The duel between Crocs and Geckos took place in Indonesia and has received a wide media coverage as well as attract public opinions.

Crocs (nope, not the ugly looking slippers) symbolizes the police (along with its prosecution capacities) and Geckos symbolizes the anti-corruption citizens. The people, nearly unanimously said “down with the Crocs”!

Stopping corruption is the people’s best interest.

The reason behind this popular duel, which expert called the biggest show of People Power since ‘98:  The people are fed up being chained to the wall, powerless seeing how the country they love plagued by corruption which resulted into being viewed negatively by the international world.

Corruption is the rust to Indonesia’s economic wheel.

Why this matters? Corruption is, in a matter of fact, a real-life fact in every country in Asia — on record and off, right?

There was a popular 70s pop song by a group called Koes Plus (Indonesian version of retro the Jonas Brothers) that goes:

(We have) Not (mere) oceans, but milk ponds
(fish) Hooks and nets are enough for you to feed yourself
Without typhoon, without storm shrimps and fishes would come to you

Ok, so they exaggerated a bit about the suicidal sea creatures.

Indonesia is undoubtedly a resource-rich country, but decades, or perhaps even centuries (I need to check with our historian) of corruption caused people life they deserved and life of generations after them.

Sure former president Soeharto is a paramount example of corruptors, but even today, there’s a little corruptor within nearly all of the population. I know it’s a sad fact, but Soeharto may died, but his legacy lives on.

For the Indonesians, corruption IS a vicious cycle — its way or the highway. Public servant jobs are often known as a fertile ground for corruption, collution and nepotism seed. Red tape is the door to this thing that people hate but have no choice but do, because otherwise: “my son’s birth certificate will be printed by the time he’s 2 year-old”, or “Without name dropping, no chance my boy could become diplomat in the future”. You want you paper to be in order? Than you better prepare some uang rokok (cigarette money), uang pelicin (smear money) or amplop (envelope).

I remember growing up hearing other kids saying, “I want to grow up to be a doctor” or “I want to be a policeman or army general one day”, because their mom said those two are high paying jobs. Yeah, tell that to a 5-year old, they will take it as a life mission to please their moms.  Lawyers, police, ministers, diplomat — excellent. Doctors and the like, employee, architect –good. Nurse, translator — okay, but there are better paying jobs out there. Marrying Kermit the Frog — someone has been putting the delusional blankie these past years…  Like it or not most, it is widely known that parents often steer their kids and make them consider big income as their aspirations. When their future arrives, we all know what happen.. A society that jails graft fighters, prosecutes a mother of two toddlers for complaining because the hospital where she seek treatment gave her a lousy service, and sentencing a woman in her 50s to house arrest for picking 3 cacao fruit from a privately owned plantation.

James Van Zorge, on Jakarta Globe said:

If Indonesians want to be more successful in making real progress in the fight against corruption, there are two things they should do. First, everybody needs to stop making excuses. And second, there needs to be more thought given to policies that can bring some big, quick wins.

[...] There is, however, another solution: Cut in half the number of government regulations.

Corruption IS NOT, contrary to popular believe, a home grown culture. It is a trick-of-trade  brought by Indonesia’s former colonist. Sadly, decades after the independence the trick of trade is nationalized all together with the  colonist’s assets.

I (think) first learned about StAR initiative in 2008, while working in Bali as an assistant journalist. StAR named Soeharto the world’s biggest kleptocrat (and longest running head of state compared to others on the list) with $15-35 billion stolen between 1967-98.  Fellow Indonesian blogger patung, blogged about StAR in 2007.

After StAR’s report what has happened? Well aside from Suharto being pardoned by our government due to his declining health (which lead to his passing), not much.

The people still haven’t seen the money being transferred back to the state coffer.  The Soeharto clan receive less media coverage but still filthy rich. Soeharto’s favorite child got back the access to his $61 .7 M which previously frozen in Guernsey due to embezzlement accusation. Time Asia wrote a great piece about the former First Clan back in 1999, and nobody has written better piece after the death of the patriach.

Me, like most of my fellow Indonesians would say that we hope from the best from our government. Politicians’ promises made us hold our breath for so long– too long. Now, we’re in desperate need of the new air, a fresh one.

With Crocs vs. Geckos still going on, change could hardly happen anytime soon, but the good news is the Geckos don’t just stick on the wall and wait around this time. They’re on the street, on Facebook, Twitter, on badges that stuck on bags and collars, on school curriculum. Anti-Corruption awareness is now available online and off. The question is: Will grown ups live up the things they preached to their children?

