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When Morocco"s absolute
monarch, King Hassan II, was tip-off that his only general was
plotting a coup. he lost no time In silencing him, according to an
officer in the underground movement interviewed by "Africa
Now".
General Ahmed Dlimi, King Hassan's right-hand man and commander of the Moroccan army's southern forces did not die in a car accident as alleged by the regime. He was tortured and then shot after the CIA informed the King that DImi was planning a military coup to overthrow the monarchy in July this year and replace It with a democratic Arab Islamic Republic of Morocco.
At a secret hideout in Sweden, Lieutenant Ahmed Rami, a leader of "Le Mouvenent des Officiers Lilr'res", the under-ground movement of Moroccan army officers dedicated to overthrow the King, told "Africa Now" that General Dlimi was called to King Hassan's palace in Marrakesh at 11 o'clock at night on January 23, 1983. There, 10 security men escorted him to an underground interrogation room. At 1 a m, two American officers arrived with the King and went into the interrogation room for some hours. At 5 a m, Dlimi was shot. His body was later placed in his car which exploded out in a suburb, probably as the result of grenades planted inside. The police cordoned off the area, Dlimi's bullet-proof Mercedes was disposed of at once and no one was permitted to see the body, not even members of Dumi's own family.
The Moroccan Press has now come up with a story by a civilian called Lhrizi who said he was in Dlimi's car when the accident took place. But there are strong suspicions that Lhrizi, who has gone underground, is a member of the King's secret police.
Ahmed Rami is under sentence of death in Morocco for his part in a previous coup attempt on August 16 1972 when the "Officiers Libres" tried unsuccessfully to shoot down a Boeing let carrying King Hassan. He now lives in exile and Is the external contact man for the revolutionary officers' movement. Rami explained: "Dlimi avoided direct contact with 'Officiers Libres' In Morocco. But he frequently travelled abroad and it was easy for me to be his link with the movement. We met ahout twice a year1 and more fre(paently last year to plan details of the July coup."
"Unknown to us, however, the CIA was Investigating him. When the CIA handled over a dossier to King Hassan in January it contained videofllm of General Dlimi and I meeting In Stockholm last December. That was enough for Dilmi to be eliminated."
Already, on January 1 1983, B leading investment risk analysis firm In New York, Front and Sullivan, had produced Its "Political Risk from Territorial Disputes: A Global Survey", in which Morocco was rated a country with a high risk of violence and where prospects of a coup were on the increase. The firm had noted the opposition to the corruption within Hassan's regime; the consequences of the prolonged war in the Western Sahara; Polisano's capacity to score military victories over the Moroccan forces; the country's continued economic problems and growing poverty - all of which increased the likelihood of a military alternative to Hassan.
The CIA perceived Dliml's favouring of French rather than US aid as a potential threat to American interests in the region. (There have been rumours that the King asked the US for marines to protect him. But the Americans are insisting that Hassan first get rid of his close confidants who are In favour of closer relations with France.)
Nevertheless, the King was Informed of Dlimi's coup plans by American intelligence and Hassan acted immediately. Scores of senior officers were detained on January 17, 1983 and 12 of them interrogated. Almost simultaneously with Dlimi's liquidation, three colonels - Col. Bouarat, commander of the Royal Guard; Col. Ouazari, director of the gendarmerie and Colonel Doukall - were arrested and subsequently executed. The King placed the army on a state of alert on January 25 and 26 after the palace announced the "grevious death" of Dlimi in a "car accident".
According to an Algerian announcement, some young officers were arrested last month because of alleged contacts with "Officlers Libres".
Curiously, a news item released to the "New York Times" on January 26 described the emergence of Morocco as the US' closest Arab ally - but made no mention of the death of the country's only general and even as late as mid-February there was still no mention of it in the American Press despite numerous reports in Europe.
"I am a wanted man, dead or alive", maintains Lieutenant Rami. "The Swedish security police have already foiled one plot to kidnap me and I have to be very careful - of both King Hassan's men and even more of professional CIA agents."
Asked how he knew of the events in the palace, Rami said the ears and eyes of "Officers Libres" were everywhere. "And of course communications between, say, Cusablanca and Paris are far better than those between Rabat and Casablanca."
