Morocco: Reporters Without Borders denounces government's plan to 'scrap' national press council

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounced a plan by the Moroccan authorities to tighten their grip over media after introducing a new bill that may scrap a self-governing journalism institution, the National Press Council, in the country.

"Replacing the National Press Council without holding an election as provided for by the law is one more blow to press freedom in Morocco," Khaled Drareni, RSF's North Africa representative, said in a report published on Friday.

Last week, the Moroccan government approved "Bill 15.23" relating to the creation of a temporary commission to manage the affairs of the press and publishing sector.

Established as an advisory body under the communication ministry's aegis per the 2011 Constitution, the National Press Council's creation ended direct government supervision over the media sector. It was one of the key reforms the authorities introduced amid the 2011 uprisings in the region.

When its mandate expired in October 2022, new elections should have been organised as provided for in the council's statutes. 

However, the Moroccan Ministry of Culture and Communication chose to extend its mandate as an 'exceptional and temporary solution' because 'the particular situation' did not allow the election of new members.

Six months later, Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch's government approved a bill that transfers the council's prerogatives to a temporary two-year-long committee, including all of the council's members except the Moroccan Federation of Newspaper Editors (FMEJ) and the Moroccan Union of Journalism (FNJIC-UMT), which is affiliated to the Moroccan Union of Labour. 

The representatives of these two organisations were the only members to demand the reelection of the council's representatives. The others opposed it.

In a press release, FMEJ and FNJIC-UMT criticised what they called "an unconstitutional bill", which they described as signalling a "significant decline in the independence of the press."

Many of Morocco's political parties also condemned the government's plan. The opposition Justice and Development Party (PJD) called the plan a "new stage of regression that calls into question the country's main democratic achievements."

Rachid Hamouni, the head of the Progress and Socialism group in the lower house of parliament, described the bill as an "anti-democratic measure" that "kills free, independent, responsible and effective press" in Morocco. 

This bill is widely controversial as it is seen as a step backwards to the pre-2011 reforms when the government had direct and absolute control over the journalism sector.

Although its achievements have been minimal, RSF said the council had helped to maintain a degree of independence for journalists, especially in allocating press cards and drawing up a code of ethics.

The new temporary committee's planned prerogatives would also include reviewing regulatory proposals, including one under which a deposit of the equivalent of US$ 100,000 is required for the creation of any new media outlet, in effect barring all but the wealthiest from access to journalism.

Meanwhile, Moroccan Minister of Culture Mehdi Bensaid defended his bill as a form of reform to the council that he described as being in chaos because of the "unclear law" that does not specify the terms of the reelection of its members leaving the council in turmoil every four years upon the election.

The government-appointed council will be in charge of suggesting and drafting a new regulating law for the council in the next two years. 

As the FMEJ is willing to look past that, its head Noureddine Miftah sees the federation's exclusion from the committee as a "punitive" decision for it demanding the reelection of the council members and opposing the government's intervention in the first place.

"Now, if this commission is really in charge of proposing a law, we are about a text relating to the question of freedom of expression. For its development, the contribution of all actors in society is therefore necessary. So why exclude representative bodies by favouring two who are known to have opposed the holding of professional elections?," argues Miftah.

The Moroccan Culture Ministry has yet to comment on the reasons behind the FMEJ's exclusion.

The government's bill is still pending parliamentary approval. It is not yet known when parliament will examine it.