From the scuffle with Spain to the migratory crisis in Melilla: the two turbulent years in relations with Morocco

• Human Rights Human Rights Watch reveals the "manual of repressive tactics" that Morocco uses against dissidents

• Newspaper library: 2021 Mohamed VI speech: "Morocco is committed to stability and security in the Euro-Mediterranean zone"

Mohamed VI will not take his annual mass bath for the third consecutive year.

The celebrations of the

, with which he commemorates each year his rise as monarch after the death of his father Hasan II on July 30, 1999, have been suspended again in Morocco due to the pandemic.

Thus, since the 'beia' ceremony was canceled in 2020, in which the country's notables renew their oath of fidelity to the Alaouite crown, the colorful parades and ceremonies are reduced to the

that the king offers to the subjects of the.

It is expected that from the royal palace, flanked once again by his heir, the future Hasan III, and his brother, Prince Rachid, Mohamed VI will read a speech this Saturday night that reviews the most pressing issues of current Moroccan times and their External relationships.

This commemorative speech is

, since they overcame their bilateral crisis, settled in March with Pedro Sánchez's recognition of the Moroccan initiative for Western Sahara to become a autonomy.

Mohamed VI celebrates

after turbulent months in his diplomatic relations and deterioration of his external image, with a 2021 marked by the scuffle with Spain and Germany, only settled this 2022. At the height of the struggle with Madrid, Morocco He came to use the 'demographic bomb' to send 10,000 migrants to Ceuta, including minors, which led to the condemnation of the European Union.

But the crisis that is still very much alive is the one that was also triggered last summer with the

, which also suspended the supply of gas through the pipeline that crossed Morocco to Spain.

The background has as its protagonist the conflict in Western Sahara, resumed in November 2020 after the breakdown of the ceasefire.

After the appeasement between Rabat and Madrid, Algiers withdrew its ambassador from the Spanish capital and suspended the friendship treaty, gestures that at the same time further inflamed its political confrontation with the Alaouite kingdom.

Mohamed VI's speech comes just a month after the tragic events in Melilla, in which some 1,500 migrants tried to flank the fence to cross into Spain with the result that between 23 and 27 of them -according to various sources- lost their life in the face of complaints from the UN, the African Union and NGOs that the security forces

.

Rabat used it to blame Algeria for exercising "deliberate laxity" in controlling its borders.

Although the land separation line between the two countries has been officially closed for decades.

However, criticism also rained within: The local NGO

denounced in a severe report the "unprecedented repression of the Moroccan authorities with the complicity of their Spanish counterparts" against migrants.

In recent years there have been several complaints that have warned about the

of public liberties and civil rights that exists in Morocco.

Although the reign of Mohamed VI began with the hope of a path of political opening, the riots in the Rif between 2016 and 2017 encircled dissenting voices, with severe exemplary condemnations of the leaders of the northern protest movement.

Mohamed VI's television appearance still echoes the denunciations of the

(HRW) organization for the defense of Human Rights, which on Thursday published a report denouncing the existence of a "repressive strategy" to silence activists, journalists and citizens critical of the Moroccan regime through an "ecosystem" of practices that include convictions for criminal offenses that have nothing to do with freedom of expression.

"Since King Mohamed VI came to the throne of Morocco in 1999, Human Rights Watch has documented dozens of convictions of journalists and activists for charges related to freedom of expression, in violation of their right to it," the NGO points out with headquarters in New York.

“These trials continue. In parallel, the authorities have perfected a different approach for the most prominent critics, prosecuting them for crimes unrelated to expression, such as money laundering, espionage, rape, sexual assault, and even human trafficking. people," he adds.

The Moroccan government on Friday described the HRW investigation as "unreal" and "biased."

Through the mouth of the spokesman for the Executive,

, he pointed out that "the tendentious allegations contained in the document published by HRW will not dissuade Morocco from continuing to build the rule of law and institutions and the defense of rights and freedoms," according to Europe Press reported.

Baitas added that HRW "undermines the symbols of the kingdom."

HRW's is not the only report that in recent days draws attention to the climate of repression against freedom of information and expression that has been experienced in Morocco in recent years.

An investigation by

, which monitored the trial of independent journalist Omar Radi, concludes that there were "serious violations of international fair trial standards" and that from the beginning, the "presumption Radi's innocence was compromised."

The trial concluded on July 19, 2021, with a sentence of six years in prison, confirmed on appeal on March 3, 2022. The study of the Radi case, released on Friday, reveals that he was also subjected to "arbitrary detention"

"This case is situated in a context in Morocco of a regular pattern of use of a wide variety of laws, including crimes related to sex, to tarnish the reputation of journalists and dissidents," says the CFJ.

The foundation is chaired by the prestigious human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and her husband, actor George Clooney.

As is customary, prior to the traditional address, Mohamed VI pardoned and reduced sentences for a total of

.

As reported by the Ministry of Justice through the official Map agency, among those who benefit from the royal grace measures there are convicts who are ill, elderly, pregnant women or with minors in their care.

Of them, only 74 have been completely pardoned, the rest have their sentences reduced, reports Efe.

Two inmates have seen their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment and another eight change their life sentences for a certain time behind bars.

Reporters Without Borders urged the sovereign to also release three journalists, including the aforementioned Omar Radi, who are imprisoned for their "independent and critical" work.

In 2022, Morocco ranks

.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

• Morocco

• Mohammed VI

• Melilla

• Algeria

• Occidental Sahara

• European Union

• Pedro Sanchez

• Ceuta