[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on the Maghreb and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Maghreb Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to maghreb@jadaliyya.com by Thursday night of every week]
Algeria
Algeria’s Sonatrach to press on with shale gas exploration: CEO Algeria’s government-owned hydrocarbon company will complete its first shale gas pilot well in a few days and plans to continue exploration near In Salah despite local protests.
Algeria’s Silver Lining Lies Sahar argues that Algeria may be able to weather the drop in oil prices for a period due to its foreign exchange reserves and low public debt.
Assia Djebar, Algerian novelist, dies aged 78 The feminist writer and filmmaker was born and raised in Algeria and the fifth woman to be chosen for the Academie Francaise in 2005.
«La justice algérienne devrait ouvrir une enquête préliminaire»El Watan interviews Djilali Hadjadj, president of the Association algérienne de lutte contre la corruption, about the Swiss leak revelations and corruption in Algeria.
L’opposition veut sortir dans la rue le 24 février The Instance de coordination de suivi de l’opposition, Algeria’s opposition group, is planning to organize demonstrations in solidarity with the protests against shale gas exploitation in the south.
Shale gas in Algeria: anger mounts as the government lies by omission Rachida Lamri continues her reporting on the protests against shale gas exploration in southern Algeria, as well as how the Algerian government is reacting to the mass demonstration.
مساهل: اتصالات بشخصيات ليبية ودول خليجية «لحلحلة» الأزمة Algeria is looking to facilitate a dialogue in the Libyan crisis through contacts with telecommunication personalities in Libya and Gulf states.
Belkou Ahmed, jeune membre du mouvement d'In Salah : « Ouvrir un débat et faire participer la société » Hakim Addad interviews Belkou Ahmed, a twenty-five year old engineer and activist involved with thegrassroots movement opposing shale gas exploration in Algeria.
Libya
ليببا:هل ينجح تنظيم "الدولة" في استنساخ تجربته السورية؟ BBC Arabic explores a comparison between the Islamic State experience in Syria and Libya.
مسلحو «داعش» يهاجمون حقل الباهي النفطي Islamic State militants attacked the Bahi oil field in Libya.
مفوضية اللاجئين: وفاة 300 مهاجر أثناء محاولة العبور من ليبيا إلى إيطاليا Three hundred immigrants died attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy.
Alleged ISIS gunmen in Libya ‘seize radio station’ Residents of the city of Sirte claimed that Islamic State militants took over the town’s state run radio station.
The Battle for Libya’s Oil Frederic Wehrey elucidates the battle for Libya’s two largest oil ports in the towns of al-Sidr and Ras Lanuf.
Egypt poised for Libya evacuations as Isis hostage photos emerge After Islamic State fighters published photos of Egyptian hostages that kidnapped in Libya, the Egyptian government has offered to evacuate thousands of its citizens.
Journalism under threat in Libya Human Rights Watch published a report citing the high number of attacks against journalist over the last two years in Libya.
Government of National Unity must be decided very soon: HoR deputy President Shouaib Libya’s House of Representatives deputy urged for a process of national reconciliation that just includes “moderates.”
Mauritania
En Mauritanie, un écosystème start-up prend forme lentement mais sûrementLe Monde reports on the success of various startup initiatives in Mauritania.
Mauritanie: Aziz n’est pas Charlie Reactions to the Charlie Hebdo attack and their caricatures have provoked a variety of reactions among religious elements in Mauritania, including President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz.
Mauritania Postpones Senate Elections to Avoid Oppositions Boycott The first round is supposed to be held on 15 March, but concerns about the opposition boycott is pushing the government to consider delaying the elections.
Kosmos Energy signs farm-out agreement for three offshore Mauritania contract areas The agreement was signed with Chevron Mauritania Exploration and covers three areas off the coast of Mauritania.
Morocco
عاجل وسابقة خطيرة..الشرطة تقتحم مقر الجمعية المغربية لحقوق الإنسان Moroccan authorities violently raided the central bureau of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights
Morocco’s exceptional program of regularization cut short The Anti-Racist Group for the Support and Defense of Foreigners and Migrants (GADEM) issued a press release citing the interior minister’s cancellation of Morocco’s migration reform initiative during the appeals process.
Descendants of Morocco's Veterans Face Violent Evictions Writing for the Huffington Post, Samia Errazzouki describes the aggressive eviction of 120 families of the guiche community in Douar Ouled Dlim.
Camp de Gourougou : 1200 migrants clandestins en attente d’expulsion Moroccan security arrested 1,200 undocumented immigrants in Mount Gourougou and dropped them off in various towns in southern Morocco last week.
