Adonis Diaries

Story of Mehdi Ben Barka: The Moroccan assassinated leader

Mustafa Alaoui, the current dean of Moroccan journalists, published the French book “The Journalist and the Three Kings“. The story of the assassinated Moroccan leader was related in the book.

“My first encounter with Mehdi Ben Barka in the 50’s was in a packed waiting room, and I was the youngest journalist who published a daily. Mehdi ordered me to sit down as he stood all the time: He was conscious of his short stature and felt more comfortable with people as tall as he was.

Ben Barka was the math teacher of prince Hassan II since 1942 and had convinced the monarch Mohamed 5 to open the public schools to girls in 1943.

Via phone calls, this leader Ben Barka teleguided armed groups disseminated all over the country. The chief of police was at his order, same as most directors in public institutions and most dailies.

When in public political positions, Mahdi kept 20 phone lines constantly active: He would communicate with 3 persons simultaneously, dictate an editorial, follow-up on the activities of his party, and receive information on European political parties, all virtually in the same time.

Mehdi was chairman of the constitutive assembly (Parliament) and earned this position hands down. One of his multiple plans was to mobilize the youths and mining their potentials in order to counter the well-rooted party of Istiqlal (Independence).

Ben Barka, one of the main founder of the Istiqlal party was about to split from this largest political party in January 1959 and form the Unity party as he declared that the Resistance Liberation Army should not be taken for granted as the property of the Istiqlal but belonging to the people.

To Ben Barka, the cadres of the Istiqlal were cooperating too closely with the French mandated power and practically maintaining and sustaining the standing power of the colonial power in the administration and management of the public institutions.

For example, the government of moderate Bekkay, the guarantor of a progressive evolution as stipulated in the Aix-les-Bains treaty, was politically crushed by Ben Barka. Mehdi was in the center of the news of national political events in 1958.

The project of the Unity, supported by the prince Hassan 2 and who will succeed his father King Mohamad 5, assembled 15,000 young citizens, cadres from the army who crisscrossed the country side in working attire and taking meals under tents. Ben Barka was the Secretary general while Hassan 2 was the behind the scene leader.

In the 1958 congress held in Tangier, Mehdi was received by Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser as the leading revolutionary of the north African (Maghreb) independence movements.  France saw red, especially that Mehdi was proclaiming that Morocco is Arabic, Islamic, and a Constitutional monarchy.

Ben Barka had his circle of journalists and authors that met regularly in Rabat: He took advantage of these gathering to dictate editorials in various dailies. Prince Hassan imitated Ben Barka and would meet with same circle an hour later.

In 1960, Oufkir, chief of intelligence services, arrested the director of the Unity daily Mohamaed “Fqih” Basri, and summoned to justice Youssoufi. Ben Barka got the message and he exiled himself to France.

I met mahdi in Geneva during the negotiation of Algeria and france for independence. Mahdi was the brain whispering in the ear of Karim Belkacem,  head of Algeria delegates, during a TV press conference.

I again met Mahdi in the airport of Orly. I was carrying a little book on Portugal’s dictator Salazar. Mahdi said: “Are you already reading the life of your absolute monarch Hassan II?”

During a Mediterranean conference in Nice, we were approached by the Israeli Avner, supposedly the Dean of political sciences at the Univ. of Haifa. Avner extended an invitation to Mehdi to visit the university. Mahdi declined but encouraged me to jump on the occasion: “A journalist has to listen directly to all parties and see the world: the professional journalist has to set aside ready-made principles and catch the reality of facts and events…”

The brother of Mehdi, Abdelkader, recounts that after the events of March 1965 in Casablanca the ambassador in Paris, the cousin of the monarch Moulay Ali, demanded that Abdelkader visit him promptly from where he lived in Frankfort.

Moulay Ali told him: “Tell your brother Mehdi that the monarch needs to resolve an equation and he doesn’t need any intermediaries.”

Mehdi was in Cairo and responded: “Moulay Ali is a nice guy. I have no response for him”. In the meantime, Hassan 2 had extended an amnesty to political prisoners. Thus, Mehdi relayed to Moulay Ali that he will meet him in Nice in 10 days after he returns from Algeria.

The meeting took place in April 25. Mehdi said that he feared for his life from the high-ranking army officers. Hassan 2 decreated in June 4 the State of Exception which freed Mahdi’s comrades. The monarch met with the freed opposition leaders, sending the signal for forming a unity government. This sent the message for Mehdi to return from his exile.

Oufkir and the secret services were kept in the dark of the monarch’s two key decisions and they had to react quickly.

Mehdi wrote a letter to his wife Ghita in May 3:

“The monarch is apprehensive for his life and throne after the Casablanca events. He is trying to open up to the opposition. He wants to let us in his political game, but practically we will be kept hostage to this bunch of opportunists and traitors. We are demanding a contract, valid for 2 years, that guarantees from false promises.

Fact is, the position of the monarch is still not clear and the army, which accumulated wealth from the French colons, is not about to relinquish its privileges…”

Apparently, Jacques Foccard, general secretary to President de Gaulle, and the minister of the interior Roger Frey had planned with Oufkir the kidnapping and assassination of Mehdi. These French politicians have been involved in previous covert operations in Morocco, Algeria, Congo, Viet nam, Tunisia… and had their own personal agenda and views on the role of France in the previous colonies.

My impression is that Hassan 2 caved in to the comploters in order to maintain temporarily his throne, pending better opportunities to strengthen his power.

Ben Barka was born too early: he was so active and engaged that he couldn’t find enough dedicated and qualified people to keep up with his work pace.

The assassination of Mehdi made strong waves and the case lasted for decades and precipitated drastic reforms in France and the curtailment of the French secret services that were getting out-of-bounds and forming their own clubs of power.

Note: Oufkir perpetrated a military coupin 1971 against Hassan 2 who was returning from France. The monarch plane was intercepted and shot by a military jet. Hassan 2 played the dead by demanding the pilot to say it on the intercome. This move prevented a second missile to be launched. As the monarchsafely landed, the coup was foiled.