New Association Created to Fight Racism, Hatred Culture
Morocco arrests key bomb suspect
Moroccan authorities arrest 19 more suspects in probe of deadly Casablanca bombings
Morocco charges band of`reserve' suicide bombers
US Congress Voices Solidarity with Morocco following terrorist attacks
Moroccan and US IT and construction companies strike partnership agreements
Morocco, US Start Third FTA Round
FTA Negotiations with Morocco are on the Right Path (US official)
US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Meets Moroccan Officials
Morocco, US Satisfied of FTA talks
Association buys braille alphabet printing house
New laws to fight corruption called for
UNICEF praises great progress made by Morocco in children's rights
Morocco's April inflation down 0.4 pct yr/yr
Morocco zooms in on illiteracy following bombings
Government Renews Resolve to Build 100,000 Houses Annually
Moroccan ports handled 57 million tons of goods in 2002
The Independent calls Britain to seek Moroccan champ support
Morocco contemplates creation of special waste centre
Moroccan bank launches international transactions online
FIGHTING TERRORISM WITH LITERACY
Morocco woos expats for real estate investment
World Bank Loan to Improve Asset Management
Arab fund to lend Morocco $39 mln for highway
Fears for jailed Moroccan editor
Altadis wins $1.5 bln Moroccan tobacco sale 

New Association Created to Fight Racism, Hatred Culture

CASABLANCA, June 02 - A group of citizens active in several associations have banned together to set up an association they named "The Moroccan Organization against the Culture of Racism and Hatred". The founders' of the association, whose constituent assembly was convened over the weekend in Casablanca, said it has become a "historic must to go from the state of violent shock, caused by the dastardly attempts of Last May 16 in downtown Casablanca to shouldering responsibilities, from emotional response to mature action, from an evasive political reaction to a well-defined social action". For the association, the terrorist crimes of May 16 (that left 43 dead) are a strong moment in Morocco's history exacting that each one reconsiders his own principles and convictions. The association members propose several actions to combat the breeding ground of heinous thought several ideas, mainly the creation of an observatory to denounce and unveil heinous discourses disseminated by fanatics, setting up a committee to follow up religious courses in schools and an awareness campaign with the youth and women of dangers belying the obscurantist trends. © MAP 2003
http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/eng.htm 
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Morocco arrests key bomb suspect

Tuesday, June 3, 2003 Posted: 11:12 AM EDT (1512 GMT)
TANGIERS, Morocco (CNN) -- Moroccan authorities Tuesday arrested a French citizen suspected of being one of the main coordinators and financiers of the May 16 Casablanca bombings, officials said.  Robert Richard Antoine Pierre, also known by the nicknames Lhaj and Abu Abderrahmane, was taken into custody in Tangiers, where he has been living with his Moroccan wife for six years, a government official told CNN.  Pierre has traveled to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and France, the official said. He and his wife have two children.  A statement carried on the state-run news agency Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP) called Pierre "dangerous."  MAP released a photograph of Pierre on the weekend, saying authorities were seeking him.  Authorities learned of his alleged involvement in the Casablanca bombings from some of the 16 people arrested and charged in the attacks, the government official said.  The string of suicide bombings in Casablanca killed 31 people in addition to 12 suicide bombers. Authorities say others planned to take part in the suicide bombings as well. 
-- CNN Producer Hayat Mongodin contributed to this report 
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/06/03/morocco.suspect.arrest/index.html 
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Moroccan authorities arrest 19 more suspects in probe of deadly Casablanca bombings

RABAT, Morocco, Jun 06, 2003 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Moroccan police have rounded up 19 alleged Islamic militants in a new sweep of suspects behind near-simultaneous suicide bombings in Casablanca that killed 31 bystanders, a government prosecutor said Friday.  The roundup on Thursday raised to 50 the number of suspects believed to have link to the May 16 bombings that targeted Jewish and Spanish sites in Morocco's largest city. Twelve attackers also died.  The 19 suspects, aged 17 to 40 and all Moroccan, are being investigation on charges of belonging to a banned militant Islamic group and "complicity and attempts of assassination," state prosecutor Abdallah Alaoui Belghiti said.  Officials believe at least eight of the suspects arrested Thursday were considered to be "reservist" suicide bombers who were planning new attacks in several touristic towns and cities in Morocco, he said.  If convicted, the suspects could face the death penalty.  On Tuesday, Moroccan police arrested Frenchman Pierre Robert, 31, in connection with the attacks. He was the first foreign suspect taken into custody. 

