Morocco: “We’re a plane without a pilot,” frets a Moroccan official- Take a look into Infobae, The Economist articles
BY: Hana Saada
ALGIERS– The prominent Argentine journalist and political analyst, Gustavo Sierra, with 35-plus years of experience in the profession, wrote an article in Spanish, entitled: (El rey que no quiere ejercer el poder y pasa los días entre fiestas y luchadores de artes marciales mixtas), or “The king who does not want to exercise power and spends his days between parties and mixed martial arts fighters”.
In this article, the journalist relied on information reported by numerous media outlets, of which he quoted three (Barlamane, Hespress and The Economist), compiling the escapades of Mohamed VI and his dubious relations with the Azaitar brothers.
After recalling his first years as king of Morocco, the Argentine journalist is surprised that “suddenly, about three years ago, when he was over fifty, he began to behave like an adolescent, and he has ceased to exercise all power over the Makhzen and the country”.
Stigmatizing this irrational behavior, Gustavo Sierra then referred to the year 2022, when “the monarch spent more than 5 months in France, filming outings that were a hit on social networks”. He also reported that “when Mohamed VI is in Morocco, he spends all his time partying at the royal palace with his new friends, the Azaitar brothers, Germans of Moroccan origin, mixed-martial arts champions” .
In a related context, the Economist website tackled this dubious relationship. “Five years ago, an unusual image appeared on Instagram. It showed Mohammed VI, the 54-year-old king of Morocco, sitting on a sofa next to a muscular man in sportswear. The two men were pressed up next to each other with matching grins, like a pair of kids at summer camp. Moroccans were more accustomed to seeing their king alone on a gilded throne,” said Nicolas Pelham.
And to add: “The story behind the picture was even stranger. Abu Azaitar, the 32-year-old man sitting next to the king, is a veteran of the German prison system as well as a mixed martial arts (MMA) champion. Since he moved to Morocco in 2018, his bling-filled Instagram feed has caused the country’s conservative elite to shudder. It’s not just the flashy cars; it’s the strikingly informal tone in which he addresses the monarch: “Our dear King,” he wrote next to one photo of the two of them together. “I can’t thank him enough for everything he has done for us.”
Back to infobae’s article, the writer pointed to the very noticeable absence of the king, in particular during official events, recalling that “he has not reappeared in public since December 2022 on the occasion of the reception ceremony of the national football team.”
As part of his incomprehensible behavior, Mohamed VI, the journalist recalled, did not grant audiences to ‘illustrious and high-ranking guests to the kingdom, including Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.” Subsequently, a former senior official told a journalist from The Economist: “We are an unmanned plane”.
Nadir El Khayat and the Azaitar brothers
The diatribe of the analyst against the monarch continued, reporting that the courtiers, those close to the Makhzen, and the entire Moroccan people are ‘desperate’ and “attribute a large part of the neglect, which resulted in insufficient jobs, soaring inflation, and oppressive security services, to Nadir El Khayat,” more known as RedOne, a former singer of Moroccan origin, and a producer of Lady Gaga. He encouraged King Mohamed VI to ‘break free’ by organizing parties at the royal palace, which, according to rumors reported by Spanish media, contained real orgies with many men and a few women. The journalist noted that Nadi El Khayat introduced the Azaitar brothers to the king and, since then, “they have been inseparable”!
According to one of Mohammed’s childhood friends, stressed the Economist, on its part, RedOne brought Abu Azaitar to Morocco and introduced him to the royal entourage.
“From this point onwards, Abu’s matches grew rarer. He seemed to prefer the palace to the ring. Mohammed reportedly took Abu and his brothers cruising on the Lusail, the Qatari emir’s yacht, and partied with them in the Seychelles. According to a report in the Spanish media, he lent them his own private jets. The Azaitars opened a fast-food joint in the king’s luxury new development, Tangier’s Marina Bay. Mohammed even sent his son and heir, Hassan, to munch on their burgers at the opening. Abu had the royal coat of arms sewn into his garments. According to a report in the Moroccan media, if anyone stopped him, he called himself “nass dial malik” (one of the king’s people),” noted the Economist’s article.
Gustavo Sierra then listed the extraordinary privileges enjoyed by the three Azaitar brothers who live in the palace as managers of the king’s physical activity ( as personal trainers), including, among others, unlimited use of the crown’s flashy sports car collection, unrestricted travel during the pandemic, as well as concluding business contracts with big corporations, like McDonald’s.
That’s not all, since the journalist reported, based on a report from the electronic news website Barlamane, that “the Azaiter brothers constitute a real “time bomb” by their notorious behavior and the signs of opulence they show, damaging the credibility of the country.”
Indeed, it is underlined, the three brothers are accused by the German police of offenses related to “computer fraud, driving without a license, harm to physical integrity resulting in permanent incapacity, drug trafficking, robbery, forgery, and resistance to law enforcement”.
The Economist’s article reported that “Makhzen insiders and courtiers started to complain that Abu and his brothers acted as if they were royals themselves.” “They treat provincial governors like their drivers.”
Absence at the palace and elsewhere
The Argentine writer referred to the king’s long absence as he did not receive ambassadors presenting their credentials nor attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II or the Arab League summit in Algiers. More surprisingly, he did travel to Qatar to support the Moroccan national team.
In fact, the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, spends most of his time in France or Gabon, where he owns luxurious palaces and buildings. In this vein, Gustavo Sierra recalled that Mohamed VI is the fifth richest monarch in the world, according to Forbes magazine.
The writer concluded by saying, “The king’ son is already enjoying certain royal prerogatives” . And to wrap up: “For the moment, Mohamed VI is still on the beach in Gabon with his three friends, the three fiery Azaitar brothers, listening to rap music”!!!
For his part, the Economist’s writer said, in this vein: “Sometimes he (the king) cloisters himself with the brothers in a private ranch in the Moroccan countryside. Sometimes the group escapes to a hideaway in West Africa. When Gabon palls—”so boring, there’s a beach but nothing else to do,” moans one member of the entourage—they descend on Paris. One former official estimates that the king was out of the country for 200 days last year.
Parts of the text were translated from La Patrie News website:
/https://lapatrienews.dz/maroc-un-pays-a-la-derive-et-sans-pilote-estime-un-grand-journaliste-argentin/
Link to the Argentine writer’s article:
Link to the Economist article:
https://www.economist.com/1843/2023/04/14/the-mystery-of-moroccos-missing-king