If they do, then there’s hope that one day Indonesia will stop being a Reservoir Crocs. Heavenly Father help us all, or like most of my fellow Indonesians would say, insya Allah.

The Aïd el kebir a is popularly known as la fête du mouton (literally: celebration of the sheep) here in Morocco. Ironically, no sheep is celebrating, however they are the highlight of the day.

Mutton, mutton everywhere

They’re on motorbike, on big taxi trunks (the white Mercedes taxis), pulled by the horn at Bus terminal, offered by insurance and money lending companies, etc.

Most of our Moroccan neighbours bought muttons few days before the day of sacrifiction, mind you, I live at the tenth floor of a ten floored apartment, so few days before the Aïd celebration, we were surrounded by the baa baa bands (in surround sound).

neighboring rooftop D-1

La fëte de mouton, photo by Vincent Bransiecq, CC-Some Rights Reserved

No elevator = Cardio exercise = not a fan

On D-1, the elevator went bust, exhausted from transporting sheeps and goats to the 10th floor which then to be dragged up to the roof, the temporary barn. The worst day for the 10th floor natives.

Our concierge is taking a long holiday, so for the time being we’re having a new concierge Mr. Stare-a-lot, who multitasks cleaning and prepping the building, sorting out the building’s garbage (the poor guy also deals with animal manure and hay mess on the rooftop), and being day and nightwatchman.

Seasonal businesses

For this occasion, some people set up  tiny cabane de paille in some corners of the busiest streets near Le Marché Badr, selling hays for mutton’s feed. A few meters away from the mosque, a herder selling muttons and billy goats.    Ah…the convenience, ah…. the smells (beurk!).

I love going to the market. I think our nearby wet market is the only original and interesting place to go in the neighbourhood. The market is a lovely extention to the lovely quartier semi-populaire where we live.

There’s Monsieur Legumes, the owner of the veggie stalls (slash his mini-home where he sleeps at night even during winter..) in front of the market, who always call me soeur or sister in French (not so sweet, considering that he’s probably close to 50 year-old, wait does this means that I look old? :’( ).. There’s Thayyeb the go to guy for fresh salade and des herbes fines, Moustapha the meat guy who look more like a surgent or doctor in his white  (occassionally with blood stains) working outfit and glasses, and the gentil Monsieur Boucher with moustache whose popularity on the rise, especially ahead of la grande et petite fête (until now I still don’t understand why Aîd el Fitr is the petite fête – the small party).

D-1, the market was overflooded by nervous customers. Many of them left the market with their hands full, the market empty, and the vendors “nervous”.

I asked Monsieur Boucher moustache why he looked upset, he told me that that before the holiday, everybody wants everything, right now, but no, he’s not upset (though it was obvious by the look that his entourage were trying to keep their distance). Cleaver and anger better stay apart.

Rooftop frenzy

D-day, I tried my best to ignore the noise outside, unfortunately sunny weather made people even happier and excited to be on the rooftop and do what they have to do with the temporary domesticated flock. From the 10th floor the sights are around us. Too gory for me, so I try to keep my mind occupied by other things. It was one of the most moving experience since we arrived in Casablanca. Close to the afternoon the baa baa sound became fader and fader and all gone before sunset.

Bye baa baa, bye. No more sheep on the rooftop for now, just their skins left to dry by some neighbours.

Monsieur legumes told me at D-1 “pour les marocains, la fête c’est la fête.” I thought he meant to say that Moroccans know how to celebrate things in big way, but actually it was his way to warn me. Unfortunately, my tiny expat brain couldn’t understand it until it’s too late.

The aftermath

D+1 going on day+2. Rupture des stocks at the market. The price slightly increase and most stalls didn’t open.

On D+2, Monsieur legumes repeat what his said last Friday, plus apologizing that he had to increase the price of 1,5 kg of veggies by 3 dirhams.

Moustapha told me that he only had some mutton meat for tagine in his storage fridge and nothing else.

No delivery until the delivery truck feels like going back to normal schedule. :’((((((((

Well at least the elevator is fixed. I’m beat from unwanted cardio exercise. The belies will be fed with Telur Balado and dairy rich pasta for the time being.

This post is dedicated to commemorate of Blog Action Day ‘09

Few weeks ago, an earthquake took place in Padang, hundreds were perished perished under the debris, while hundreds more were missing due to landslides triggered by the quake. The area where they built their houses lost most of its forests, so basically there’s so few roots that keep the ground steady. One unfortunate event turn the place they called home into mass graveyard.

