US Ambassador on Expulsions

Samuel Kaplan, the United States Ambassador to Morocco, sent out this email yesterday:

Warden Message- Expelled Americans
March 11, 2010

Dear Fellow Americans,
The events of the last few days are undoubtedly of concern. As most of you already know, a number of Americans have been expelled from Morocco. Many of those expelled were long-time Moroccan residents.

While we have not communicated with each person who was expelled, we believe that, in each case, alleged proselytizing is the Moroccan government's stated reason for such action.

My colleagues and I have been continuously in touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express our dismay over the action taken. We have not disputed or questioned the laws of Morocco. While the Moroccan Constitution provides for the individual right to practice one's religion, proselytizing is strictly prohibited. Rather, we have expressed, in the strongest possible terms, our distress over the manner in which the expulsions were carried out.

The refusal of the Government to grant a hearing where the affected parties could be heard violates fundamental rules of due process.

Moreover, the failure of the Government to grant an appropriate period for those expelled to attempt to put their affairs in order is neither fair nor excusable. In addition, the potential harm to those left behind is obvious and real.

We do not seek to alter the laws of Morocco. We need to be assured that our citizens are treated in accordance with universally accepted standards of fairness. I will continue to monitor this situation, and will speak out for the interests of American citizens.

The U.S. Embassy in Rabat is located at 2 Avenue Mohamed El Fassi and can be reached at 0537-76-22-65. Consular Services are located at the U.S. Consulate General in Casablanca at 8 Blvd. Moulay Youssef.

Should you have questions, I urge you to contact our American Citizens' Services Unit at the U.S. Consulate in Casablanca at 0661-79-70-00 Monday through Friday from 8 AM until 5 PM. After hours or on weekends, please call 0661-17-23-67

Sincerely,

Samuel L. Kaplan
Ambassador

Notice that he does not take issue with the charge of proselytism, which the long time residents of The Village of Hope do dispute. The families assert that they did teach the Koran as required by Moroccan law and culture. They further state that they never hid the fact that they were a Christian organization and that the children naturally took part in their Christian activities. On repeated occasions, The Village of Hope passed inspection by the Moroccan authorities.

It is becoming clearer and clearer that the serious issue in this case is due process of law. The laws were not consistently applied, and excessively severe measures were taken. If there had been consistent standards throughout the process, either The Village of Hope would not have been allowed to be established in the first place or certain activities would have been curtailed since the refounding of the orphanage over 10 years ago. Furthermore, if there had been due process of law, the families would have been allowed a hearing in a court of law or in a real public forum before their exportation.

None of these possibilities occurred.