[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 roundup to maghreb@jadaliyya.com]
Algeria
Le phénomène avait sensiblement reculé durant le hirak : Explosion sans précédent de la harga In Algeria, the number of clandestine migrations to Europe has drastically increased this year, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and in contrast to the period of the Hirak protests.
الجزائر: البرلمان الأوروبي يدعو للتحرك في مجال حقوق الإنسان ويعبر عن تضامنه مع المتظاهرين The European Parliament adopts a resolution on the deteriorating situation of human rights in Algeria, particularly in light of the case of Khaled Drareni, a journalist detained since March 2020.
A ‘Missing’ President Is Sparking Deja Vu in Rudderless Algeria After being hospitalized in Germany due to Covid-19, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune vanishes for weeks, fueling rumors in the context of a communicational void. This has also reminding Algerians of the ailments and absences of former President Bouteflika during his rule.
Plusieurs sites d’informations censurés en Algérie ce mercredi : la liberté d’expression en souffrance Multiple online Algerian news outlets are blocked nationwide with no apparent reason given.
عاجل| الحكم على أنيس رحماني في قضية العقيد إسماعيل بـ 5 سنوات سجن نافذ Anis Rahmani, head of a major Algerian media group and a confidant of Saïd Bouteflika, is sentenced to five years in prison for recording and broadcasting a phone conversation with a senior intelligence officer without his consent.
« Quand j’étais une mouche »: La propagande en ligne du 5e mandat racontée de l’intérieur A person who took part in the anti-Hirak social media campaign organized by Abdelaziz Bouteflika's entourage during the first weeks of protests tells his story of being an “electronic fly.”
After the Referendum: Reviving Dialogue in Algeria The constitutional referendum in November fails to address the Hirak’s demands for a long-awaited change. Algerians are calling for new strategies to tackle the country’s political and economic situation, notably in light of Tebboune's absence.
Libya
Financements libyens: des mails prouvent les mensonges de Sarkozy sur Gaubert A series of emails uncovered by Médiapart show that Nicolas Sarkozy lied about his relationship with Thierry Gaubert, who received half a million euros from an offshore account linked to the Gaddafi regime in 2006 .
السراج يتراجع عن الاستقالة إلى حين انتهاء جولات الحوار الليبي Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj reverses his decision to resign and chooses to remain in office until the ongoing political talks between his Government of National Accord and Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army reach an agreement.
Libya rivals begin second round of talks on interim government Libya’s two ruling factions hold a second round of talks to choose a transitional government that will lead the country until the elections planned in December 2021.
Deux bateaux de migrants font naufrage au large de la Libye, près de 100 personnes sont mortes Two shipwrecks off Libyan coasts cause the death of almost 100 migrants in the span of one night.
حفتر يعود لحشد مليشياته بأسلحة جديدة مع تعثر الحوار LNA's Khalifa Haftar resumes mobilizing militias in Sirte and other parts of the country roughly a month after a major ceasefire agreement was signed in Geneva.
Analysis: Libya's rival forces have stopped shooting, but they're not pulling backReuters suggests that, although the two warring factions in Libya have ceased fighting and agreed to hold talks, the Libyan conflict is far from over.
اتفاق جديد لتوسيع التعاون الاقتصادي بين تركيا وليبيا The Council of Libyan Businessmen signs a joint cooperation agreement with the Turkish-Arab Countries Business Association in Istanbul. Libya’s UN-backed GNA has already established strong economic ties with Ankara.
Mauritania
« Cela dépasse mes espérances » : en Mauritanie, un barrage change la vie d’un village Locals in Gvava Peulh, a village in the Assaba region in southern Mauritania, build a dam to better prepare for periods of drought, doubling the acreage of cultivable soil.
وفاة الرئيس الموريتاني الأسبق سيدي محمد ولد الشيخ عبد الله Mauritania’s former president, Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, dies at the age of 82. Mauritania declares 3 days of mourning. Cheikh Abdallahi served as president from 2007 to 2008, when he was deposed in a military coup d'état.
Mauritania distances itself from Polisario Amid flaring tensions between Western Sahara’s Polisario Front and the Moroccan Monarchy, neighboring Mauritania denies accounts of creating a parliamentary alliance with the Polisario Front.
Mauritanie : « A cause du coronavirus, nous sommes passés de trois repas par jour à un seul » In rural Mauritania, where nearly a quarter of the population is subject to food insecurity, the ongoing pandemic worsens the economic and working conditions of farmers.
الموريتانيون يحتفون بالاستقلال على شارع المختار ولد داداه Mauritanians celebrate Independence Day onMoktar Ould Daddah street in the capital Nouakchott.
