MOROCCO - The Campaign Against Terror - Part 11.

Morocco has been co-operating extensively with the US in its war against terrorism. The co-operation has been discreet but effective, both in terms of intelligence gathering as well as in terms of rounding up people that the US wanted in custody. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks against the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, a number of people suspected of belonging to the Al Qaida network have been arrested in the kingdom.

Such co-operation is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. Morocco is being rewarded for its role, with Washington supporting the Moroccan economy in more ways than one. In early October 2002, US trade representative, Robert Zoellick officially notified to the Congress that free-trade negotiations between Rabat and Washington are scheduled to start this year. The decision to strike a free trade deal, which is projected to have various benefits for Morocco, was officially announced on April 23 this year during the visit of King Mohammed to Washington.

The significance of the announcement can be seen from the fact that currently the US has free trade agreements with only four countries - Canada and Mexico, partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement, and Israel and Jordan. Speaking on Oct. 28, Mary A. Trace, deputy chairwoman of the US National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), said the planned free trade agreement reflects Morocco's strategic importance in the era of trade globalisation. She added that Morocco's strategic importance was due to the American business community's desire to be more competitive in the European Union to which Morocco is linked by another free trade agreement.

In the meantime, the focus of King Mohammed is to maintain internal stability. The king is well aware that public opinion is not necessarily fully supportive of the way Rabat is co-operating with the US in the war against terror. On a rhetorical level, therefore, the position taken by government officials is carefully balanced to reflect public sentiment. After the WTC attacks, King Mohammed has shown a judicious understanding of how the geo-political situation is perceived domestically, and has been careful not to show public support for the US assault on the Taliban and has refrained from much comment on the situation in the Middle East as well.

Thus the domestic political situation has been quite stable. There has been no real political challenge to the ascension of King Mohammed despite initial fears that some of the key political figures may not be satisfied with the new ruler's approach. Many members of the old guard have remained to advise him although the king has his own team, and he depends more on the latter for advise. This has meant the emergence of a new way of looking at various factors related to political and economic liberalisation.

The ground realities in the country reflect a set of daunting challenges. Morocco has a dangerous combination of problems, including an illiteracy rate of about 50%, widespread poverty and massive unemployment - estimated at 34% among those aged under 25. It is assessed that about 65% of the Moroccan population lives below the poverty line. There is deep resentment among the poorer sections of the population, who form the vast majority, against the elite, which consists of about 3% of the population and controls 85% of the country's wealth.

Radical new Islamist tendencies have spread in the country, with the traditional Islamic groups themselves seen to some extent as being out of touch with popular sentiment. While most of these tendencies do not espouse violence to overthrow the regime, there are elements that are prepared to do so. One example is the Salafi Jihadi (Salafist Combat), a secretive movement which was born in the early 1990s as the jihadi sentiment in North Africa was peaking (see the next edition of Re-drawing the Islamic Map to be published this month).