By Napoleon Ato Kittoe
Following the actions taken by the Moroccan Parliament to protest against the resolution passed by European elected representatives a few days ago, expressing concern about freedom of the press and allegations of corruption in Morocco, Moroccan parliamentarians organised, this Wednesday, February 8, 2023, at the headquarters of the Parliament, a conference-debate and information devoted to what it called “the hostile and flagrant attacks” of the European Parliament against Morocco.
On this occasion, the participants in this conference, attended by parliamentarians, representatives of civil society, experts and jurists, declared that “the Kingdom of Morocco, which has all the means guaranteeing and preserving human rights, is not required to provide a certificate of good conduct in this area”.
The speakers also noted that the Kingdom is not under the obligation to justify itself or to prove its innocence, rejecting that Morocco is the object of one-upmanship within the EP.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rachid Talbi Alami, noted the list of allegations is long, as evidenced by the deliberate intention of the sponsors of hostile and detrimental acts in Morocco, stressing that the motives and aims of this aggression are well known since it targets the international positioning of the Kingdom, its economic emergence, and its place on the international and continental chessboard.
Referring to freedom of expression and opinion in Morocco, Mr. Talbi Alami noted that no one can doubt that the Kingdom is a State of law and institutions, a State with an institutional democracy exercised by parties and trade unions through free and fair elections, affirming that Moroccan political formations are as authentic and credible as their European peers.
Mr. Talbi Alami also deplored the “unfounded” judgments of some MEPs who are waging a hostile campaign against Morocco on the basis of erroneous information, unverifiable data from a single source, and unilateral reports drawn up on request.
In addition, the President of the House of Representatives noted that this campaign continued with the reception within the European institution by an isolated group of MEPs of a person who was a supporter of separatism and terrorism, which reflects the double standards of the European Parliament, which welcomes with open arms the Polisario terrorist Sultana Khaya, who does not hesitate to put Kalashnikov on her arms, while Khadijatou Mahmoud, a victim of rape by the mercenary Brahim Ghali, is refused entry to this same European Parliament.
The chairman of the Morocco-European Union (EU) joint parliamentary committee, Lahcen Haddad, for his part, said that Morocco faces a number of MEPs who use the European Parliament (EP) as a platform to attack Morocco in an organised way and with great means.
Mr. Haddad clarified that the Kingdom has no problems with the European Union or with its various structures, but rather with deputies known for their hostility towards Morocco, who have taken advantage of the crisis linked to corruption which is shaking the EP to create a climate of fear within the European Legislative Institution, by pushing it to damage the image and reputation of Morocco in the media and to pass resolutions hostile to the Kingdom. Mr. Haddad noted that 112 questions and 18 attempted amendments hostile to Morocco were raised in the EP in 2022, claiming the existence of a “systematic war” against the Kingdom.
For his part, the president of the Authenticity and Modernity group, Ahmed Touizi, indicated that the European Parliament has become “a platform to attack and provoke Morocco”, noting that there is a Morocco-EU Joint committee that MEPs have chosen to ignore and freeze in order to attack the Kingdom directly.
Mr. Touizi stressed that some MEPs do not seek to defend human rights but to “attack the territorial integrity of the Kingdom”, explaining this hostility by the geostrategic position that Morocco now occupies on the continental level thanks to the enlightened vision of HM King Mohammed VI.
And to add that the EP, which seeks to “blackmail Morocco”, cannot afford to ignore the great advances made by the Kingdom in the field of human rights, knowing that the Moroccan Parliament has adopted legal texts aimed at protecting freedoms and human rights.
This meeting, organized by the two Houses of Parliament, examined the basis of the methodical attacks and false aggressions transmitted by the EP against the Kingdom in a systematic and presumptuous manner.
It brings together MPs, representatives of civil society, experts, and lawyers to discuss the instrumentalization of the human rights issue, the attacks on the Kingdom’s territorial integrity, and the exploitation of the Pegasus case.
The Moroccan Parliament announced on January 23, in a joint statement issued by its two chambers, its decision to reconsider its relations with the European Parliament by subjecting them to a global reassessment in order to take firm and appropriate decisions in the light of the European Parliament’s recent positions on Morocco.