Mauritania uncovers illegal migration networks Authorities in Mauritania say they have uncovered more than 30 illegal migration networks and repatriated about 4,000 people to a number of West African countries.
Morocco
Mohamed Melehi obituary In an obituary for Mohamed Melehi, who recently passed away due to Covid-19, The Guardian revisits the painter’s life and works in Morocco and New York.
Le Maroc et Israël normalisent leurs relations diplomatiques sous l'égide de Donald Trump In return for the US’ recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, Morocco announces a full normalization of diplomatic ties with Israel. The move, which falls in line with the recent wave of normalization between Israel and some Arab countries, was described by all three countries’ leaders as “historical”.
المحكمة العليا في المغرب تؤيد أحكاما بحق صحراويين في قضية اكديم ايزيك Morocco's top court upholds the jail sentences of up to life imprisonment for 23 Sahrawis who were found guilty in 2013 by a military court oft killing Moroccan security personnel in 2010.
The big picture: revolution in the air The Guardian reminisces about a 1955 photograph, now published in a new book called Look Up to The Moon, taken by American musician John Cohen as Morocco was striving for its independence.
Maroc : très peu de victimes de violences conjugales déposent plainte An official study shows that more than one in two Moroccan women was the victim of some form of violence last year, whereas less than 7 percent of domestic violence victims end up filing a complaint.
المغرب يطلب لقاح سينوفارم الصيني ولقاح أسترا زينيكا Morocco orders two Covid-19 vaccines, China’s Sinopharm and the British-Swedish AstraZeneca, as Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Otmani discusses plans to order more doses from other companies.
Tunisia
Que reste-t-il réellement d'Ennahdha ? In light of current Tunisian affairs, Le Temps reassesses the political standing of the Ennahda Movement, which it says is increasingly vulnerable to unpopular disapproval.
وزير الداخلية الفرنسي يبدي من تونس رغبة بلاده في ترحيل نحو عشرين مشتبها به في قضايا "تطرف" Following the terrorist attack carried out by a Tunisian immigrant in Nice in October, Tunisia agrees to receive about 20 nationals deported from France .
Protesters in Tunisia halt key phosphate production Demonstrators gather at the state-run Gafsa Phosphate, Tunisia's only producer of phosphate, blocking its output while calling for jobs. The protests took place during a day of nationwide strikes and demonstrations.
TAHAR CHÉRIAA…: HOMMAGE À LA VISION PANAFRICANISTE DES PIONNIERS Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the passing of Tunisian director Tahar Chériaa, a review of the documentary “Tahar Chériaa: À l'Ombre du Baobab" in a context of Chériaa’s Pan-Africanist aspirations.
تونس تحقق في فضيحة نفايات قادمة من ايطاليا Tunisian Ministry of the Environment opens an investigation after almost 300 containers filled with waste were shipped to Sousse from Italy.
The bookseller of Tunis: one man's fight to preserve relic of bygone age The Guardian visits one of Tunis’ oldest bookshops and portrays the day-to-day challenges the owner faces given the current Covid-19 pandemic coupled with a lack of readership.
Western Sahara
رئيس الجمهورية، القائد الأعلى للقوات المسلحة يعلن رسميا نهاية الإلتزام بوقف إطلاق النار The leader of the Polisario Front, Ibrahim Ghali, declares the end of the three-decade-long ceasefire with Morocco following a Moroccan military operation in south Western Sahara.
Sahara occidental : le trafic routier reprend dans la zone bloquée par le Front Polisario Trade activity between Morocco and Mauritania resumes briefly after a Moroccan military operation quells protests at El Guerguerat border in occupied Western Sahara.
الصحراء الغربية: حقائق عن أحد أطول النزاعات في القارة الأفريقية The BBC reviews the major facts and dates related to the decades-long conflict between the Polisario Front and the Moroccan Monarchy.
Human rights monitoring needed more than ever in Western Sahara Amnesty International calls for human rights monitoring in the Western Sahara as Moroccan police violently crack down on Sahrawi activists and protesters.
Sahara occidental: le «dégel» du conflit par la force à El Guerguerat Twala puts the recent protests and outbreak of conflict in El Guerguerat into context.
قوات الاحتلال المغربية توقف المناضلة الصحراوية سلطانة خيا وتعتدي على عائلتها Moroccan police arrest Sahrawi activist Sultana Khaya and assault her family. The Saharawi Organ against the Moroccan Occupation (ISACOM) reported multiple cases of Saharawi activists being raided by the Moroccan police amid a major crackdown on protesters.
In Jadaliyya
In two parts (1 and 2), Idriss Jebari explores the works and intellectual return of the Moroccan historian Abdallah Laroui.