[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on the Maghreb and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Maghreb Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to maghreb@jadaliyya.com by Thursday night of every week]
Algeria
Plusieurs manifestations aujourd’hui à travers le Sud Protests broke out in In Salah last week in protest of the environmental effects of government plans for shale gas exploration in Dar Lahmar, twenty-eight kilometers north of the town.
Algeria: Industry sector in “high alert” to cope with adverse impact of oil crisis Algerian Minister of Industry and Mines Abdessalem Bouchouareb announced changes in the investment code and new forms aimed at financing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) support agencies.
Algeria plans $70bn fracking investment despite public protest The government has announced plans to invest at least seventy billion dollars to extract gas through fracking, despite major public opposition.
Le taux de chômage repart déjà à la hausse : Un avenir sombre pour l’emploi en Algérie El-Watan examines the potential effects of the recent gloomy statistics on unemployment.
Comment réagiront les Algériens à la crise qui se profile en 2015? Aït Benali Boubekeur looks at the effects of the oil crisis on everyday Algerians through a historical lens.
Is Algeria Experencing a Resurgence of Violent Jihadist Groups? After the Algerian army killed the Jund Al-Khilafa leader last month, many experts are exploring the potential for a resurgence of violent Islamist groups.
Les Algériens incontourables au Mali, en Libye, et en Tunisie France and other Western countries continue to ask a reluctant Algeria to play a larger military role in the region.
Libya
Libya Peace Talks Delayed Again Rival political groups and leaders cannot agree on an official meeting for the second round of discussions aimed to resolve the crisis in Libya.
Libya Appeals for Arms to Battle Militias Libya’s government—the one that is internationally recognized—wants more weapons to combat rival factions, particularly “Libya Dawn,” which controls Tripoli and Misrata.
Libya’s warring factions in crunch peace talks Delegates from Libya’s various competing factions gathered in Geneva on 14 January to begin a new round of peace talks. “Libya Dawn” has not yet agreed to join the meeting.
Islamic State claims abduction of 21 Christians in Libya Some factions in Libya—such as IS and Ansar al-Sharia—continue to target and kidnap Egyptian Christians living and working in the country.
The Amazigh of Libya revive their previously banned language Libyan Imazighen, who comprise about ten percent of the population, are trying to revitalize Tamazight. Qaddafi banned the language in 1973.
Regional Powers Fighting Proxy War in Libya Sudan, Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia are all involved in the Libya conflict and support various rival groups in order to pursue their own interests and agendas.
شكوك حول مقتل الصحافيين التونسيين: "داعش" يضلل الإعلام The Islamic State in Libya told the media that it captured and killed the two missing Tunisian journalists, but other sources have questioned the credibility of this claim.
No end in sight for Tripoli power cut misery Most Tripoli residents have been dealing with power outages, lasting from six to twelve hours at a time, for several weeks.
Mauritania
Liberia: Consolidating Ties - Mauritanian President On 2-Day Visit Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdul Aziz visited Liberia in order to improve relations between the two nations and cooperation on such issues as handling the Ebola outbreak.
Mauritania Draws Morocco Business Interest A delegation of Moroccan business leaders recently visited Mauritania to explore potential investments as part of growing bilateral trade and investment interests.
Morocco
"الهيني: توقيف الوزير الرميد للقاضي قنديل "فاسد Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid approves the arrest of a Moroccan judge on corruption charges.
Morocco`s complex media politics of anti-Sisi rhetoric Abderrahim Chalfaouat examines various Moroccan media and its complex relationship to the state in analyzing the recent “anti-Sisi rhetoric.”
Mezouar ne participe plus à la marche de Paris Due to depictions of the cartoons of the prophet at the “Republican March” in Paris last Sunday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mezouar decided not to attend.
Spain`s Moroccan enclave: The story behind the picture The story behind the infamous photo of migrants climbing the fence to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla juxtaposed to a golfing match reveals the difficult journey of thousands of immigrants every year attempting to enter Europe.
Empowering Entrepreneurship in Morocco and Beyond Yasmine El Baggari discusses the Global Entrepreneurship Summit held in Marrakech this last year, “highlighting the importance of engagement between the youth and the older generation of educators, government officials, and business leaders.”
A Visit to the Moroccan Liberation Army Museum Samia Errazzouki documents her visit to the High Commissariat of the Veteran Resistance Fighters and Members of the Moroccan Liberation Army.