People are becoming more and more defenseless at the lashes of natural disasters, especially those who life in island nations. Are we ready to be displaced?

Reports said that climate change could trigger massive human displacement and threatened national stability.

It strikes me, haven’t we all took advantage of the earth? And since everybody’s doing it one way or the other, does it make it okay?

Seriously, the thought was sad.

Here are the realities of our Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world.

Our own water world

We have some of the richest marine biodiversity in the world, yet we benefitour seas by poaching the fishes, use chemicals to make fishing easier, bombed and bleached our coral reefs.

Watching Nemo hundreds of times doesn’t mean that you’re well informed about the ocean and marine biodiversity.

Coral reefs are the lungs of the oceans. In Indonesia coral destructions are massive and this will eventually threaten our marine diversity.

Corals depend on other ocean creatures to stay alive. In many Indonesian waters unhealthy fishing practices caused irreversible damage and disruption to the ocean food chain.

Scissors beat paper, paper beat tigers

Indonesia is (again) listed on Guiness Book of Records  for the highest rate of forest devastation in the world, according to Greenpeace an area of rainforest about the size of Manhattan being cleared on a daily basis. And sadly, even if the government banned timbering altogether (forest moratorium), slowing down deforestation is nearly a mission impossible. Why? Because 90% of the ongoing deforestations are done illegally. See some compelling pictures on The Guardian by clicking here.  You might think, “there’s plenty where they came from”, well to think that is just dead wrong. The world is not getting any younger, and you can’t teach old dog new tricks.

An aerial photo by a French photographer Yann-Arthus Bertrand: Borneo land clearing for palm oil

When we were kids, some of us may know the game rock paper scissors. Well right now it’s rock beats scissors, while paper beats everything, including the endagered wild animals. At least that’s from the environment activists in Sumatra and Kalimantan, where many forests have been transformed, or going to be transformed into industrial forests that produce paper (yes, it includes toilet paper and pocket tissue, our forests go down to the loo so stop eating chilli too often), rubber, and palm oil.

According to Institute for the Studies on Free Flow Information (ISAI), Indonesia has lost 72% of its original forest. Terrible forest management and consession are to be blamed for all these losses.

So what can we do to make things better? You don’t have to do heroic things..

Try small, yet repetitive acts of humility that will go miles.

• When you spend, spend wisely, don’t put your cents to forest destructors.
• Choose budget airlines that concern about carbon footprints.

• Take time to update yourself with what’s happening out there. Be proud of science breakthrough, new species discoveries, support greener technologies. Read, learn, knowledge is power.

• Take your pushbike for a spin, if you happen to live in Jakarta where weekend is the only time to do it, then do it anyway.. Support Car Free Day, Bike to Work initiatives, use common transport 

• Last but not least, ask your leaders both in big league (Jakarta) or little leagues (provinces), questions their policies, ask them to sober up with their forest concession “giveaways”.

In my opinion, Indonesia as a country has bigger problem than poverty, economy – nature preservation. Let’s face it, the axis of our economy is nature.

Our esteemed leaders, your people are the best investment for the country’s future and the world’s.

Please stop fooling yourself by saying that you live in urban areas and far away from the “wild”.

Face it, in one way or many, people contribute to climate change and further devastation of this earth. So let’s start slowing down the destruction and allow the earth to grow back what it needs to remain our host. Because we are all guest on earth, let’s show some respect.

I dedicated this post as part of Zemanta’s “Blogging For a Cause” campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.

Sometimes it’s difficult for any of us to be neutral over some issues around us. But does it mean that we have to pay the ultimate price in order to get our opinion out?

I hate the idea that I have to apply autocensorship each time I blog. I’m a part of a society that had enough from being silenced.

Indonesians used to live in silence under the oppresive New Order regime,  and in the new democratic era we begin to learn not to keep ideas, thoughts, worries to ourselves. Because, seriously, we had enough being told to put our head down and move along. Why keep ideas and opinion to yourself? Channel it healthily and perhaps you can give a significant contribution to the society, for the country.

I’m aware that in many parts of the world there are still people who write down their concern on their personal blogs and ended up being harassed, prosecuted and even jailed. This is not right.

Netizens should not be victimized, the right to speak should be respected. No more censoring our blog posts and stop firewalling us from information that we required.