Authorities in the North African kingdom say an international terrorism ring was behind the attacks. Investigators have been probing the relationship between the bombers and extremist groups like Salafia Jihadia, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.  All 50 suspects are believed to be members of the secretive Salafist movement, and were said to have attended secret meetings on jihad - or holy war.  Most of the suspects are believed to have had contact with Abdellahk Bentassir, known as Moul Sebbat, who was said to coordinate the Casablanca bombings.  Bentassir died in custody after being arrested late last month. Authorities said he had suffered from heart disease and died on way to a hospital.  Also Friday, U.S. FBI Director Robert Mueller arrived in the southern city
of Agadir to meet with Moroccan King Mohammed VI as part of a swing through the region to discuss the fight against terrorism.  By NICOLAS MARMIE Associated Press Writer Copyright 2003 Associated Press, All rights reserved 
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=157w7679&Section=Countries&page=Morocco&channel=All%20Morocco%20News&objectid=22403786-8F1A-11D4-867000D0B74A0D7C 
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Morocco charges band of`reserve' suicide bombers
REUTERS
Monday, Jun 02, 2003,Page 7 
Moroccan authorities said they had charged 16 men in connection with suicide bombings which killed dozens of people in Casablanca this month.  A group of seven men charged on Friday had been "directly involved" in the five almost simultaneous bombings on May 16, state prosecutor Moulay Abdellah Alaoui Belghiti said. 
He suggested the group was a "reserve team" of suicide bombers, according to the official MAP news agency.  A group of six men were charged in Casablanca on Wednesday and three on Monday -- including two men whom the authorities say were assigned to targets but fled without detonating their bombs.  Thirty-one people were killed in the attacks as well as the 12 suicide bombers. The targets included a Spanish restaurant, the five-star Farah Hotel, and a Jewish community centre. 
Belghiti said all the accused face the same charges which include formation of a criminal band, attacking the internal security of the state, and premeditated murder. 
On Wednesday Belghiti said the alleged mastermind of the bombings, known as Abdelhaq or `Moul Sebbat', had died in custody, two days after he was arrested, from chronic heart and liver disease.  Moroccan authorities say the attacks were carried out by a small Islamic group, Assirat al-Moustaquim (The Righteous Path), based in a poor Casablanca neighborhood. Government officials say the suicide bombers had links with international terrorism but say they will only give details once investigations are complete. Meanwhile, a local official from Morocco's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) was arrested under suspicion of having had prior knowledge of the deadly terror attacks, the interior ministry said Saturday. The suspect, Younes Ousalah, is treasurer of a section of the PJD in Sidi Taiebi, an area considered to be an Islamic stronghold. 

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2003/06/02/2003053657 
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US Congress Voices Solidarity with Morocco following terrorist attacks

WASHINGTON, June 02 - The US Congress has voiced solidarity with Morocco following the terrorist suicide bombing attacks that occurred on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, and called on the United States Government to continue to work with the Kingdom of Morocco as an ally in the fight against terrorism. In a resolution introduced in the House of Representatives on the morrow of the terrorist attacks that took the lives of 43 people (including the suicide bombers), the house expressed condolences to the families of the victims and expressed its hopes for a quick recovery to those individuals who were injured in the attacks.  The House "supports the provision of appropriate United States assistance to the people of Morocco in this time of sorrow and grief" and "calls on the United States Government to continue to work with the Kingdom of Morocco as an ally in the fight against terrorism". The resolution which states that "Casablanca is a city well-known for its tolerance and its diverse range of religious and ethnic communities" adds that "the United States will continue to stand together with the Kingdom of Morocco against the threat of international terrorism to both our nations and all peace-loving people".

"The United States deeply appreciates the leadership shown by King Mohamed VI and the Kingdom of Morocco in the international campaign against terrorism" says the resolution recalling that "Morocco and the United States have engaged in friendly diplomatic relations since 1786 and Morocco has proved its commitment to the United States many times over the past two centuries". Noting that Morocco "has chosen the path of diversity and tolerance", the resolution says "the acts of murder committed on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco, show once again that terrorism respects neither boundaries nor borders". The resolution was introduced by Republican Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida and other house members including Democrat John Tanner, and republican Phil
English. © MAP 2003
http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/eng.htm 
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Moroccan and US IT and construction companies strike partnership agreements
Business, 5/31/2003 

Two partnership agreements were signed here on Friday between Moroccan andUS companies, operating in IT and construction sectors, in the presence of
US undersecretary of state for trade, Maria Cino. The first agreement was concluded between US "HHB Inc" and Moroccan "Bridge Telecom," two IT firms while the second establishes partnership ties in the construction of infrastructure between Moroccan "Chaabi" group and US "CEO international CHEM Cret." The HHB Inc-Bridge Telecom agreement will enable the two firms to consolidate their presence in the African market and improve E-government services in Morocco. Chaabi Group and "CEO international CHEM Cret" will be cooperating with the aim of exporting products from Morocco to other countries of the region. The partnership deal is expected to generate between 500 and 1,000 new jobs in Morocco. The agreements were signed as the US official is leading a delegation representing 11 businesses in a visit to Morocco. The US undersecretary also reviewed on Thursday with general manager of the Moroccan port authority (ODEP), Mustapha Barroug, cooperation in ports management and investments ties between ODEP and US operators. The two sides agreed to identify enterprises with expertise in port management for future cooperation moves. Maria Cino called for intensifying sea transport for goods exchanges which are bound to increase with the projected conclusion of a free-trade agreement before end of the year.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030531/2003053119.html 
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Morocco, US Start Third FTA Round
RABAT, June 4 - Morocco and the United States are currently holding here the third round of negotiations for the conclusion of a free trade accord. The new round of talks is co-chaired by Taieb Fassi Fihri, Delegate Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and Moroccan chief negotiator and Ms. Cathy Novelli, Chief U.S. negotiator. The two previous rounds of talks were held last January and March. US ambassador to Morocco, Ms. Margaret Tutwiler had told MAP news agency that her country and Morocco scored important progress towards the conclusion of the accord. The objective is achievable before the end of the year, she said. Morocco will be the fifth country in the world and the second Arab nation to be bound to the US by such an accord. Only Canada, Mexico, Jordan and Israel have an FTA covenant with the US. The decision to sign a free trade agreement between Morocco and the USA was officially announced during a visit by King Mohammed VI to the USA in April 2002. © MAP 2003
http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/eng.htm 
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FTA Negotiations with Morocco are on the Right Path (US official)

