By Larbi Arbaoui
By Larbi Arbaoui
Morocco World News
Tinejdad, August 2, 2012
During his interview with Ahmed Mansour on July 25, 2012, Mr Benkirane, the head of the Islamist-led government, and the newly reelected Secretary General of the PJD, stated that all the people who have looted, stolen or misappropriated public funds in the past, will not be brought to justice basing his argument on the Quran verse which reads: “Allah has forgiven what is past, but whosoever commits it again, Allah will take retribution from him.” Surat Al-M?’idah, 95.
Mr. Benkirane, on purpose or ignorantly, has decontextualized the Quranic verse and voided it out from its meaning to give a religious trustworthiness to his discourse.
Benkirane’s recourse to the recitation of some Quranic verses have proved failure to convince Moroccan people that the head government still puts his heart and soul on the concerns and expectations of the majority who gave his party their votes. Instead, the inability to put the slogans held before the elections into actions brought him the rage of the masses and the mockery of the party’s foes in the political arena. Transparency Maroc went on to regard Benkirane’s statements as an official encouragement of impunity and an explicit complicity with the lobby of corruption.
Logically, we tend to pardon and grant our mercy only to those who previously admitted or proved guilty. Religion as well calls for equal treatment for everyone irrespective of their backgrounds, and retribution to those caught red handed. Our question to the Islamic-led government whose political background calls for tit for tat is: do those corrupted people you were talking about before being elected and whom you promised the Moroccan people to bring to justice asked you for pardon in order to grant them your generous forgiveness?
If yes, does the head of government have the legal right to decide who to punish and who to set free? Are not we living in a state of institutions? Mr Benkirane through his statements has gone beyond his powers, as head of the government, and has over-passed the powers of institutions of the State which have the legal authority to determine the criminal from the innocent.
All the promises given by the ruling party to the people have gone with the wind and the Islamist-led government proved its helplessness in fighting corruption and its incompetency to meet the expectations of Moroccans. The excuses of the head of government and his unwillingness “to run after elves” are clear messages to everyone that the government headed by the PJD is unlikely to bring May flowers, but decided to kneel down before the “lobby of corruption”.
Impunity is one of the main reasons that led to the widespread of bribery and corruption in Morocco and law enforcement is not really a matter of choice for any government, but rather a political and moral duty enshrined in the constitution of the country. To regain the trust of the people, the PJD has to be faithful to the national will, which lies in fighting corruption and securing a descent life to every citizen. But it doesn’t seem really hard to tell which way the wind is blowing when you hear such submissive discourse from the head of the government.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy
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