Ahmed Rami, who grew up in the Moroccan countryside amid poor Berber people, Is recognized as an Intellectual In Sweden. He often partakes in public debate in the newspapers and on television on issues related to the Middle East and to Afro-Arab relations. Among academics he is known as an acute political scientist who has written penetratingly about Nasserism, the sublect of his doctoral thesis.
What has not been known is his role as a Moroccan revolutionary, working steadily for the downfall of the monarchy in his homeland. At meetings in Paris, London and Stockholm last year General Dlimi and Ahmed Rami formulated the plans for this year's planned July coup. Ahmed Rami was to have been smuggled into Morocco in a military aircraft a week before the coup in readiness to take charge of a panzer regiment and seize control of the radio headquarters.
"In Stockholm last year we
began drafting the communicto be broadcast to the nation once the
'Officiers Libres' had seized control. General Dlimi and I had
planned to meet again in London last month - February - because he
was going to accompany King Hassan on a visit to Britain together
with a high-level Arab delegation. But then DImi was exposed and
murdered."
The communiqué, Ahmed
Rami told "Africa Now", would have read something like this:
"Liberty - political and economic democracy - Islamic unity."
"In the name of Allah, in the name of our martyrs, in the name of the people, in the name of justice and right, and in the name of the will of the people to choose the regime which suits them and to determine their own destiny, we proclaim an Islamic republic, the abolition of the monarchy which the Koran forbids. We announce that the tyrant, the dictator, the madman Hassan II has been condemned to death and executed by the the provisional council of the commander of the revolutIon for all his crimes and murders against our people. A temporary revolutionary council is temporarily going to direct the affairs of the country until a revolutionary concil has been elected by a general election."
"The king has been liquidated by the army in order to give power to the general will of the people. We who Initiated the revolution have no magic wand for bringing about the general desire of the people. We have eliminated the king. It Is now up to the people to put an end to the domination and exploitation perpetrated by the other little kings who are to be found throughout the country. We have acted in the capacity of citizens and not In the capucity of soldiers. Henceforth, we will direct our bayonets not to wards the people but against tyranny."
Le Mouvement des
Officiers Libres decided to move after Israel's invasion of
Lebanon. We could not wait any longer while Israel continued with
its humiliations of our brother peoples and Reagan was
pressurising Arab leaders to recognize Israel. To recognize Israel
is to legitimize colonialism and the death of the Palestinian
people..."
About half of the communiqué was to be devoted to the need for Arab unity and the need to bring about the end of Israel´s occupation. It was also to announce that "Officiers Libres" would co-operate with young officers in the Algerian and Tunisian armies - with whom relations had already been established -to overthrow those North African regimes and together build an Islamic Arab Republic as a first step In building a federation in the Arab World.
Lastly the communiqué was to clarify that "Officiers Libres" did not plan to install a military regime, but, instead, a democratic government agreed upon by all political groups. There would be a constitution with legislated guarantees for all political parties and for Press freedom. The death sentence was to be abolished and asylum would be offered to Arabs anywhere living under repression.
Ahmed Rami said he decided to reveal all this information to "Africa Now" because he wanted to counter the official version that General DIimi died loyal to the monarchy.
General Dlimi was extremely popular in the army, especially in the south. The King knew that if he had officially executed Dlimi without trial, he would have faced great opposition from the army. Furthermore, King Hassan wanted it to appear that Dlimi died in the service of the monarchy. Ile was well aware of DIiml's great popularity among army officers and probably expects them to emulate DImi's loyalty.
There are more than 150,000 men in the army but only the underground group knew of DImi's real ambition to see an end to the monarchic system, so many could have been fooled by the King's version of what happened to him. '1That's why I am revealing that Dilmi, a fine and great man, was working steadily for Hassan's downfall", explains Rami.
General Dilmi was a man who had undergone a metamorphosis. He had been trained as an officer by the French army and had absorbed its traditions of pride and dignity - which have their roots back in the French revolution. After Morocco achieved Independence in 1956 he was among the many officers who came back and formed the Moroccan army. For many it was an Instant shock to discover that King Hassan intended using them as police against the people - this had never happened in France. Expecting to achieve even more dignity as defenders of their own land, they found themselves minions of a monarch whose will was not that of the people.
