Morocco suspends Al-Jazeera office
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RABAT, October 29, 2010 - Moroccan authorities have suspended the activities of Al-Jazeera office Friday in Rabat and withdrew their accreditation to its journalists, a move that "reflects the reluctance of Morocco to continue the process of opening" according to the Moroccan Organization of Human Rights.
- Moroccan Ministry of Communication said in a statement that the suspension "responds to multiple breaches of serious and responsible journalism rules."
The antenna of Al-Jazeera in Rabat had four Moroccan journalists. Two of them were unable to obtain accreditation, and their two colleagues come to be withdrawn theirs.
Al-Jazeera continues however to be broadcast on the territory of Morocco.
The Moroccan authorities refuse the Al-Jazeera way it "handles cases relating to the Islamists and Western Sahara," said a government official under condition of anonymity.
"The image of Morocco is systematically worse for the rejection of objectivity and impartiality," told AFP Khalid Naciri, Moroccan Minister of Communication.
"We criticize this channel's refusal to address the major structuring issues and conveying a caricature of the Moroccan reality," he added.
Contacted by AFP, the bureau chief of Al-Jazeera in Rabat, Abdelkader Kharroubi, said the channel" has always respected the rules of professionalism and neutrality, particularly in Morocco."
"The issue of Al-Jazeera is unfortunately not in the hands of the department of Communication. Other parties decide at this level," he said without elaborating.
"This suspension is an error on the part of the Moroccan authorities, an error to which we are strangers," concluded Mr. Kharroubi.
The suspension of the office of Al Jazeera "reflects the reluctance of Morocco to continue the process of opening, particularly in terms of freedom of the press," told AFP Amina Bouayach, president of the Moroccan Organization of Human Rights (MOHR).
"Unlike Algeria and Tunisia, where the offices of Al-Jazeera have been closed for a long time, Morocco
Ennaharonline/ M. O. was as an exception", says Bouayach.
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