Global Voices Advocacy aims to raised awareness globally about online freedom of speech.  I vote for GV Advox because their mission is clear – to protect freedom of expression and free access to information online through educational guides about anonymous blogging, anti-censorship campaigns, and online organizing.

or dreamy settings in Morocco..

Many back home are clueless about Morocco. They know very little about it.. Sadly, even now, I know very little about it..

Looks tempting, isn’t it?

That is how the Moroccan board of tourism defines the beauties of the kingdom. And in fact, the country is THAT beautiful. One can’t really be mystified by Moroccan beauties through its big cities, but once you’re out there.. well.. you’re simply want to stay out.

For those who might not “feel” the speechless ad, I’ll write you the intepretation.

*Listen to the soft traditional instrument playing

A man, weary he seems, perhaps he has been living a hard live in foreign continent, arrived in a country where he just want to be away from all things that cause his weariness.

No stranger to rejection, he finds it awkward to find a friendly, almost familial welcome at a riad in Marakesh, one of Moroccan royal cities.

Activities in medina don’t slow down along with the setting sun. At Place Djemaa el Fnaa, as the sunsets, the banquet commence.

….

No news is worse than bad news. It has been few days that I found myself clueless of what to write, what to translate. I guess it’s a good opportunity for me to write more about Casablanca where I currently reside.

Casablanca is young, and it’s still growing. It’s averagely clean (read: cleaner than Jakarta), has that European big city feel, which translates into high-level of stress and high cost of living (this website indicates that it’s costlier to live in Casablanca than in Chicago, US).

In short: It is painfully hard to love the city in long term.

Habbous is perhaps the most interesting neighborhood in Casablanca. It has a lovely souk, known for its week end carpet auction and marché des olives (Olive market).  It’s also known as La Nouvelle Medina (the new city)

The souk is the lair of Moroccan artisans: carpet, babouche (local leather slippers– they came in amazing colors!), wrought iron, even the best (read:tourists’ favorite) Moroccan patissier Beni is there..

various colors and facades of Habbous

I’m a foodie, gastronomy is my achilles heel. I even abide to the rule “if it looks tasty, eat it”.

There’s a group of cafetarias not so far from the souk. This open air cafetarias would make any carnivore belly super pleased..

The cafes are annexed to meat shop, so you choose your own meat and have it cooked the way you want it.

Any parts of cow, chicken, duck, turkey, mutton known to gastronomy lexicon plus more. Check this: they served donkey and camel as well..

I’m not kidding.

Now, I can chuckle on my experience seeing heads (yep, heads..) of camels hung outside of several meat shops with parsley stuffed on their mouths.. but then and there, the sight were enough to make me scream like a teenage girl who finding a huge pimple on her nose at prom morning.

Screamed out and tad hyperventelating, my man and I decided to have veggie tagine on a small snack cafe in one of Habous’ small streets. Our lunch were “less than average”, the cafe was humble (read: under average  Maroccan’s standard of hygiene– yep, we’re all about adventure, baby!).

For that meal for two, the cafe owner dropped the bomb on us and charged us the “special” price of 120 dirhams (about 12 Euro), which is a lot. Just an illustration, a meaty tagine for two in a cafe located in Maarif (Casablanca’s champs elysee)  cost about 70-90 dhs.

Apparently he noted our “touristness”– I look too Asian, Vincent’s too French plus his accent and all.  In many occasions, our appearances seem to cause us being ripped off.

By the end of our lunch, a guy called Nabil (or Nabeel, I’m not sure how to spell his name)– a seemingly MBA (Moroccan Born American), judging from his clear American English, who were seated next to our table, asked Vince if he wants to taste some camel burger. Vince, with gleam in his eyes said “yeeeaaaa”.

Well it looked tasty. Long story short, I took a bite.

If only there’s a competition called “the world’s most jaded look”, I’d walk out of the cafe as the winner.

Tip to all of you who would love to visit Morocco, anywhere in Morocco. Remember to bargain first. This practice is valid whenever you need some items or service. Don’t worry about offending, (most ) Moroccan merchants are happy to know that you’re in the “spirit” of shopping.

Turkey

Read my back..

..said Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan who received hero’s welcome home by about a thousand of Turks.

PM Erdogan, stormed out of the room, sans adieu to world leaders and economic decision makers after a heated debate with Israel’s Simon Peres at World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, never to return.

Aljazeera Reports said that during the debat, Israel’s number one “opened verbal fire” asking what would Turkey do if Istanbul was to have rockets every night.