L’irresponsabilité des responsables de la politique migratoire Sociologist Mehdi Alioua analyzes recent events concerning the police raid at Mount Gourougou and the cancelation of Morocco’s regularization process.
CAF: le Maroc officiellement suspendu pour les CAN 2017 et 2019 Morocco’s refusal to host this year’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament over ebola concerns led to its suspension from playing in the next two tournaments.
Envoyé spécial France 2 : L'avortement au MarocFrance 2 investigates the difficulties surrounding access to abortions in Morocco.
Dr Chraïbi sur Chaîne Inter : « Selon le ministère de la Santé, il n’y a pas d’avortements au Maroc » Dr. Chraibi appeared on the France 2 report on abortions in Morocco, and he was subsequently suspended by the health minister.
« SwissLeaks » : Sa Majesté Mohammed VI, client numéro 5090190103 chez HSBC A group of journalists have alleged that Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and members of the royal family maintain Swiss bank accounts in violation of Moroccan law.
الترجمة الكاملة لتحقيق “لومند”: هذه هي ممتلكات محمد السادس وأفراد أسرته This piece includes the Arabic translation of the Le Monde article on the Swiss leaks and the investigation into King Mohammed VI’s alleged Swiss bank account.
آلاف الملايير لم تُفلح في إصلاح التعليم المغربي Morocco’s National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) concludes that Morocco's recent education reforms have failed to work.
Tunisia
Tunisia faces new unrest on Libya border Demonstrations broke out in Tunisia’s two main borders town with Libya in protest of police repression in these areas.
Dreaming of 'a Tunisia for everybody' Writing for Al Jazeera English, Conor Sheils discusses the rise of racist violent against sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia.
Aux sources du jihad en TunisieFrance 24 explores the alarming rise of jihadism in Tunisia, in spite of the steps taken towards democratization.
فضيحة سْويسْليكس: ماذا تُخفي القائمات الاسمية للتونسيين ؟Inkyfada investigates what the Swiss leaks reveal about Tunisian elites and financial corruption.
Western Sahara
Africa's Last Colony Hannah Rae Armstrong writes about the plight of the 150,000 Sahrawi refugees that have been kept from their homeland for more than forty years and why the Western Sahara conflict remains at an impasse.
'En la cárcel me espera la tortura' Spain denies asylum to twenty-six year old Sahrawi activist Hassanna Aalia, who was tried in absentia by a military court in 2013.
Voice from the Desert: The Sahrawi Refugee Camps Oxfam’s February newsletter reports on where Sahrawi refugees live, youth centres in the camps, and the humanitarian response for 2015.
Western Sahara - A Sign of Africa’s freedom struggle Richard B. Muhammad elucidates the political actors that are contributing to the Western Sahara stalemate.
Most recent articles from Jadaliyya’s Maghreb Page
The Vagaries of Laïcité Naomi Davidson argues that Muriam Haleh Davis’ essay highlights the importance of “understanding the vagaries of laïcité as it has been invoked and interpreted by different historical actors in France, rather than accepting it as a static object to be defended as some would defend the republic itself.”
Corporatization: Are Public Services still Public? Jadaliyya examines the increasing privatization of public services and cites the example of STEG, the Tunisian public company for gas and electricity.
New Texts Out Now: Mayanthi L. Fernando, The Republic Unsettled: Muslim French and the Contradictions of SecularismJadaliyya interviews author Mayanthi L. Fernando about her latest text, which looks at how the French context shapes and reshapes Islamic traditions.
More on Laïcité in Historical Context Joan W. Scott reviews Muriam Haleh Davis’ piece on the french reaction to the Charlie Hebdo massacre and praises her positioning of French secularism in historical context.
Reconsidering the Rif Revolt (1958-1959) Nabil Mouline examines an important and often disregarded period in Morocco’s post-colonial history.
‘A Distinctly French Universalism’: Translating Laïcité after Charlie Muriam Haleh Davis deconstructs the notion of French secularism as neutral public space in the aftermath of the attacks on Charlie Hebdo.
Rap as Activism in Morocco: A STATUS/الوضع Conversation between Mouad Belghouate (El-Haqed) and Samia Errazzouki Moroccan rapper and 20 February Movement activist discusses his time in prison and importance of rap in the development of a political opposition.
إشكالية الفرد في المغرب Rachid Yamlouli argues that the primary problematic in Morocco’s society relates to a crisis of knowledge about human identity and existence.