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The 1971 Moroccan coup attempt or the Skhirat coup d'état (Arabic: محاولة انقلاب الصخيرات, ''Skhirat attempted coup d'état'') was an unsuccessful attempt by rebel military leaders to assassinate King Hassan II of Morocco on 10 July 1971, the day of his forty-second birthday. It was the first of half a dozen other attempted coup d'état during the king's regime. Lieutenant-colonel M'hamed Ababou with, and under the orders of General Mohamed Medbouh, were the main instigators of the attack on Hassan II's summer palace in Skhirat on the Atlantic coast, about south of Rabat, and ordered the seizing of several key places in Rabat in order to establish a republic. The main motive was the unveiling of several occurrences of corruption inside the Moroccan government and royal family. ==Background to coup attempt== At the time, Medbouh was head of the Royal Military Household and commander of the Moroccan Royal Guard. In April 1971 Medbouh went to the United States for medical treatment. He was also officially charged by Hassan II to prepare his visit to Washington D.C. from April 22nd to 27th, but was secretly told he had to conduct negotiations about secret US military bases in Morocco who pay a rent directly into the royal coffers. There, he also investigated why Pan American World Airways had decided against building an Intercontinental Hotel in Casablanca. In California, Medbouh discovered the reason: William P. Rogers, Secretary of State had received a file, from his friend the president of the Pan American World Airways, containing photocopies of letters from Morocco. The company had been asked by Moroccan government officials for sizable "commissions". Indeed, a cleric close to Hassan II, Ben Messaoud, had the forgetfulness to write in black and white: "Should also pay 600 million to the king."〔 On hearing this from Medbouh on his return, the king seized Ben Messaoud (who revealed details on the affair and was released later) and fired four of his cabinet ministers. Some said that the dismissals took place only after the ministers had made enough money from corrupt practices and it was time for others to take their turn. Medbouh felt the dismissals were not sufficient: the ministers should be tried and punished. Medbouh was "disappointed by his king" and "sickened by his country" as he also learned from the same sources in the USA about a huge metal traffic network in Morocco.〔 This was the moment when he considered a putsch. His main task in the putsch was depleting the palace guard. He plotted with Lieutenant-colonel M'hamed Ababou, the commander of the Military Training Academy of Ahermoumou and his elder brother Commandant Mohamed Ababou who were both tasked with investing the palace with their troops and seizing strategic points in Rabat. Mohamed's given mission was raiding the Skhirat palace from the south, which he did without encountering significant resistance.〔 Colonel Larbi Chelouati was another leader, whose role was rallying the entire army, controlling the country, and coordinating the entire operation and radio broadcasts. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1971 Moroccan coup attempt」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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