"Those with access to the
King, like Dilmi, were appalled at his sexual excesses, his drug
abise, his personal interests in the large~cale hashish traffic
out of Morocco", said Ahmed Rami. "It Is a scandal for the Arab
world that such a person can be Ilead of State. Besides, Dlimi
soon perceived that such an absolute miwiurchy was Incompatible
with the governing of a modern state. lie said to me that no
development was possible under such a system. So, because of his
honest principles, Dumi changed from an ordinary career officer
into a politically conscious revolutionary. He told me he saw his
duty as protecting the land and its people, not just the person of
the "KIng"
"His hands were not free, as
King Hassan demanded his almost continous presence, even to the
extent of having him run around after him on the golf course and
pick up his golf balls."
Ahmed Rami said General Dlimi had a greater vision than that of a Moroccan nationalist. Before Boumedienne took power in Algeria, General Dliml had dreamed of an Arab maghreb ruled by Algeria's Ben Bella and comprising the present Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.
It was important for world observers to see Dliml's death
In its broad geo-polltlcal context and to understand why the
CIA had acted once again in support of an Arab African regime
favourable to the US. The CIA had clearly been shadowing
Dlimi for a long time. Morocco has a very important strategic position in the Mediterranean, giving the Americans a grip on the Straits of Gibraltar. King Hassan is their watchdog in the area. Having lost the Shah in Iran, they stand to lose a great deal If Hassan falls. Reagan's so-called peace plan in the Middle East is dependent on his three building blocks:
Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morocco. So they are very fearful of change in Morocco.
Ahmed Rami and his army associates believe that the only possibility for change in Morocco lies in a military coup. The legal political parties exist only by the grace of King Hassan and may not oppose the monarchy. The state repressive apparatus is so severe that few civilians dare to partake In political activity. To demonstrate against the state means almost certain death. The only underground opposition consists of two small groups of "left extremists" known as the "March 23 Movement" and "Illaal Amam" which have a membership of only a few hundred Marxist intellectuals. Then there is the illegal "L'Option revolutionaire", a small breakaway group from the "Union Nationale des Forces Populaires (UNFP)"; and an unco-ordinated group of "islamists". None of these groups has the potential to bring about change.
Rami says he became politically aware in the early 1960's when he was a teenager. People were talking about Nasser in Egypt who had deposed a king and carried out agricultural reforms and abolished the feudal system. "I was of that group of youngsters who had grown up In suffering, for whom there were no job opportunities and no legal means to express discontent. Nasser had shown 'us that it was possible to achieve social justice and economic democracy. On March 23 1965, I was with a group of demonstrating students and unemployed In Casablanca. The police and army fired upon us and about 100 people died."
"Many of us then realized
that via the military lay the only way to bring about revolution
in Morocco. This was why I entered the Military Academy In 1966.
Today military opposition constitutes the strongest underground
force In the cowlitry. Here lies the greatest threat to the
King."
Speaking fluent Berber, Arabic and French and with an already brilliant student record, Ahmed Rami was a bright young star in the army. His rise was aided when he became personal tutor to the son of General Gharbouls, a simple officer whose only reading consisted of Donald Duck comics. In gratitude Rami was appointed head of a panzer regiment and was brought into the close circle surrounding King Hassan Already he had joined the group of young officers who planned to overthrow the King.
The first coup attempt was on July 10 1971, the King's birthday, and was masterminded by General Madbouh, then Hassan's closest military adviser. One hundred cadets were to storm the Palace and shoot the King. It was a disaster. The soldiers bore the same uniforms as the palace guards, everyone was shooting at each other and the King escaped by hiding in a toilet. Madbouh died in the crossfire.
Another French-trained officer, General Oufkir, was given the credit for aborting the coup and was immediately appointed Minister of Defence. He replaced Madbouh as the King's closest man, but, like his predecessor, came to hate all the King stood for. General Oufkir and Ahmed Rami became close friends and Rami was appointed the general's adjutant~ which made him in effect the deputy Minister of Defence.
New plans to overthrow King
Hassan were already afoot. The King's private Boeing jet was to be
shot down by defence force Phantom jets on Hassan's return from
vacation in France. On August 16 1972, with General Oufkir In
command at the military airfield control tower, the three Phantoms
went in to attack. But their machine guns turned out to be loaded
largely with practice ammunition and their missiles had not been
activated. A few bullets hit the Boeing and Hassan's pilot fooled
the plotters by announcing that the King had been shot. After an
emergency landing, King Hassan was taken to safety in the French
embassy.