RABAT, June 05 - US Chief negotiator for the conclusion of a Free Trade Accord between Morocco and the US, Catherine Novelli, said on Wednesday negotiations are on the right path and that there is still much work to be done. The third round of FTA negotiations, that started earlier this week, are co-chaired by Novelli and Taieb Fassi Fihri, Delegate Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and Moroccan chief negotiator. Novelli told the Moroccan first TV channel (TVM), the FTA -scheduled to be concluded before the end of the will improve the quality of services and boost economies in the two countries, stressing that the conclusion of the accord will be achieved before the end of the year. The two previous rounds of talks were held last January and March. The accord encompasses industrial and agricultural products, services, intellectual property, customs duty, labor, environment and telecommunications, the US official recalled. Morocco will be the fifth country in the world and the second Arab nation to be bound to the US by such an accord. Only Canada, Mexico, Jordan and Israel have an FTA covenant with the US. The decision to sign a free trade agreement between Morocco and the USA was officially announced during a visit by King Mohammed VI to the USA in April 2002. 
© MAP 2003
http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/eng.htm
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US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Meets Moroccan Officials
RABAT, June 05 - US Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Marc Grossman, met here on Wednesday successively Moroccan premier, Driss Jettou, and minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Mohamed Benaissa. The American official told MAP at the end of his meeting with Benaissa talks covered issues on the Moroccan-US agenda particularly, bilateral relations and the FTA project that an important delegation of the US trade department is negotiating with Moroccan partners. The American administration gives a particular importance to the continuation of the democratic process and the economic liberalization pursued by Morocco, he went on.  Grossman said he informed Moroccan officials on the results of Sharm Cheikh and Aqaba summits and the the NATO foreign ministers meeting that was held
this June 2-3 in Madrid. The US Under Secretary for Political Affairs said he wanted to come to Morocco in person to extend condolences and reiterate the US people's
sympathy subsequent to May 16 attacks that hit Casablanca. 
© MAP 2003
http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/eng.htm 
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Morocco, US Satisfied of FTA talks
RABAT, June 05 - Morocco and the United States on Thursday said they were satisfied with the headway achieved so far in their negotiations for the conclusion of a free trade accord.

"The third round was held in excellent conditions of mutual understanding," said Moroccan delegate minister for foreign affairs and cooperation, Taieb Fassi Fihri, who is also Moroccan chief negotiator, at a joint press conference with Cathy Novelli, who leads the US side to the talks.

Results achieved at the end of the third round are reasons to look forward to the future with much optimism, he said, adding the projected FTA will help Morocco diversify its cooperation, open up more onto the USA and develop economic, commercial and financial ties with this country. He added that Morocco will carry on fruitful contacts with the USA with a view to concluding a positive accord that can reach the country's objectives.

The official deplored that Morocco's trade exchanges with the USA do not exceed 0.08 percent of the US global trade exchanges and that US investments in Morocco are short of the Kingdom's potentials. He stressed the need to take into account, part of the FTA, discrepancies in development levels and the Moroccan social realities.  Fassi Fihri also played down any contradiction between the projected FTA accord with the US and the association accord that already binds Morocco to the European Union. Both the USA and the European Union share intent to support Morocco's development efforts, he said.

Novelli, who headed a delegation of 60 representatives of various US agencies and sectors, said her country is firmly determined to conclude an FTA with Morocco before the end of the year. She announced that the two countries' negotiators will meet during the last ten days of next July part of the fourth round of negotiations.
She added that the accord will be beneficial to both countries as it will increase business and investment opportunities. 
© MAP 2003
http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/eng.htm 
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Association buys braille alphabet printing house
Culture, 5/31/2003 
The Alawite Organization for visually-impaired people has acquired of late a Braille alphabet printing house, said on Thursday Morocco's second TV channel 2M. Thanks to this technology, Braille alphabet books will be made more available. The printing of a 400-page Braille alphabet book used to take no less than six months, said the source. "The pace can now amount to 50 pages per minute." The state-of-the-art technique, acquired thanks to the funding of foreign institutions, will be generalized to all the educational institutions for visually-impaired persons in the Kingdom and will help the Education department fight illiteracy among this social category, the same source went on.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030531/2003053124.html 
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New laws to fight corruption called for
Morocco, Politics, 6/3/2003 
Corruption is an insidious phenomenon that needs updated laws likely to uproot its causes, the Moroccan economic affairs and economy upgrading minister said. The anti-corruption struggle should be permanent and founded on efficiency and economic profitability in the service of the population's welfare, Abderrazzak El Mossaddaq, told the World Forum on Corruption, held last week in Seoul, South Korea.

