Open Letter To Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Herman VAN ROMPUY, Jose Manuel Barroso, And Members of the European Parliament
To the attention Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain and President of the European Union;
Herman VAN ROMPUY, President of the European Council
Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission
And Members of the European Parliament
Subject: Imazighen (Berbers) and neighborhood relationship under the “advanced status” granted to the Kingdom of Morocco by the European Union
Dear Mrs. Presidents,
Dear Honourable Members of the European Parliament,
The European Union, under the presidency of the Spain, will hold its first official summit with the Moroccan government about the neighborhood relationship under the new "advanced status" granted to the Kingdom of Morocco on March, 7-8, 2010, in the city of Granada, Spain.
The agreement was ratified in Luxembourg in October 13, 2008, and has substituted by the agreement established between Morocco and European Union in March 2000.
This Agreement constitutes, without any doubt, a great opportunity to the Moroccan State whose fate is tied more than ever to that of European States where more than three million of Moroccan citizens are living. A landmark agreement which could encourage the South-Mediterranean countries to initiate major reforms and consequently lead to improving the living of millions of Moroccan citizens, particularly those who are most marginalized and among them the majority is Amazigh population. The agreement has raised great hopes for Moroccan people because it’s done in the context of strengthening democracy and human rights in Morocco. The agreement states explicitly in its Article 17: "The European Union considers that the implementation of all recommendations of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (ERC) will allow Morocco State to consolidate the gains and progress in the introduction of a new culture of respect and promotion of human rights. The EU welcomes the opportunity to accompany the implementation of certain recommendations of the ERC through two programs launched in 2006 and 2008. An independent and transparent judiciary is a challenge for the completion of a democratic State with the rule of law... In the Article 20 of the status: "The EU reiterates its commitment to respect human rights and international humanitarian law in the fight against terrorism. Failure to comply with internationally accepted standards on human rights may affect the legitimacy of our actions. The fight against terrorism and respect for human rights are not contradictory but rather complementary and mutually reinforcing.”
But the Amazigh World Congress (AWC) would like to assure you that, unfortunately, the Kingdom of Morocco does not give much importance to the commitments agreed under “the advanced status” such as respect and promotion of human rights. Morocco State doesn’t stop violating explicitly the fundamental rights of Moroccan citizens in general and particularly those of Amazigh populations.
Since the signing of this "advanced status", respect for human rights by Moroccan State Authority agents and government institutions are only getting worse and worse. We are honored, therefore, to list here some examples:
- The Amazigh Names continue to be subjected to arbitrary prohibition. The father of a child named “Sifaw”, Mr. Driss Bouljaoui, was subjected to humiliation for months by the Moroccan judiciary system until the Court of Appeal of Rabat gives him right in January 6, 2010;
- Condemnation of Amazigh students with severe penalties without any evidence or credible witnesses. The Amazigh students, Oussaia Mustapha and Hamid Adouch were subjected to physical and psychological torture and are currently jailed in the prison of Sidi Said in Meknes after unfair trial and prefabricated charges against them, where a woman with a criminal history testified against them. The women confessed in open court for its good cooperation with the police! Recently, in February 15, the authorities have arrested and jailed another student named Lahcen Oukhizou;
- The collective-owned lands of Amazigh tribes are subject to an unreasonable expropriation by the Moroccan authorities. Examples abound everywhere: in Chtouka Ait Baha in the region of Sousse, Azaghar in the town of Hammam in the Middle Atlas, Azrou, Sefrou, Lakbab…;
- The ban of a single Amazigh political party, namely the Moroccan Amazigh Democratic Party (MADP). The Court of Appeal of Rabat has prohibited the MADP on January 13, 2010, a date corresponding to the first New Year day in Amazigh calendar 2960, a clear political trial and discrimination against Amazigh populations. However, the Moroccan justice allows the "Arabic" minority to create racial parties based on "Arabism" and religious but excludes Amazigh people that constitute the majority of Moroccan citizens to have their own parties;
- Prohibition of peaceful demonstrations organized by Amazigh activists and Amazigh students, ban of Amazigh Association creation of like the Tifawin Association in Midar, brutal repression of graduates unemployed sit-ins as those organized in Nador, Tiznit, and Ait Bou Ayache;
