On the political side, Morocco’s new justice minister said on Thursday he would seek royal pardons for critics of the establishment who rights activists say have been unfairly jailed, signalling a break with the past by the new Islamist-led government. Mustafa Ramid, minister of justice and public freedoms, also said in an interview he planned to organise a national debate involving judges, the bar and civil society groups to help draft proposals for the reform of the judiciary.
On the business side, Morocco’s state-run power utility, ONE, on Friday invited companies to submit expressions of interest in five wind farm projects with a total power generation capacity of 850 megawatts in the energy-importing country. ONE said will take bids until March 2 from firms or consortia for “the development, design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance” of the five projects. Bidders who pass the preliminary, expression-of-interest phase will be invited to bid in an international tender, which will be launched in the second quarter of this year.
Politics
The National (01/06) – Morocco’s next chapter
Reuters (01/06) – Morocco prays for rain for 1st time since 2007
World Bulletin (01/06) – Morocco govt may demand royal pardon for jailed activists
Reuters (01/05) – INTERVIEW-Morocco govt to seek royal pardon for jailed activists
The Vancouver Sun (01/05) – Jailed activists in Morocco may get royal pardons
Alakhbar (01/05) – February 20th Movement in Retrospect: The Treacherous Path of Reform
The Sahara
FIS (01/06) – Spain calls to speed up new fisheries agreement with Morocco
Nick Griffin MEP (01/05) – EU-Morocco fisheries agreement, a wasteful and exploitive agreement
Sahara Press Service (01/01) – NGOs urge Russia to withdraw its fishing boats from Western Sahara
Economy/Business
Reuters (01/06) – Morocco seeks bids for 850 MW wind farm plan
Sun Herald (01/05) – Research and Markets: Coffee in Africa: Detailed Market Analyses of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Morocco
Society/Culture
PR Web (01/06) – Worldwide Transportation Library to Visit Autoroutes of Morocco
Ahram Online (01/05) – Arab Film Festival to take place in Brussels
World/MENA Region
The Financial Express (01/06) – Muslim Brotherhood winning in Egypt