Such a preventive approach should be coupled with legal arsenals to reprimand this behaviour, said the minister, who described corruption as a criminal act. For these sanctions to be efficient and fair, the official stressed the need to enforce a sound and transparent management of public and private sectors as well as international economic relations.  Morocco said it backs the creation of an international network of fightn corruption, a network that should, however, respect States' sovereignty. 
The Seoul meeting was held in presence of representatives of 140 countries to debate corruption and related crimes, such as organized crime and money laundering.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030603/2003060325.html 
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UNICEF praises great progress made by Morocco in children's rights
Morocco, Culture, 6/3/2003 
UNICEF representative in Morocco, Maie Ayoub Von Kohl, praised on Monday "great progress" made by Morocco in children's rights, underlining the need to reinforce coordination of actions for children in the country.  The UNICEF official said, in the fringes of the UN children rights committee's session on Morocco's 2nd periodic report on the situation of children in Morocco, UN experts "all recognized the progress made by the kingdom in improving the situation of children."  "Morocco undertook in-depth reforms in the penal code and in other sectors," said UNICEF representative adding that the UNICEF, the Moroccan government and France are working together to elaborate a "children code" in Morocco.

As to health and children's enrolment in primary education, there are concrete results proving that Morocco has made real breakthroughs, underscored Von Kohl, adding that it is crucial to target the poorest social layers and to increase financial resources earmarked to the promotion and protection of children in Morocco. In the same connection, Morocco's ambassador in Geneva, Omar Hilale, said Monday that the protection and promotion of childhood is a "top priority" in Morocco. Morocco has set up several institutions for the promotion of children, including the national congress for children rights, the national  observatory for children rights and children parliament, recalled the ambassador adding that the Kingdom has also endeavoured to adapt its national legislation to international conventions on children rights.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030603/2003060324.html 
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Morocco's April inflation down 0.4 pct yr/yr
RABAT, June 3 (Reuters) - The Moroccan inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), fell 0.4 percent in April compared to a year earlier, the state Statistics Directorate said on Tuesday.  Inflation in 2002 stood at 2.8 percent, exceeding government forecasts. The finance ministry expects a 2.0 percent rate for 2003. The CPI rose 0.4 percent in April compared to March which in its turn saw a 0.6 percent decline from February, in movements driven mainly by the foodstuff price index. "The foodstuff index rose 0.9 percent in April after posting a sharp 1.5 percent drop in March," a Directorate spokesman said. He added that the "unstable trend" of foodstuff prices in the first four months of the year resulted from speculation on the outcome of the farming season.  Morocco has announced a bumper cereals crop for 2003 and has introduced higher tariffs on cereals imports to protect local farmers.  The spokesman said CPI "is set to stabilise as of May with another drop in foodstuff prices, mainly barley and wheat."  Foodstuff accounts for around 45 percent of CPI's basket weighting. ((Reporting by Souhail Karam; Reuters Messaging: souhail.karam.reuters.com@reuters.net; +212-37 720065)) 
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=1054656744nL03281343&section=Countries&page=Morocco&channel=All%20Morocco%20News&objectid=22403786-8F1A-11D4-867000D0B74A0D7C 
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Morocco zooms in on illiteracy following bombings

By Eileen Byrne 
CASABLANCA, Morocco, June 3 (Reuters) - His family, at a loss, show visitors the narrow bed covered with a sheepskin where Mokhtar Baoud slept until his arrest on May 21. Beside it is a dilapidated radio and a couple of cassettes. The 25-year-old they describe is not quite the stereotypical radical Islamist portrayed in the Moroccan media after the suicide bombings which killed 31 members of the public and 12 bombers in Casablanca five days before his arrest.  Now charged with having helped organise those bombings, Baoud was not a shanty-town dweller nor was he unemployed.  He was a sheet-metal worker in a small workshop, who came straight home every evening to pray and eat, according to his family.  But he does fit the stereotype in one respect: he dropped out of primary school with minimal reading skills. He was under little pressure to go back to school from parents who were themselves illiterate, rural migrants to Casablanca.  His lack of education was a handicap he had been attempting to remedy. His brother Mohammed scrabbled around in some clutter on a coffee-table and produced a paperback government text-book called "Basic Literacy for Adults". On the flyleaf is the name "Mokhtar Baoud". 
ILLITERACY AND TERROR 
Mokhtar Baoud's was name also on the list of wanted men issued by the authorities the day he was arrested. The charges he now faces include premeditated murder and forming a criminal band. The attacks are believed to have been the work of a small ultra-conservative Islamist group, Al-Assirat al-Moustaquim (The Righteous Path) based on the outskirts of Casablanca. Public feeling is running high. The news media was flooded with graphic images of the carnage. There is also believed to have been an international connection, the authorities have said, though declining to elaborate as investigations continue.  The bombings shocked a country which thought itself insulated from the political violence estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people in neighbouring Algeria, after elections there which an Islamist party was set to win were interrupted in 1992. In the soul-searching following the Casablanca attacks, the Moroccan press rediscovered the shanty-towns which ring the major cities. 

