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Rabat – Moroccan social media users launched a petition on Tuesday, calling for the dismissal of the Constitutional Union Party (UC) parliamentarian Khadija Ziyani, following a racist statement she made during which she labeled the Rif population as “Awbash,” or in English “scumbags.”
Following the tragic death of fish vendor, Mohcen Fikri, when he was crushed to death in a trash compactor while protesting the confiscation of his merchandise by the police last week, thousands of outraged Moroccan citizens poured into the streets, calling for justice and the restoration the rights of the deceased.
Emotions have remained high as evidenced by a picture thathas emerged on social media networks, showing a group of protestors carrying a Spanish flag and a photo of Morocco’s Head of government, Abdelilah Benkirane.
Reacting to the photo, Ziyani posted the following remark on her Facebook page, “As far as I see in the picture, King Hassan II was right when he labeled [in one of his famous speeches] the inhabitants of the Rif as Awbach.”
Abdeslam Boutyeb, a political activist and the author of the petition said, “We have collaborated tirelessly for many years as a group, the King and the people, without issue. We have worked honestly for the sake of our home, in order to turn the painful page [on the past] and progress to a future in a homeland which includes every one of us [regardless of our ethnicities].”
“We never thought that one day a politician would issue a statement that would threaten the unity and the stability of the country,” Boutyeb added.
He went on to assert, “Therefore urge the leaders of Ziyani’s party to dismiss her from her role as parliamentarian and charge her with allegedly threatening the unity and stability of Morocco and calling for racial discrimination [between Moroccans].”
Edited by Constance Guindon
