Cannabis, mass migration and elections mark 2021 in Morocco

From the migration wave to Ceuta, to waving adieu to the Islamist party after a decade of controlling the government, Morocco has witnessed in 2021 a series of events that changed the political scene in the country.

Here is a look at the important events of 2021

The storming of Ceuta

More than 8,000 people stormed Ceuta in May, as crammed boats with men, women, and children crossed the border while many other migrants pictured swimming desperately or even paddling across the fences.

The border crisis took place after Spain agreed to provide medical treatment for the Polisario leader Brahim Ghali. Rabat reacted furiously and recalled its ambassador in Madrid, with Spain accusing Morocco of tolerating illegal immigration and using immigrants as a diplomatic weapon.

Morocco has since taken back most of the adult migrants, while the minors’ deportation stopped under the pressure of children’s rights NGOs.

Moroccans protest the vaccine pass amendment

Following the amendment of vaccine passes in public and private places starting from October 21, Morocco’s major cities witnessed massive demonstrations, where vaccinated and unvaccinated citizens protested the decision that “infringe personal freedoms.”

Replacing the vaccine pass by a health pass, which includes PCR test results or a hospitalization certificate, put out the outrage and won the national council of human rights (CNDH) approval.

As the year is ending, thousands of lawyers around the kingdom are still protesting the vaccine mandate inside the courts, paralyzing the legal process in the country, while the minister of justice is stressing that no backtrack is intended towards the decision.

September 8 elections: new era, new government

After 10 years of controlling the majority in Morocco, the Party of Justice and Development (PJD) lost the September 8 elections, with only 12 seats in Parliament amid unprecedented low voter turnover, marking the fall of the last Islamist castle in the Arab world.

A defeat, PJD blamed first on illegal use of the money during electoral campaigns, and later on its head Saadeddine ElOthmani, who resigned from the party’s secretary after the elections’ results.

Meanwhile, the elections brought the millionaire and PJD’s old ally Aziz Akhannouch, RNI’s leader, to the head of Morocco’s government for the next five years, launching a “more liberal” period in the history of the country, according to his allies’ statement.

Finding the oldest pieces of jewelry in the world in the outskirts of Essaouira

In the outskirts of Essaouira, Moroccan archeologists and professors from the National Institute of Archeology and Heritage (INSAP), and others from the University of Arizona in the United States of America found the oldest pieces of jewelry in history.

In Bizmoun Cave, the team found 32 marine pieces made of a type of seashell called Tritia gibbosula, dated between 142 thousand and 150 thousand years, covered with traces of induction and luster appear as a result of friction between them, which indicates that they were suspended and in continuous motion.

Pegasus controversy: Accusing Morocco of spying on journalists, the country denies (July)

From imprisoned Journalist Omar Radi to France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Amnesty international accused Morocco along with other countries of using Israeli military-grade spyware, named Pegasus, to hack journalists’ and politicians’ phones, following an investigation in collaboration with the Paris-based journalism nonprofit, Forbidden Stories.

As the Pegasus scandal surfaced in the media in July, Moroccan authorities denied buying the spyware in the first place, as they sued almost all the media that adopted the narrative.

Israel opens its bureau de liaison in Morocco and strengthens ties with the Kingdom

As 2020 ended with Morocco signing a normalizing accord with Israel, the year 2021 was about strengthening this newborn relationship.

The pandemic and the fallout of the “father” of Abraham accords, Donald Trump, may have slowed down the normalizing process. However, during this year, Israel inaugurated its liaison office in Morocco, signed three cooperation agreements with Rabat, in education and economic sectors, as well as a memorandum in military collaboration, during two Israeli official visits to the kingdom Tel Aviv’s foreign and military ministers.

Also, passengers flights and students exchange started between the states, while Bourita stressed that the Moroccan-Israeli collaboration’s limit is the sky.

Inaugurating more than 20 embassies in Western Sahara

Foreign countries’ embassies in Western Sahara are surfacing rapidly since the end of 2020, More than 20 countries, primarily situated in Africa or the Gulf region, inaugurated their diplomatic services either in Sahara’s largest city Laayoune or Dakhla.

The events were similar. Morocco’s foreign minister, Nasser Bourita, appears alongside one of his African or Arab counterparts smiling, cutting a ribbon, or solemnly unveiling a plaque, a symbol of friendship between their countries.

However, after one year of promising Morocco an American embassy in Dakhla, within the context of Abraham accords, the US is showing no intention to go forward with its plan under Biden’s administration.

Morocco legalizes Cannabis

Moroccan parliament voted this year, 2021, on legalizing the use of cannabis for medical, cosmetic, and industrial purposes.

The green annual flowering herb was always the known secret in the kingdom, as it is censored by legal and religious controversies, but tolerated for economical reasons.

The vote enveloped the country in a moral dilemma, discussing the religious, legal, social, and economic consequences of cannabis legalization. Meanwhile, it will indeed end the yearly suffering of cannabis farmers against authorities, as it will open new investment and research opportunities.

Benkirane is back to the political scene and controversy too

After leaving the political scene, following a disagreement with Aziz Akhannouch that led to “a political blockage,” Abdelillah Benkiran is back again.

After losing the September 8 elections, the Islamist party decided to bring back its charismatic leader who led the party’s first historical victory in 2012, and created a special style in speeches and based on bizarre arguments and controversial jokes.

Benkirane who communicated just through handwritten notes posted on Facebook for 5 years, decided to go back to the leadership of the opposition party against his old ally and adversaries Aziz Akhannouch.