One of the Phantom pilots who had tried in vain to crash his jet into Hassan's Boeing and jumped out in his parachute, was captured on landing and immediately interrogated under torture. He told of General Oufkir's role. Oufklr was summoned to one of Hassan's palaces, in Skhirat, tortured and shot. It was officially announced that he had committed suicide. Says Ahmed Rami: "I saw Oufilir's boly before it was removed.
He had been shot several times. One eye had been blown out by a shot in the back of the head."
Several of the ringleaders were arrested. Ahmed Rami knew that he would be uncovered, as the radio communiq~ he had prepared for the coup was in General Oufkir's car. He went into hiding in the Atlas mountains and managed to evade a widespread manhunt. Three members of "Officiers Libres" fled to Gibraltar and asked the British for asylum. The British handed them over to King Hassan's men and, together with eight of the other officers, they were publicly executed on one of the holiest days of the Muslim faith: Aid el Kebir. The executions were televised to the nation.
After a year on the run, Ahmed Rami left Morocco. "General Ahmed DIlmi had, in fact, been with us since the beginnIng of 1971.1 arrived in Sweden in Auglist 1973 where I was given political asylum and I straightaway began working in exile against King Hassan. Soon after leaving Morocco I was granted
personal Interview with Colonel Khadlaffi In Libya and I secured an undertaking from him that Radio Libya. which constantly attacked Hassan's regime, would not personully critize General DImi. He kept his word."
"Le Mouvement des Officiers Libres" was crippled for a time after the second abortive coup. Hassan's spies and CIA agents were everywhere trying to uncover the unknown members. After lying low for a couple of years they began to regroup and gradually enlist new members. General Dlimi himself became King Hassan's closest adviser and re-established contact with Rami and the secret officers' movement.
"We in the opposition
recognized that Morocco was the victim of the activities of
foreign powers", explains Rami. "So, of course. we spent ncuch
time discussing foreign policy to be pursued after our coup. We
consider the war In Western Sahara to be absurd. It is maintained
by the despicable regimes of Algeria and Morocco to occupy their
citizens with a problem which has no reality. We consider Western
Sahara to be part of Morocco, t~ the Inhabitants
there would be able to make their own choice under the democratic
future we envisage. Algeria's support for POLISARIO is of course
motivated by her wish for access to an Atlantic port."
"We expect Polisario, the
peoples of the Western Sahara would want to join
us in building a greater Arab unity."
Dlimi himself was the commander of the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara charged with its day to day control. Through the Saharan campaign, and particularly with "Operation Ouhoud", he had been able to consolidate his power within the military there. But he soon discovered that Morocco was in no position to suppress the Polisarlo. By last year, nine-tenths of the disputed territory had fallen under Polisarlo control and administration. DImi witnessed a steady loss of morale among his troops and they experienced a bitter defeat at Guelta Zemour. In January this year, the 15 attacks launched by the Poilsano inflicted casualties and equipment losses on the Moroccans. Dlimi saw the wave of economic deprivation inundate his country as the Saharan campaign consumed upwards of 4096 of the nation's Gross National Product. Over the eight years the Palace had spent more on the war effort than on health, education and welfare; the discrepancy between the wealthy few and the impoverished many widened, with 1 096 of the population exhausting 45% of the nation's wealth.
Rami contends: "we stand on
the threshold of geat changes In North Africa, especially after
what has now happened in Lebanon. Muslim Integrationists
everywhere are saying that it is not Israel that Is strong, but
Arab regimes that are weak. The King of Morocco is allied to
America, which is allied to Israel. This Is a shame for Muslim
people and has to be brought to an end."
"Moroccan citizens,
unorganized and relatively powerless against King Hassan's
repression, would become his downfall", maintains Rami. The two
coup attempts of the early 1970's were welcomed with jubilation
until people realized that they had failed.
And what of the future? "Le Mouvemeet des Officlers Libres has suffered a tremendous setback with the death of General Dlimi. A great loss, but our Ideals live on."
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