After failing several times to rebut Israel’s head of state rambling in defense of Gaza attack, Turkish PM finally managed to pawn him. And then, the pissed-off PM stormed out of the room, leaving Davos forum attendees stunned.

“When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill,” said angered Erdogan.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that PM’s has given a necessary response.

Morocco

Regulations for regulators wanted, said parties.

Two Morrocan parties plead a law destined to hamper act of absentism at the parlement — both chamber of representatives and chamber of councelors.

An interesting bit appeared on Aufait, a local francophone daily; given out for free in Casablanca and other big Moroccan cities, Thursday revealed that as many as 70% (perhaps more) parlement members regularly dodge official meetings!

According to a councelor, who requested anonymity, most of the parlement members are “millionaires” who seek a “parlementary titles for benefits”.

“Absentism of the parlement members is a fact reality which reflects their incompetences. Many of them care only to protect their personal interests. And that ruines the image of the legislative institution”, said Youssef Billal, a professor of the political sciences at the Université Mohammed V Rabat, who spoke to Aufait’s stringer by phone.

An official was caught on picture (au fait 14 January, page 2), struggling to solve a numeric challenge… of Sudoku.

The clerics are getting “boo”ed, yet again

Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) held meeting last weekend in West Sumatra and issued on Sunday — seven religious edicts.

Besides ban on abortion, vasectomy, voting abstention during electoral season, marriage with minors if it was proven disadvantagous (I haven’t find explaination to this edict yet, once I do I will totally write about it!), the list of edicts also includes ban on smoking.

The problem is that Indonesia is one of the world’s biggest tobacco market and currently Southeast Asia strongest economy, the ever so thriving industry has contributed much to the country’s economic improvements.

In east Javanese town of Jember, the tobacco demands in 2008 increased to 17,032.18 tons from 14,763.18 tons in 2007, and the tobacco farmers, through Abdurrahman, the head of tobacco farmer’s association expressed their rejection on MUI’s edict. Abdurrahman said to Indonesian News Agency ANTARA that the farmers would not obey the edict and would continue growing tobacco to support their families.

“Haram has a relation to sin and so the mosques built by cigarette factories would also be haram, because they were funded by something haram,” said Syafiq Nashan the head of the ulema in the city of Kudus, a centre for the tobacco industry, as quoted by the British news bureau Reuters.

Amin Suma, chairman of the Edict Commission of MUI said that smoking for Muslims is between `haram`, or forbidden and `makruh`, an Arabic term which basically means that smoking is bad and it’s better that one quits it.

Reuters article indicates that there has been a heated debate during the MUI meeting and in the end they can’t decide whether to categorize smoking as ‘haram’ or the other one.

“Makruh means something that God hates, so how come the ulemas still smoke?”, questioned Fauziah Fauzan, headmistress of the Diniyyah Putri Islamic girls’ boarding school, where the meeting was held, said she regretted the decision.

MUI is the country’s largest Muslim body, it is aware of its strength to steer voices (and sometimes forces) of the Indonesian majority.

Fatwa could never be considered as law in Indonesia, due to the state’s secularity.

After major economic collapse in 1998, finally the small ray of hope of better life conditions growing stonger and stronger.

I strongly feel that MUI is a big party pooper for making the people who involves in tobacco industry to feel that whenever they serve their family and their country well, they have displeased God.

Let’s see: Indonesia is a country of 200-something million population, about 90% of them are Muslims. Despite being crowned Southeast Asian latest economic powerhouse, poverty is still a major issue in the country, counting 34.96 million or 15.42% of the Indonesian population (BPS, March 2008), as mentioned by the World Bank’s website.

MUI counts 700 as members, who said to have acted because some big groups of people asked them to do “the right thing”, and this groups of people belongs to the 90%.

So if they act NOT on the behalf of the people who concerned (read: tobacco farmers, factory workers, etc) because there are some rejections, arguments (even within the body itself), then who did they act for? Who asked them to?

Putting things in mandatory would only extract the elements of education.

I’m pro-health, but I’m also pro-people. If banning of the tobacco was carried out for health-sake, then it’s far better educating people about the hazards of smoking, you know..the good campaign on cause and consequence, and THEN let them assess by themselves and choose what to do.

Or does the MUI feels that Indonesians are mere bunch of astrayed ignorants? And aren’t they Indonesians? From Indonesian families?

Though I’m not Muslim, and currently living abroad, I’m still Indonesian, I love my country and proud of it.

I’m gravely concern of what would the country become in the future when the country’s religious body tries to “purify” the people and the state using God’s name in vain.