Last week King Mohammed visited Casablanca to be seen reviewing plans for new housing for slum-dwellers. And the government launched a fresh literacy drive dubbed 'March towards the Light'.  Planned some time ago, the literacy campaign had been due to be launched in the first week of May until ministers' scheduling problems caused yet another postponement, said L'Opinion newspaper.  Then came the Casablanca bombings, and the literacy campaign's launch by Prime Minister Driss Jettou took on extra urgency.  Along with slum-housing and youth unemployment, illiteracy is the topic of the moment as Moroccans attempt to understand what drove young men to go so far as to kill. 

Morocco's political and religious authorities have re-emphasised that the country's tradition of Islamic observance is more sophisticated, and more tolerant, than the unflinching puritanism preached by groups such as Al-Assirat al-Moustaquim.  But to get this message across, it helps to have an educated population. Illiteracy is seen as leaving young men open to ideological manipulation by extremists in addition to limiting their ability to progress in the country's daunting job market. 
At Moroccan independence in 1956, adult literacy was a cause dear to the nationalists. But in following decades, left-wingers seeking changes to the political system headed by a monarchy were active in poor neighbourhoods.  Repression followed and grassroots literacy campaigns were not in vogue. Morocco fell far behind Algeria in percentage of the population that could read. 

The new campaign aims at cutting illiteracy to 20 percent of the population by 2010, from 48 percent at present, with the help of NGOs already working on the issue. 
There will be more, better-trained instructors, and television slots. The first shows a woman in her fifties whose face lights up with new knowledge. Baoud's own illiterate mother says her son was an easy-going boy, who grew a beard and became more religious after his father died three years ago.  After Baoud's arrest, the family did not think of hiring a lawyer, which anyway would have been prohibitively expensive. His older brother Mohammed says he hopes the investigation will be "transparent".  If his brother is found to have been involved in the bombings, "then let the law be applied," he said. "No religion permits killing." ((Reporting by Eileen Byrne, editing by Victoria Barrett; Reuters Messaging : eileen.byrne.reuters.com@reuters.net; +212-37 726518)) 
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=1054602246n4483471&Section=Countries&page=Morocco&channel=Features%2C%20Analysis%20and%20Opinion&objectid=13F83A62-8988-11D5-867E00D0B74A0D7C 
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Government Renews Resolve to Build 100,000 Houses Annually
RABAT, June 04 - Prime minister, Driss Jettou, renewed on Tuesday the government's resolve to live up to its commitment to build 100,000 houses a year. Speaking at question time of the Chamber of Advisers (parliament upper chamber), Jettou said building 100,000 low-price houses a year is part of the government's shanty towns fighting program.

The official pointed to difficulties hampering the sector despite the state's efforts, recalling that a population of 1,250,000 persons is living in unhealthy lodgings, including 540,000 in under-equipped and non-authorized housings. Some 700,000 live in shanty towns and decaying houses.  The head of the Moroccan government recalled priorities, as defined by H.M. King Mohammed VI in the speech opening the parliament fall session, including providing decent housing to citizens.

"What people really want is not for each issue to be regarded as a priority, but rather that concrete solutions be found to address the basic problems which are the major source of concern for the citizen. Actually, there are four priorities: productive employment, economic development, relevant education and decent housing. Those are the real national concerns on which efforts should be focused as a matter of priority," the sovereign had said. 
MAP 2003
http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/eng.htm 
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Moroccan ports handled 57 million tons of goods in 2002
Morocco, Economics, 5/31/2003 
Moroccan ports handled in 2002 a total of 57 million tons of goods, including 56% of imports and 44% of exports, said here on Friday general manager of the Moroccan port authority (ODEP), Mustapha Barroug.  The official who was meeting visiting US under-secretary of state for trade, Maria Cino, said in the same year, there were some 303,000 cruise passengers. Cruise traffic is one of the major axes of a cooperation agreement signed between the Casablanca and Miami ports last October.

The share of traffic conducted with US ports stood at around 920,000 tons, accounting for 5% of all the goods traffic handled in the Casablanca port. Traffic at Moroccan ports is essentially made of cereals (58%), coal (14%), animal feed (9%), oil grains (11%) and edible oil (5%).
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030531/2003053120.html 
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The Independent calls Britain to seek Moroccan champ support
Culture, 6/4/2003 
"The Independent" columnist, Alan Hubbard, calls Britain to pay court to former Moroccan champ, and member of the International Olympic Committee, Nawal El Moutawakel, and obtain her support in hosting the 2012 games. A possible "humiliation engineered by those who opposed the invasion of Iraq, which could cost London vital votes in favor of Paris, has to be considered. Which is why bridges have to be built quickly, and no one is better placed to help construct them than the 41-year-old mother of two from Casablanca, who is also the chief executive of a banking foundation, the columnist, Alan Hubbard, wrote in a sports policy story.

