Magharebia

The most popular topic for reader feedback in the past weeks was from Moroccans concerning Western Sahara, especially in response to our 3 March feature "Sahrawi president rejects Moroccan autonomy proposal".

X said, "In fact the Sahara is Moroccan, this man [Mohamed Abdelaziz] must know that we'll get there". Mohamed agrees that, "The Sahara is Moroccan for ages and still is and will be". Liberte Jadidia suggests that Hamati Rabbani, former justice minister of the Sahwari Republic, is a traitor to Morocco.

Mohammed wrote, "The Sahara, a republic... Invented...manipulation... At primary school in Morocco, at the Franco-Muslim school, in history and in geography, by both Arab and French teachers, we were taught that the Sahara was an integral part of the Moroccan national territory... And for the last 30 years, coveted by some... to whose benefit, and for what real reason? So are we to continue subdividing countries every time a body wants to assume a certain power?"

In response to our story a few months back on Moroccan prisoners of war being released by the Polisario Front, Bassi noted "We accuse the Algerians. Why are there no Algerian prisoners in the hands of the Moroccans?"

In response to the recent article concerning the Sahrawi president, Aziz said, "I generally like this news site, but you guys have to be more judicious and balanced in covering this issue."

Magharebia strives to be balanced and judicious in covering all issues. While the last feature focused on the Sahrawi side of the conflict, many previous articles have concentrated on the Moroccan side. We feel that taking into account all our coverage of Western Sahara, our coverage has been quite balanced.

Moroccan football was once again a topic of feedback. Fatima noted, "Tunisia deserves defeat" and "Fakher is a solid foundation for our national team."

Adil added, "Hi. This is the first time that I have spoken on this site. Firstly, Moroccan football is great compared with the other African countries, but the problem is the people in charge. I hope the President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation is actually in charge of these men, quite simply."

The only entry on the Haifa Wehbe front this week was Amil saying, "Haifa is a sweet person and attractive, her beauty is beyond description. I love you very much Haifa."

After taking last week to acknowledge positive comments to the site, we would like to devote some space to constructive criticism this week. Comments included, "This site lacks many things. I think sports coverage should be increased," (Mohamed), "But you guys need correspondents who will provide you with live news so that it is not connected with any side and gain credibility" (Abdullah) and "The forum deserves support because to me some big events are only covered in newsbriefs" (Lakhad).