Echoes of the Cold War

On October 29, 1965, the left-wing Moroccan politician Ben Barka was abducted in broad daylight in Paris. According to later revelations, French, Moroccan, and American agents were operating behind the scenes. Now an ambitious investigating judge is reopening the case. By Bernhard Schmid

Perfect timing for attracting the maximum attention – it was the first day of a three-day official visit to Morocco by French President Nicolas Sarkozy when the news broke on October 22. "The French investigating judge Patrick Ramaël has issued international arrest warrants for five Moroccans," the television station "France 3" disclosed.

Accused are high-ranking officials who organized cold-blooded acts of repression on behalf of King Hassan II during the "laden years" of the monarchy – particularly during the cold war.

One of the principal figures involved, General Hosni Benslimane, is still in a position of authority as head of the Royal Gendarmerie, which is even more powerful than the army in Morocco. Thus, it is an awkward situation.

Effectively timed bombshell

In principle, an investigating judge should not make any international arrest warrant public without having asked the Ministry of Justice for permission beforehand. But at the time of the announcement the French Justice Minister, Rachida Dati, was accompanying Sarkozy on his state visit to Morocco.

After this cleverly timed political and media bombshell, Judge Ramaël will still have to obtain the backing of his Ministry, however. And several more weeks will pass before the arrest warrants are actually transmitted – if it even comes to that.

The Moroccan courts, which officially have been investigating the same matter since 2005, have declared that they have no addresses for the persons concerned and thus no arrest warrants could be served.

At first glance, the case seems to be old hat, since the events occurred 42 years ago. In reality, however, it is still loaded with political dynamite – the allegation of direct involvement by the French, Moroccan, and US governments has not been legally clarified to this day.

Cold War and the "Tricontinental"

On October 29, 1965, the Moroccan opposition leader Mehdi Ben Barka was kidnapped in the middle of Paris, in front of the Brasserie Lipp on the chic Boulevard Saint-Germain. Ben Barka, who had founded the socialist UNFP (National Union of Popular Forces) in 1959, had arrived in Paris only a few hours earlier.

The world was in a cold war as well as an anticolonial upheaval – Africa, Asia, and Latin America were rebelling against European oppression.

The Tricontinental was to take place in Havana in January 1966, an international conference at which the national liberation movements of the three continents would discuss development models and strategies. The Tricontinental was dominated by international socialism, and Ben Barka played a key role in its preparations.

Ben Barka was also caught between the fronts in the Moroccan-Algerian conflict. He was in Algiers during the Tindouf War of 1963–64. Official Morocco sided with the Western camp; it stood by France and the US. Algeria was more inclined towards the socialist camp. Ben Barka decided against his native country and supported the Algerian regime during the conflict.

A sham trial with scapegoats

When Ben Barka was abducted in Paris, eye witnesses saw French officials sitting in the car into which the Moroccan was pulled. At a sham trial several months later, a handful of minor figures were convicted in the affair.

On April 17, 1967, less than two years after the kidnapping, the second trial was held in the case. As a consequence, intelligence officer Antoine Lopez was sentenced to eight years in prison and police officer Louis Souchon to six years. The two of them were merely henchmen, however.

Meanwhile, the real perpetrators continued to remain at large and the fate of Ben Barka was never officially clarified.

Ben Barka's whereabouts

In June 2001, however, the former Moroccan agent Ahmed Boukhari divulged the secret. In several interviews and later in the book Le secret, he explained that Mehdi Ben Barka had been flown out from Paris's Orly Airport to Rabat on October 31, 1965.

There he ended up in the torture center Dar el-Mokri, where his body was ultimately dissolved in acid, an event which the former agent said was even recorded on video for King Hassan II.

According to Boukhari, everything took place under the supervision of the CIA agent "Colonel Martin," who Boukhari said had direct access to the Moroccan monarch. Furthermore, this agent had supposedly been present during the CIA's operation in Iran in 1953, when the agency orchestrated the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Mohammed Mossadegh.

Little time remaining

Because of the political involvement of several countries at the highest levels, it is improbable that the courts will be able to fully clarify all the details of the Ben Barka affair. Little time remains, however – many of those responsible are very old, and it is likely that several of them are not even alive any more.

Now, after over 40 years, the investigations are finally gathering momentum. Patrick Ramaël is already the eighth judge appointed by the French to investigate the case. He is apparently the first, however, who is not merely conducting pro forma inquiries but for whom the clarification of this historic affair is a matter of genuine concern.

Bernhard Schmid

Translated from the German by Phyllis Anderson

Qantara.de

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