El Moutawakel, who speaks four languages, (É) is an increasingly influential voice in international sport's corridors of power. It is mooted that Lamine Diack, the Senegalese judge who heads the IAAF, is grooming her for the presidency when he steps down. Nawal El Moutawakel "is not a name that will trip easily off the tongues of those augmenting London's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games, but it is one to conjure with. And one to learn to pronounce if political cards are to be played adroitly."

She is now the only Muslim woman on both the International Olympic Committee and the International Association of Athletics Federations, a situation which should not go unheeded by London's advocates," Hubbard writes, tracing back Nawal's sports itinerary. "she was the first Muslim woman to stand on the podium, a historic
breakthrough not only for her race but for a religion which in the majority of Islamic countries had hitherto actively discouraged sporting participation by women.

"Nineteen years on from winning the inaugural women's 400m hurdles in Los Angeles - the first gold medal ever for her nation - El Moutawakel is still leaping barriers. 
"But it is with the IOC that she can be of greatest assistance to the London cause for, as she told me in Monaco last week, she would not support any move to orchestrate an anti-British lobby over Iraq. "I have heard that  there could be this Islamic vote against London because of the Iraq war, but I ask why. I will be surprised if such a feeling does exist among IOC members, and I do not think it will happen. I am certain that in the end whoever gets the 2012 Games will be decided on sporting issues, not politics, in the true spirit of Olympism.

"Personally, I welcome London back into the race. England is a nation of great athletes, of great sporting traditions and wonderful leaders. If the bid is the best, it will win. I say, 'Good luck to London'." El Moutawakel was in Monte Carlo for the Laureus Awards as a member of their Sport for Good Foundation, which has set up a project to educate village women in Morocco about health and nutrition through sports such as handball, basketball and volleyball.

On the terrorist blasts that shook Casablanca, Nawal El Mutawakil's home city, the athlete was quoted by the paper as saying "It makes me very sad but it will not affect the way life goes on in my country. You have crazy people everywhere, but we cannot tolerate this sort of thing in Morocco. We are an Islamic country, almost 100 per cent Muslim. "What happened is about hate. Our religion is not about hate. There has to be solidarity to fight such terrorism. For this to happen now is a terrible thing, but our life will go on, and so will our sport."

Sporting life in Morocco, certainly for women, has been going on apace since her LA triumph, Hubbard goes. "Unlike women in most other Muslim countries, she never experienced hostility from male-dominated religious factions. "In Morocco, women have been participating since the early sixties. My mother herself competed in volleyball. But it has been one step at a time. "In 1984 I was the only woman in a Moroccan team of 100, but as a hurdler I am used to jumping barriers. Now those barriers are coming down in other Islamic countries because I believe I showed Muslim women a wider horizon."

Two weeks ago, she organized a 10km women's race, with 11,000 women of all ages running and jogging their way through the streets of Casablanca, some
in ankle-length robes and veils. She is helping to set up similar events in other African nations. "Muslim women are on the move," says the barrier-breaker whom the IAAF's Diack calls "a great lady."
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030604/2003060427.html 
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Morocco contemplates creation of special waste centre
Morocco, Environment, 6/4/2003 
The national center for special wastes elimination, that Morocco plans to set up, will cost 100 million dirhams, nearly $ 10 million. The center will be built part of cooperation between the Moroccan environment department and the German Westphalia Land.  The facility will seek to improve the handling of industrial and hospital
wastes, preserve natural resources, reduce the consumption of conventional energies, contribute to upgrading environment and to preparing Morocco's industrial fabric to future free trade accords with foreign partners. Morocco produces 975,000 tons of industrial wastes annually. The major wastes producing center are concentrated in an area of 150 km.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030604/2003060424.html 
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Moroccan bank launches international transactions online
Morocco, Business, 6/4/2003 
The Moroccan Bank for Commerce and Industry (BMCI) launched in collaboration with French BNP Parisbas bank, Morocco's first portal to conduct international trade transactions, announced BMCI on Tuesday. The new portal, dubbed Connexis Trade, allows corporate customers to handle their trade transactions on line. It will be an active interface between firms and the bank via the internet, BMCI executives told a press conference. The new product will start this June 9 and will be supported by an important communication campaign, they went on. BMCI will test the new product in a bunch of enterprises installed in Morocco for an 8-month period to make sure that it meets the needs of Moroccan enterprises and requirements of international trade in the country. BMCI officials underlined that the product offered by the electronic network is currently being used by BNP Parisbas in France, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, Tunisia, Lebanon and Bahrain.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030604/2003060421.html 
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FIGHTING TERRORISM WITH LITERACY
RABAT, Jun 3, 2003 (IPS/GIN via COMTEX) -- "The extremists have been taking advantage of my brother's ignorance," says Karim Benkhayi, a 22-year-old student. "Had he gone to school, he would not have been so vulnerable to the religious fanatics."  Benkhayi's brother is a follower of Salafya Jihadya, a radical fundamentalist group suspected in the terrorist attacks that killed 43 people, including six Westerners on May 16 in Casablanca. As a member of the group, the brother is now under close watch and seen as a potential suicide bomber himself. Benkhayi says poverty kept his brother out of school. "My parents are so poor that they couldn't afford to send all of us to school," he says. "They wanted my younger brother to learn some trade and help feed the family."  Benkhayi, who does not want to name his brother, describes his transformation "from a kind and open-minded youngster to a bearded fellow who refuses even to shake hands with his own mother and sisters and to speak to his brothers, because he sees them as infidels."  