Mme Seddiki renverse un policier, son mari vole à son secours Minister of Employment and Social Affairs Abdeslam Seddiki intervened on behalf of his wife at the Kenitra police station after she hit a policeman with her car.
Chabat Proclaims Amazigh New Year a Holiday for His Party’s Employees Istiqlal party leader Hamid Chabat announced that 13 January, the Amazigh New Year, would be a paid holiday for party workers.
Benkirane: «Nous n’avons pas pu vaincre la corruption» Morocco’s Prime Minister announced the failure of their campaign against corruption at the 13 January session of the Chamber of Representatives.
Tunisia
Terrorisme, les réseaux tunisiens dormants de Cherif et Said Kouachi The arrest of a senior officer in the local police that was close to Abdelkrim Laâbidi, a radical Islamist implicated in both of the 2013 murders, should reveal much about the connection between the Charlie Hebdo attackers Saïd and Cherif Kouach and violent Salafi groups in Tunisia.
Ines Ben Othman condamnée à 2 mois de prison ferme Tunisian Director Ines Ben Othman was sentenced to two months in prison. She was arrested 19 December for “insulting a public official in the performance of his duties.”
Tunisians rally for missing journalists Several hundred Tunisians gathered in Tunis to express support for the two missing Tunisian journalists that IS in Libya says it has executed.
"نداء تونس" يسعى لاستبعاد الجبهة الشعبية من الحكومة المقبلة؟ New Prime Minister Habib Essid is meeting with the leaders of various political parties as he moves toward forming a new government. Some are suggesting that the leftist party Popular Front may be excluded from Essid’s government.
Let`s talk about the other dead journalists Though attacks on Western journalists—such as those at Charlie Hebdo—garner the most media attention and public sympathy, the majority of journalists killed last year were Muslims working in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
Tunisia`s Ennahda says to participate in Essid Govt The Ennahda Party voted to take part in new Prime Minister Essid’s government, after the prime minister met with party members to encourage their participation.
Has Nidaa Tounes been scorched with the fire of power before even exercising it? Old disagreements among leaders of the Nidaa Tunis party have reemerged now that the election season is over. This article is also available in Arabic: هل اكتوى "نداء تونس" بنار السلطة قبل أن يمارسها؟
Western Sahara
UN needs to consider its options Hans Correll, author of a key legal ruling on Western Sahara mineral exploitation, is criticizing oil exploration in the Western Sahara by US company Kosmos Energy as a violation of international law and pushing the United Nations Security Council to respond.
Sahrawi Women Banned From Their Right to Peaceful Protest in Occupied El Aaiun Moroccan authorities prevented unemployed Sahrawi women from protesting in the Western Sahara administrative capital of Laayoune.
Western Sahara: the collision of international law and Irish corporate profit Ruairí McDermott addresses the role of Irish companies in the illegal exploitation of resources in the the disputed territory.
Most Recent Articles from Jadaliyya’s Maghreb Page
Charlie Hebdo et les limites de la République (English version here) In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, Arthur Asseraf examines the dark history of freedom of expression in the French colonial context and argues that these events were an attack on freedom of the press everywhere.
The Roots of Conflict: From Settler-Colonialism to Military Occupation in the Western Sahara Erica Vásquez examines the history and changes of the Western Sahara conflict and how Morocco has asserted itself through military occupation. Read the second part here.
Memorandum on Equal Citizenship Rights for Libyan Women in the Constitution This is an English translation of a memorandum that was issued by a group of concerned Libyan citizens to the Constitutional Drafting Assembly on 20 August 2014 with respect to the right of Libyan women to pass on citizenship to their children.
Requiem for Tunisia’s Revolution Corinna Mullen and Brahim Rouabah examine the orientalist discourses surrounding reactions to Tunisia’s revolution and its path towards western-sanctioned democracy.
New Texts Out Now: Isabelle Werenfels, Beyond Authoritarian Upgrading: The Re-Emergence of Sufi Orders in Maghrebi Politics Isabelle Werenfels talks to Jadaliyya about the top-down revival of Sufi orders and its relationship to politics in the Maghreb.
Even Morocco’s Friends Know Its Judicial System Is Corrupt and Lacking in Due Process Anna Jacobs analyzes a US federal court decision that rejected a Moroccan ruling, citing systemic corruption, a judicial system influenced by the monarchy, and weak due process.