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Rabat – Minister of Interior Abdelouafi Laftit will discuss the Rif protests and recent developments on Tuesday, June 6 at the House of Representatives following a request from the Party of Justice and Development (PJD).
“We want to know everything about what has happened in this city and its region, the reasons for the disputes, the protests, but also the proposed solutions and the situation in regards to laws and rights,” said a parliamentary source.
In a written request dated June 2 and addressed to the Minister of Interior at the House of Representatives and Director of the National Security Services (DGST) Abdellatif Hammouchi, the PJD asked for a meeting, under Article 102 of the Constitution, which states that “the commissions concerned in each of the two houses of parliament can ask for a hearing of officials for administration and public institutions, in the presence and under the responsibility of ministers concerned.”
The aim of this request is to “discuss the behaviour of police forces during peaceful demonstrations” which took place in Al Hoceima and neighbouring towns.
Last Tuesday, members of parliament allegedly demanded Laftit’s presence at the chamber to explain the situation in Al Hoceima.
The minister will speak in front of the members of parliament this coming Tuesday, as part of the so-called “emergency” procedure, as is specified under Article 124.
56 people are currently detained due to recent events in Al Hoceima. 31 are under the custody of the National Judicial Police (BNPJ) in Casablanca, whilst the other 25 are held in pre-detention by the public prosecutor’s department in Al Hoceima.
Al Hoceima’s Public Prosecutor is to meet leading activist of the region’s protests Nasser Zafzafi, on Saturday for the first time since his arrest on Monday. Zafzafi has been charged with “obstructing the right of worship” and “undermining state security”, due to interrupting a Friday sermon he found to denounce the Hirak movement.
During the government’s weekly meeting on Thursday, it affirmed it would quicken the pace of its numerous socio-economic projects in Al Hoceima and the wider region. Over MAD 10 billion is to be invested in Al Hoceima and the surrounding area by the Moroccan government in areas including: infrastructure, health, education, agriculture, housing and fishing.
The seven months of protests came following the October death of Mouhcine Fikri, a fishmonger who was fatally crushed in a trash compactor while attempting to retrieve merchandise discarded by authorities.