Extremist groups are constantly looking for recruits among the illiterate and the ignorant, says Benkhayi. "It could have been me," he says. "We need the authorities to understand how dangerous illiteracy is. Every illiterate youth is vulnerable to some kind of deviation and drift."  The authorities have responded to the danger by launching a campaign this week to encourage people to attend free literacy courses across the country. The campaign named 'March towards Enlightenment', will target 570,000 persons in its first phase in literacy courses to be conducted in mosques and schools. The campaign has been launched with a push from the King. "Eradication of illiteracy is a requisite for citizenship," King Mohammed VI said in a message at the launch of the campaign. Prime Minister Driss Jettou said "illiteracy has deteriorated to alarming rates, marking Morocco's social fabric with deep scars of exclusion and poverty." The Moroccan Prime Minister, a technocrat and renowned economist, said illiteracy "has a serious impact on Morocco's social and economic life, because it retards growth, hampers the creation of wealth and jobs, affects incomes, foments poverty and fuels exclusion."  A ministerial department has been created to supervise the spread of literacy. Ms. Najima Ghozali Tay, Secretary of State for Struggle against Illiteracy, told the press that her government wants to bring illiteracy down to 35 percent of the population by 2004, 20 percent by 2010, and eradicate it by 2015. "The task is gigantic and requires the mobilization of huge financial and logistic means," she said. Her department has allocated a budget of $7.3 million to curb illiteracy in this year, she said. Official figures show that 12 million of Morocco's 30 million people are illiterate. The Centre de Conjuncture (CMC, an independent economic think tank,) puts the figure at more than 16 million. 

The CMC says illiteracy rates are particularly high among women, with three out of five females illiterate, and in villages, where two out of three cannot read or write. "Illiteracy makes a fertile ground for social deviation, including extremism," Hassan Najmi, president of the Union of Morocco's Writers told IPS. "Morocco, which presents itself as an emerging modern nation, cannot pretend it can become really modern without upgrading its human capital."  Najmi says some good may come of the Casablanca attacks if they lead to greater awareness of development and social problems, and the will to deal with them. "But I fear that a mere campaign would be of little help in fighting the problem," he said. "Morocco needs genuine strategies to better the lot of people." 
Copyright (c) 2003 IPS-Inter Press Service. All Rights Reserved. 
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=154w2297&Section=Countries&page=Morocco&channel=Features%2C%20Analysis%20and%20Opinion&objectid=13F83A62-8988-11D5-867E00D0B74A0D7C 
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Morocco woos expats for real estate investment
Morocco, Economics, 6/4/2003 
Morocco will launch in Paris Saturday a communication campaign to attract investments in the real estate sector by Moroccans living in France. The campaign will be conducted through June in French, Spanish, Italian, Belgian and German cities. A release from the department of housing and urbanism, which organizes the campaign, said minister Toufiq Hjira will be there for meetings between public and private operators and Moroccans settled abroad
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030604/2003060426.html 
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Moroccan athlete wins 800m race in Hengelo grand prix meeting
Morocco, Sports, 6/4/2003 
Moroccan athlete, Mina Ait Hammou, won last weekend the 800m race in the IAAF grand prix meeting of Hengelo. Ait Hammou ranked first with 2mn 00sec
41/100 ahead of British Susan Scott (02mn 01sec 08/100) and German Monika Gradzi (02mn 01sec 43/100). In men's race, Moroccan Anas Salmouni finished third in the 1000m race with 03 mn 52sec 66/100 behind Kenyan James Kwalia and Dutch Gert Jan Liefers.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030604/2003060422.html 
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World Bank Loan to Improve Asset Management
News Release No:2003/393/MNA  Media Contacts: In Washington: Sereen Juma 1 (202) 473-7199 e-mail: sjuma@worldbank.org  

