#188499 - 07/01/10 03:53 PM
MOROCCO REVERSAL ON DEPORTATIONS OF CHRISTIANS
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ævory
Member
Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 9657
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MOROCCO REVERSAL ON DEPORTATIONS OF CHRISTIANS?
Sunday, June 27 2010 16:28
Washington / Morocco Board News Service - At the end of last week, at least a dozen American Christian evangelicals who have settled in Morocco and who had received verbal orders of deportation for proselytizing were informed by the Moroccan police or by the U.S. consulate in Casablanca, that these deportation orders had been canceled.
the canceled deportation orders were part of an apparent third wave of expulsion of Christians from the country for "proselytizing" and "attempting to break the faith of Muslims" two offenses covered by the Moroccan penal code that could have lead to a court trial which the Moroccan authorities wanted to avoid.
Since last March, Morocco has expelled more than a hundred Christians, half of them Americans-including the Casablanca-based-George Washington Academy founder and director Jack Rusenko and two senior school administrators.
The abrupt course reversal of the Moroccan Ministry of Interior is due to the forceful reaction of the U.S. administration. According to Spanish daily El Pais, the US Ambassador in Rabat, Samuel Kaplan, called the Minister of Interior, Mr. Taieb Cherkaoui to protest and to ask for a meeting. At the same time, according to El Pais, the U.S. Embassy is urging its citizens not to obey the verbal orders by the Moroccan police and hold out for for written expulsion orders so that they can eventually contest them in a Moroccan court.
Kaplan strong reaction was probably due to the hearing by the U.S. Congress Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held last week and co-chaired by Republican Rep. Tom Wolf (R) of Virginia, on the expulsion of US Christians from Morocco.
"When the rights of Americans in Morocco are clearly being violated, I am disappointed that both ambassador Kaplan and Secretary of State Clinton have failed to publicly defend the rights of U.S. citizens," said Rep. Frank Wolf.
"The speed ... of these expulsions calls into question the long friendship and mutual cooperation between the U.S. and Morocco," added Wolf who requested the suspension of U.S. development aid unless Rabat allows the return of the expelled. He also asked explicitly for the resignation of US Ambassador Frank Kaplan for his tepid efforts in defending the rights of expelled U.S. citizens.
During hearing, Eddie and Lynn Padilla, adopted parents in the shattered Ein Leuh orphanage, gave a wrenching account of their abrupt separation from their Moroccan adopted children.
A statement from the Moroccan Embassy in Washington released to coincide with the congressional committee hearing said "Freedom of conscience is guaranteed by the Constitution for Moroccan Muslims, Jews and Christians, ... It is normal to expect from those who accept our hospitality to respect our laws and the values of our society," it added. "We will continue providing our friendship to those who come to Morocco …to provide essential aid to those in need."
The US is closely cooperating with Morocco in military and antiterrorist programs and has a long-standing free trade agreement with the country and will not likely consider rep. Wolf demands.
However rep. Wolf said at the hearing that he will remain focused “ as a laser Beam” on this issue and alluded that there might be a senate hearing on the issue if Morocco does not reconsider its policy on the expulsion of Christians.
Morocco’s opponents in Congress on the Western Sahara issue, such as rep. Wolf and Oklahoma Republican Senator Inhofe, are working to link this emotionally charged issue of Christian expulsion by Morocco with their pro-western-Sahara-Separatists campaign.
http://moroccoboard.com/news/34-news-release/1074-morocco-reversal-on-deportation-of-christians
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#188500 - 07/01/10 04:39 PM
Re: MOROCCO REVERSAL ON DEPORTATIONS OF CHRISTIANS
[Re: ævory]
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lazer
Member
Registered: 03/16/02
Posts: 7672
Loc: a world of my own...
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whats your point?
_________________________
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Memo: Don't get p*ssed at my OPINION, cuz thats all it is, my OPINION.........
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#188502 - 07/01/10 05:48 PM
Re: MOROCCO REVERSAL ON DEPORTATIONS OF CHRISTIANS
[Re: lazer]
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ævory
Member
Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 9657
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It pretty well speaks for itself, moniker-sharer <---of This, I'm sure, you are.
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#188510 - 07/02/10 07:29 AM
Re: MOROCCO REVERSAL ON DEPORTATIONS OF CHRISTIANS
[Re: ævory]
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cbal-craig
Member
Registered: 04/06/00
Posts: 17675
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Who cares ?
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#188512 - 07/02/10 07:52 AM
Re: MOROCCO REVERSAL ON DEPORTATIONS OF CHRISTIANS
[Re: ævory]
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Greg
Member
Registered: 08/20/05
Posts: 10000
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It pretty well speaks for itself, moniker-sharer <---of This, I'm sure, you are.
really, with whom?
edit to add: since you say you want NM to work, whisper campaigns have hurt NM in the past. If you know something, fine speak up, but smearing someone based on pure speculation is WRONG!
Edited by Greg (07/02/10 08:16 AM)
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#188515 - 07/02/10 10:00 AM
Re: MOROCCO REVERSAL ON DEPORTATIONS OF CHRISTIANS
[Re: lazer]
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starlight.2
Member
Registered: 02/19/09
Posts: 793
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that moroccans don't like people proselytizing in their backyard? (just a guess)
_________________________
Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.
--Dalai Lama
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#188534 - 07/02/10 03:00 PM
Re: MOROCCO REVERSAL ON DEPORTATIONS OF CHRISTIANS
[Re: starlight.2]
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lazer
Member
Registered: 03/16/02
Posts: 7672
Loc: a world of my own...
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you copy and paste with no point? kinda sad
who gives a crap about morocco......
_________________________
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Memo: Don't get p*ssed at my OPINION, cuz thats all it is, my OPINION.........
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