When will the union become a shield for the nation instead of being a conduit for mysterious funding?
In a delicate regional moment, amidst the soft smear campaigns and veiled media clashes surrounding Morocco, it was expected that the National Union of Moroccan Journalists would act with a strong sense of sovereignty and be at the forefront of defending the integrity of the Moroccan media landscape. However, ironically, it chose to embrace what is termed the “Qatari Center for Media.”
This meeting, promoted under the banner of “professional cooperation and training,” cannot be divorced from a charged political and media context, nor from the dual role played by some Qatari media institutions in fueling separatist tendencies and hosting paid voices that oppose Morocco’s unity and stability. Qatar, a country that has no union for journalists or any form of independent professional representation, seeks today, through this center, to promote a narrative of “support” and “training” within the Moroccan media arena. The question that cannot be overlooked is: who is supporting whom? Under what conditions? And do we welcome with open arms an institution whose only reference is political dependency, and whose recent history is not without signs of incitement, agitation, and blatant bias in sensitive Arab issues, from Egypt to Libya, through Syria and Tunisia?
How can the union accept to sit at the same table as a center that has no equivalent within Qatar itself, where there are neither unions nor media freedom by internationally recognized standards? Isn’t this a blatant contradiction to the principles on which the union was founded? How does it justify opening a doorway that may later be used to direct journalists, fund programs, and control voices?
Former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim was clear in one of his statements when he spoke about the Qatari role in financing journalists and turning them into “national symbols” in their countries to serve outlined agendas. He did not deny this; rather, he took pride in it, considering it one of the tools of soft power used by Doha. Do we need more evidence to understand that it exceeds mere “training courses” or “partnership protocols”?
It is a moment of genuine honesty for the National Union of Moroccan Journalists. It must either choose its rightful position as a shield for the profession and the nation, or remain silent, allowing soft infiltrations that will weaken what is left of credibility and confuse both the professional and sovereign landscape alike.
We are not against openness, nor are we for isolation. But we oppose any attempt to infiltrate our media under flashy covers. Morocco, which has established its position through its media sovereignty and the credibility of its discourse, does not need dubious training, politically-driven funding, or symbols manufactured in Qatari studios.
Today, it is our duty to raise our voice loudly: enough with the manipulation of the profession, and enough with dragging the journalistic body into battles that are not its own. Let the discussion be opened, and let foolishness come to an end.
It remains for the union president, Abdelkebir Khashish, to clarify to the public: are we facing an attempt to build equitable professional relationships? Or are we opening a gateway that may later be used to funnel funding, exert soft dominance, and direct Moroccan journalists from behind the curtain?