- Futile against Amazigh activists. We quote here the Economist Toufali Tahar, former Mayor of Ait Chichar, who was imprisoned as punishment for his denunciation of the local authorities complicity with national and international drug smugglers forecasted on M6 French television, bullying parent of Amazigh activist Karim MASLOUHI, conviction of other Amazigh activists in the locality of Taghjijt, province of Tiznit (Bougfou Abdellah Ahmed Habibi, Selami Abdelaziz, Mohamed Chouas, Elbachir Hazzam and Ladib Boubker), deportation of our representative Tuareg Ousmane Ag Mohamed and his family without judicial decision;
- Futile attacks and malicious hatred of the Imams, employees of the Moroccan Ministry of Islamic Affairs, against the Amazigh Movement in Kenitra, in Sale at the mosque of Al Karia, Alhoucima, and Nador;
- Amazigh artists are no longer safe in Morocco, imprisonment of Yuba singer live and work in Germany at the prison Inzgane Agadir on February 1-12, 2010;
- Destruction of the Amazigh heritage: destruction of prehistoric tombs in many cities such as Tata, Mazamma, Alhoceima, and the destruction of Almohad historical wall in Rabat;
As you can see, the list is very long and condemns the government and the institutions of the Moroccan State which stubbornness go against "the direction of consolidation of the rule of law, protection of the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as stated under the "advanced status" which is granted by the EU to the Kingdome of Morocco.
The AWC inform you so that the money of EU citizen taxpayers, which fund most of the advanced status agreements with the Moroccan State, are not diverted from the purposes which are formulated in the ratified agreement, namely the strengthening of Democracy, reforms of the Constitution and good governance. We are sure that you cannot tolerate that European subsidies are misused to build Police States or dictatorships. You have all the power to compel the Moroccan government to respect individual and collective rights of Moroccan citizens in general, and particularly those of indigenous citizens, the Amazigh people.
The aim of repeated visits of our delegations to your great institution, the European Parliament, is to ask you, as representatives of European citizens, to compel the Moroccan State and its government to really respect, on the ground, what has been recommended in the declaration of the “advanced status” granted by the European Union to the Kingdome of Morocco and ratified at the Seventh Session of the Association Council in Luxembourg, October 13, 2008. We ask you to compel the Moroccan State to really show respect the roadmap and implement all recommendations of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (ERC). Namely: "I-consolidation of constitutional guarantees of human rights, including the inclusion of the principles of rule of international law of human rights on domestic law, the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial,... The ERC also recommends the strengthening of the principle of separation of power and the constitutional prohibition of any interference by the executive in the organization and functioning of the judiciary. It recommends clarifying the constitutional text, the content of freedoms and rights relating to freedom of movement, expression, demonstration, association, strike... and those principles such as the secret correspondence, the inviolability of the home and respect for privacy. The ERC also recommends strengthening the constitutionality control of laws and autonomous responsibility regulations of the executive, by including in the constitution the right of a litigant to invoke an exception of unconstitutionality of a law or self regulation. Like the constitutional standing prohibition of the unique party, the ERC also recommends the prohibition of enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, genocide and other crimes against humanity, torture and all cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and prohibiting all forms of discrimination internationally prohibited, and any form of incitement to racism, xenophobia, violence and hatred. II-The adoption and implementation of an integrated national strategy to fight against impunity. The ERC believes that the eradication of impunity requires, in addition to legal reforms, the development and implementation of public policies in the areas of justice, security and maintaining order, the education and permanent learning and an active involvement of the whole society. This strategy must be based on international law of human rights in carrying out the harmonization of criminal law with international commitments, III-The RMI believes that the consolidation of the rule of law requires further reforms in the field of security, justice, law and criminal policy. Thus, its recommends: The governance of security institutions... and the strengthening of the independence of justice.. ". In addition to the recommendations of the ERC, the Amazigh people require, peacefully and democratically, the constitutional recognition of their language "Tamazight" as an official language and the transition from centralized State to "the status of autonomous regions”.
The Amazigh World Congress is asking for your kindness and your intervention to end the abuses suffered by Imazighen (Berbers) and asks you to conduct an inquiry on the ground on these serious violations of individual and collective rights of Amazighs in Morocco.
Yours faithfully,
Signed: Rachid Raha
President for Europe of the Amazigh World Congress