MOROCCO - The Political Aspects.

Like all other Arab regimes, the Moroccan leadership is reluctant to move towards a Western-style democracy. The late King Hassan was blunt about these issues and did not tolerate any significant opposition, Islamist or otherwise. However, by the 1990s, elections at the local level were conducted and the general public got a sense of the workings of the democratic process. King Mohammed has indicated that he may be prepared to be even more flexible on the issue of political liberalisation, perhaps to the extent of turning the kingdom into a constitutional monarchy.

While this may be true, it is clear that the time frame will be slow and steady. There will be no rush to change. In fact, the king has faced some criticisms over the past year as politicians began to doubt his commitment to political reform. But he set such concerns to rest in July when he said that elections would be held in 2002 as planned. There had been reports in Morocco that the government would delay the vote to allow the implementation of electoral reforms and because traditional political parties, torn by infighting, would not be ready in time.

After ascending the throne, King Mohammed moved fast to clarify his own views on the issue of freedom and human rights. On Aug. 20, less than a month after becoming ruler, he broke a taboo and, in a speech, mentioned the "disappeared" opposition activists and the "victims of arbitrary arrest". The king also responded to a recommendation from the Consultative Council for Human Rights and set up the Arbitration and Compensation Body. (This body decides how much compensation should be paid to victims of arbitrary detention, i.e. people who are known as the "disappeared". It consists of four members of the Council, three judges, and representatives of the justice and interior ministries. Dozens of Moroccans disappeared in the 1960s and 1970s. It later emerged that they were being held in detention without trial in remote desert centres).

Speaking in Casablanca on Oct. 12, 1999, the king outlined his conceptions of authority and underlined the need to respect "human rights and individual freedoms". The decision in May 2000 to end the house arrest Shaikh Abdessalam Yassine, the spiritual leader of Al Adl Wal Ihsan, the main Islamic movement in the kingdom, also falls in line with the humanitarian approach.

Morocco's friends in the West have appreciated all these measures. As such they are not likely to pressure the government to go beyond what it has done at a pace faster than what King Mohammed is comfortable with, especially given the current geo-political climate in the Middle East. For his part, the king is not likely to risk instability by pushing ahead with reforms at a time when he is consolidating his own position, imprinting his own style of rule over the country, and making sure that no one who is opposed to his vision for Morocco is placed strongly enough to hinder his plans.