Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — King Mohammed has pledged to improve conditions in Morocco’s
military after protests which included suicides.

Mohammed told the new Islamist-led Cabinet that he would increase
pensions and salaries for retired and serving military personnel. The king
said the new policy would also grant legal and other rights to soldiers and
officers.

The 190,000-member Moroccan military, under the direct control of the king and mostly deployed in the disputed Western Sahara, has long been regarded as failing to meet international standards. The United States has determined that the army of the North African kingdom was corrupt, inefficient and vulnerable to Al Qaida influence.

“The meeting adopted legislation that defines, clarifies and bolsters
basic guarantees for the military,” a government statement said.

The statement, issued on Feb. 7, came in wake of protests of military conditions. Over the last two weeks, at least two soldiers died when they set themselves on fire in protest of poor salaries and conditions.

The Cabinet has approved legislation that would guarantee rights to soldiers as well as ban political activities as well as strikes. The bill
stipulates that soldiers and officers would enjoy al the freedoms guaranteed by Morocco’s
constitution as well as standard salaries, bonuses, promotions and
vacations.

The protests against the military began in 2011. Hundreds of retired
soldiers established a
protest camp outside parliament to highlight their inadequate pensions.

Morocco has been administering a multi-billion-dollar modernization for
the military. Over the last year, Rabat has received the first of 24 F-16
multi-role fighters from the United States and is participating in trials of
warships procured from the Netherlands.

  Al Qaida, King Mohammed, Moroccan king bows to military protests, Moroccan military morale, pledges salary boosts, Polisario, reforms, Western Sahara