501/10–347
The Consul at Rabat (Pasquet) to the Secretary of State
No. 178
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a Memoir1 issued by the Istiqlal Party on September 15, 1947, signed by the Secretary General, Hadj Ahmed Balafrej. This Memoir has been transmitted to the Secretary General of the United Nations who must have received it about September 29, 1947 because some radio listeners have already heard that this document had been received by the United Nations.
The following comments are made on each section of the Memoir as of possible interest to the Department:
A. Political Domination
There is no doubt that direct French Administration has substituted itself completely for Moroccan administration although the latter has been kept as an empty shell which it is convenient to use on occasion. Little effort has been made to train Moroccans to govern themselves. It is often rightly mentioned that the reason for Morocco holding together is the continued existence of the framework of native Moroccan administration while in Algeria the native form of government has been completely dissolved.
B. Economic Domination
While there is a certain amount of truth in the statements made in this section, the Nationalists are too willing to intentionally ignore the building of roads, railroads, communication facilities, dams, irrigation projects which are naturally beneficial to the French themselves but to the Moroccans also. There is no doubt that if all these utilities were suddenly left to the Moroccans none, except possibly the irrigation projects, would be operating within one year.
[Page 717]C. Cultural Domination
There is no doubt that it is in the educational field that the French failed most since the establishment of the Protectorate. It is only since 1945 and only under very strong popular pressure to which the Sultan added his full weight that new private and official schools have been built and are continuing to be built. The French population is adequately cared for in the schooling of its children and it is quite true that education for this group is largely paid for from the Moroccan budget. The French no doubt would have liked to have all teaching in French because they regard Arabic as an ancient tongue, not appropriate for this scientific age, but now that so little effort has been made to arrive at this result the awakening of a nationalist spirit in Morocco faces them with demands for instruction in the native tongue with French as a foreign language on the same basis as English, or Spanish, or German.
D. Judicial Domination
The criticism in this section is only partially justified and even the Party admits that at the time the Protectorate Treaty came into being there were “imperfections and deficiencies”. There is at present a proposal of codification of the laws of Morocco so that the same offenses will result in uniform sentences throughout the country which is far from being the case at present. While this has been under study for many years there is good reason to believe that the text will come out soon. Moroccans as a rule have a respect for justice when it is well rendered but at the same time, more especially in the lower Moroccan courts, they cannot help, by force of custom, to make presents to the judge who is almost always influenced by the importance of the present, French officials, sitting beside the local Moroccan judges, often correct “errors” in judgment but unfortunately some of the former are also influenced by bribes.
E. Demographic Domination
This section of the Memoir is true as far as it goes although the influx of French residents in Morocco is due more to a desire to avoid difficult living conditions in France and the high taxation prevailing in that country than to a policy of the Government to “colonize” Morocco. However, Ambassador Labonne’s (Resident General preceding General Juin) policy to industralize and develop Morocco has been responsible for quite a few French industrialists coming to this country at a time when they were looking for investment opportunities in a country with much lower taxation than exists in metropolitan France.
In all fairness it must be stated that while the Protectorate authorities could have done much more than they have toward increasing [Page 718] hospital facilities and medical treatment, practically no Moroccans have taken up medicine because those who have the means to continue their studies take up business and law rather than professions such as medicine, pharmacy, teaching, and engineering without which they will have to depend on foreigners for many years to come.
The increase in Moroccan population from six million in 1936 to over eight million at present speaks well for the results attained by the protecting power in spite of a very heavy death rate from hunger during the 1945 year of drought.
Respectfully yours,
- In French, not printed.↩