Morocco: Heading For A Make Or Break Moment

Sunday, February 20, 2011 was a rainy and cold day. Not the kind of days you would think one would choose to start a revolution. Yet Moroccan pro-democracy activists chose to make that day the start of what now has become a nationwide movement for change.

I’m not going to tell you a lot about the politics of Feb. 20 Movement (or #FEB20 as the movement is now widely recognized on Twitter), but I will rather be talking to you about the momentous moment that lies ahead in the road for reform in Morocco.

Later this year (probably in September) Moroccans will be asked to vote Yes or Noto a revised, already controversial, version of the Moroccan Constitution. How important will this moment be for the future of the country? What is really at stake? And what can we learn from other countries’ experience in using freely accessible technology to help people make informed and critical decisions on the day of the vote?

I’m working on a translation of this post which will be soon available in both Arabic and French.

I will be moving my blog soon to another platform. You can view this post in my new page here.

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Free Ali Abulemam – Because No One Is Free While Others Are Oppressed

Ali Abdulemam is a pro democracy advocate and a leading citizen journalist in Bahrain. He has been held in solitary detention since September 4th, 2010, and there is a serious risk of him facing torture. Join our global campaign to free Ali. Please spread the word.

Freedom for Ali Abdulemam

Ali Abdulemam who runs the Bahrainonline.org forum, a pioneer of the Internet in Bahrain and an advocate of freedom of speech has been arrested by the Bahraini government under the charge of “spreading false news.” The Bahraini government has been waging a massive crackdown on dissent lately. Please spread the news by tweeting, blogging, sharing and posting this banner, and posting on your status on facebook to show solidarity and force Ali’s release.

Update:

Following is a roundup of reactions and declarations from different NGOs about Ali’s detention:

Frontline Defenders: “Bahrain: arrest of human rights defender and leading blogger Ali Abdulemam and ten other human rights defenders”. September 6.

Free Detainees: “Bahrain: Ali Abdulemam, blogger and Global Voices contributor arrested”. September 5.

Bahrain Center for Human Rights. September 6.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. September 6.

For more updates please follow:

BahrainRights.
Nabeelrajab.