The Rohingyas fled their country, fear of their life, in present and future. Hundreds of them aboard fishing boats to find hope in neighbour countries like Thailand and Indonesia.

All of them were born and raised in conflict torn areas in Myanmar.They were beaten and denied citizenship by th Myanmar authorities.

After all those years, they choose to float in the open sea into an unguaranteed hope than to live a definite misery in their native land.

Some five hundred of the Rohingyas were reported missing at the sea, some were dead of hunger, some were gravely ill due to lack of hygiene.

Can their “silent” plea be any louder than this?

Fresh water and a sack of Thai rice

Thai parlement decided to pass the refugee matter to the military who then send them back off shore with fresh water and a sack of rice.

The country is no stranger to ethnic refugees in search of asylum. Yet over the years, it hasn’t seen any improvement in terms of handling asylum seekers or protecting the rights of its own ethnic minorities.

Land of smiles, how Thailand is known for, has been stirred by political and social problems lately– the feisty Samak finally resigned; Abhisit now took office but not like his peeps are going to see the supporters of ex-PM Thaksin sit still and pretty for long; the Muslim region on the south is not getting quieter either, backpacks filled with explosives are still out there trying to make the “difference” (or to prove something); and with global recession, job cuts and other problems are appearing at the horizon of social welfare.

Buddhism is the state religion, however in southern-most province of Pattani lives the Thai-Muslim minority. In this province, bomb threats and explosions are still rampant, carried out from time to time by militants. Patani is poor, perhaps the poorest province in the country. The conditions can hardly change due to the destructive measures carried out by rebel group and little by little the Pattanis bare a status as the country’s “estranged” people.

They have enough problems for one administration already. AFP highlighted last month Thai goverment’s future plan to unveil a new tourism jargon “Apologies Thailand”. Perhaps the jargon will serve as apology of Thai government’s multidimensional oopses.

No room in the archipelago

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago, it has the longest stretch of shoreline in the world, has the richest and most diverse marine reserves on the entire planet; the natural wealth of this country helped it to grow into fourth most densely populated country in the world, and religious freedom made Indonesia the most populous Muslim country.

All that statistic and more: one of the most corrupt countries in the world (has even called the most corrupt in the world, sometimes in the past), fastest deforestation in the planet (gone trees, gone in blink of an eye), its capital Jakarta is the model of Southeast Asian Megalopolis gone horrendous.

Few days ago, Aljazeera news said that the Indonesian government will repel 193  Rohingya boat people, stating that the Rohingyas migrated from their country due to economic reasons, therefore they’re not political asylum seekers.

… (speechless)

As Indonesian, having been raised with “shush!”, “watch what you’re saying”, “and don’t be a smart-ass”, I should be bother to think and feel at all, but sometimes I trully wonder if our officials’ grey matter and  their spirit of humanity align.

Perhaps in front of the Rohingyas, the authorities were subconsciously face to face with the country’s “estranged” people and problems and they did what they wish they could do to state problems — send them all out to the sea.

What about?

It’s about Moroccan international relations with Venezuela and neighbor Algeria.

The relation between Morocco and Venezuela is now far then bed of roses,  about a week or so ago, the administrative capital Rabat officially announced that the kingdom is closing its embassy in Caracas for supporting the independence and foundation of the West Sahara country.

After its independence from Spain, the West Sahara has been administered by Morocco since the 1975,   The kingdom grants an autonomy status to the area.

According to an AP article, Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs hint “growing hostility” of Venezuelan authorities toward Morocco’s territorial integrity, a reference to the Western Sahara, as the main reason of the kingdom’s embassy closure.

Interestingly, an AFP article appeared on Au Fait Maroc said that Rabat’s official source claimed that the closing of embassy is NOT a sign of deteriorating relationship between the two nations.

However, Caracas second that opinion, stating that Morocco’s move was based on “wrong” and “baseless” reasons.

Jillian York who writes for Global Voices Online, compiled the reactions from the blogosphere.

And? What’s Algeria got to do with anything? Well.. The Western Saharawi rebels are backed by the Algeria.

Since 1994, Morocco closed its border with Algeria. About end of 2008, there were some talks about the plan to re-open the borders, but after the thorny situation with Chavezuela, it seems that King Mohamed VI has a change of heart, as reported by the Magreb Arabe Presse.

What’s next for Morocco, Algeria, and Venezuela? It’s a “stand by” and “listen” for the concerned.