offer free VoIP services “are not in compliance with current regulations and represent a large loss for the national telecom providers.”
“This is a severe blow to many start-ups, companies, and technological creation units,” a spokesperson for the opposition Constitutional Union Party said, “especially at a time when new technology entrepreneurship is a potential pathway for the creation of thousands of jobs.”
The final stage of the VoIP services ban expanded from the restriction of calls made via 3G and 4G connections to all calls made with a WiFi connection.
A campaign has been set into motion to ‘unlike’ pages of the Telecom providers. In addition, many nominees of the upcoming Maroc Web Awards (ironically sponsored by the three major telecom companies) have withdrawn in protest.
“I can’t participate in a competition that is sponsored by companies that does not care for its consumers and that ban VoiP services. This is some sort of sick joke,” said Bilal Aljouhari, a Moroccan YouTuber who was nominated for “Personality of the Year” before pulling out last week.
Despite all of this, the Telecom providers claim they are within their rights to allow or block any communication they wish, citing that they hold contracts regarding the provision of any and all telecommunication services in Morocco. It is hard to see where the situation will go from here.