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2003-With the aim of improving public asset management systems in Morocco, the World Bank today approved a loan for $45 million to
support public expenditure rationalization and efficiency, notably in the public education and health sectors. The Asset Management Loan will generate efficiency gains and medium/long-term savings and improve the maintenance of properties. The preparation of this loan has also served to promote policy dialogue, partnership and ownership that are essential not only for the implementation of this operation but also for the long-term reforms needed on overall budget and financial management in Morocco.  Morocco, like many other countries, treats its public land and real estate holdings as public goods, rather than productive assets capable of producing a mix of significant returns and social benefits if properly managed. Land and real estate typically represent 25 to 50 percent of public entities' assets. The replacement cost of the buildings of the ministries of health, education and higher education alone amount to over 9 percent of GDP. The potential savings from improved management of this land and real asset portfolio are significant and could generate substantial economic and efficiency gains. The loan program will help Morocco achieve these gains by promoting the development of a national asset management policy and buildings management systems.  The proposed loan program promotes three key objectives of the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Morocco: expenditure rationalization, long-term fiscal sustainability, and improved service delivery in the social sectors. For more information on World Bank activities in Morocco, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/ma   >
For more information on this project, please visit: http://www4.worldbank.org/sprojects/Results.asp?all=asset+management+morocco 
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20114503~menuPK:34463~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html 
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Arab fund to lend Morocco $39 mln for highway
RABAT, June 5 (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti-based Arab fund will grant Morocco a loan worth $39 million for the construction of the first highway to reach the busy tourist hub of Marrakesh, the official MAP news agency said on Thursday.  The money from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development will help state firm Societe Nationale des Autoroutes du Maroc (SNAM) build a section of 110 km (70 miles) from the city of Settat, south-east of Casablanca, to Marrakesh.  The agency, quoting a Kuwaiti embassy's statement, gave no terms for the loan. ((Reporting by Gilles Trequesser; Reuters Messaging: gilles.trequesser.reuters.com@reuters.net; +212-37 720065)) 
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=1054841961nL05624152&Section=Countries&page=Morocco&channel=All%20Morocco%20News&objectid=22403786-8F1A-11D4-867000D0B74A0D7C 
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Fears for jailed Moroccan editor

The family and friends of a newspaper editor on hunger strike after being jailed in Morocco for insulting the country's king say they are concerned for his health. 
They say Ali Lamrabet has lost more than 20 kilograms since he stopped eating and his health is deteriorating. Lamrabet who is diabetic with a heart condition has recently started to drink water again for his medication. Abu Bakr Jami'i, editor of Moroccan newspaper, Le Journal Hebdomadaire, told BBC News Online that doctors treating Lamrabet, who has been moved to Avicenne Hospital in Rabat, had started to give him medicinal fluids intravenously. His case has been taken up by the international journalists' organisation, Reporters Without Borders. Appeal rejected "Lawyers are questioning the court's decision to use against Lamrabet, article 400 of the criminal law which legally is applied to very dangerous hardcore criminals in Morocco," said Mr Bakr Jami'i.  A Moroccan court rejected on Thursday, an appeal for his provisional release, until 10 June when he goes back to the appeal court.  Lamrabet, the editor of two satirical weeklies, Demain and Doumane, was sentenced in May to four years in prison for "insulting the king's person" and "undermining [Morocco's] territorial integrity" in recent articles and cartoons.  Apart from the jail sentence, Lamrabet was also fined about $2,100 and his two magazines were banned after his conviction. 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2969210.stm 
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Altadis wins $1.5 bln Moroccan tobacco sale 

By Souhail Karam 
RABAT, June 2 (Reuters) - Franco-Spanish tobacco firm Altadis said on Monday it had won a tender for an 80 percent stake in Morocco's tobacco monopoly after offering around 14.08 billion dirhams ($1.5 billion). The bid was more than twice the minimum asking price of 6.4 billion dirhams set by the Finance and Privatisation Ministry.  "Altadis has been targeting both the Moroccan and Italian tobacco markets, seen as crucial for its external development. They had to come up with an
unbeatable offer," said one Casablanca-based analyst of Altadis' offer. Stock market regulators suspended trading in the firm's shares in Madrid and Paris after the announcement. The analyst added that British American Tobacco proposed 10.2 billion dirhams and Philip Morris offered 9.0 billion dirhams. Japan Tobacco <2914.T> is also believed to have taken part in the tender.  French bank Credit Lyonnais and its Moroccan subsidiary Credit du Maroc acted as advisers.  Analysts hailed the sale as a sign of confidence by international investors in Morocco, which was shaken some two weeks ago by suicide bombings in Casablanca which killed 43 people. 
MONOPOLY 
The deal will give Altadis a monopoly on imports and distribution of manufactured tobacco, until the end of 2007.  However, imports of raw tobacco and production and export of manufactured tobacco are expected to be liberalised from 2005. "Altadis can delocalise some of its European plants to Morocco in the medium-term to benefit from geographic proximity to Europe as well as cheaper production costs," one fund manager said.  Established in 1967 in Casablanca, Regie des Tabacs has an annual turnover of $800 million and yields the Moroccan treasury $600 million in taxes. It has four processing units and 20,000 sales outlets.  The sale of the tobacco monopoly will help the government meet its 2003 privatisation receipts target of $1.5 billion. Other operations in the pipeline include the flotation of a 20 percent stake of the country's largest bank, state-owned Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP), and the sale of a 16 percent of telecom firm Maroc Telecom, in which French giant Vivendi holds a 35 percent stake. 
((Reporting by Souhail Karam; editing by Sophie Walker; Reuters messaging:souhail.karam.reuters.com@reuters.net ; +212-37 726518) ($1=9.325 Moroccan dirhams) 
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=1054562366nL02325996&Section=Countries&page=Morocco&channel=All%20Morocco%20News&objectid=22403786-8F1A-11D4-867000D0B74A0D7C 

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