The official’s statement comes amid controversy after lawyer and politician Mohammed Ziane insulted Morocco’s national security institutions.
Rabat – Central director of Morocco’s Judicial Police Mohamed Dkhissi accused some Moroccans of exploiting the widening margins of freedom and democracy to serve their personal interests.
Dkhissi said some people have taken advantage of Morocco’s improving climate of democracy to undermine the country’s institutions and officials.
He made the remarks during an interview with Morocco’s state-owned TV channel on Saturday.
The top security official addressed recent insults to Moroccan security services, including Morocco’s General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), likely referring to the controversial remarks from lawyer and politician Mohammed Ziane.
On December 3, Morocco’s Interior Ministry condemned “allegations and fallacies” against national security institutions after Ziane called for the dissolution of the DGST and the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN).
Ziane also accused the DGST of disseminating an inappropriate video of him with a woman who is a former police officer.
The interior ministry defended Moroccan security institutions against the “irresponsible statements,” expressing astonishment that such statements came from “persons who are supposed to have a minimum of responsibility and integrity.”
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Dkhissi echoed the interior ministry’s condemnatory message.
“If Morocco has undergone major transformations in the field of rights and freedoms under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, no person can grant himself the right to take advantage of this situation to make defamatory statements undermining people’s dignity,” he said.
The official emphasized the importance of Morocco’s “pioneering model at the regional and international levels in the field of security.”
He recalled international recognition of Morocco’s progress, highlighting the country’s role as a key partner in the fields of counter-terrorism and security, as well as in the fight against extremism.
“Among the priorities of the DGSN there is the strengthening and promotion of international, Arab, and African cooperation, through liaison officers or international organizations, judicial police, or through the Council of Arab Interior Ministers and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,” Dkhissi said.
Officials from Morocco’s government and security institutions regularly participate in international security events to discuss common challenges, including terrorism and the trafficking of drugs and humans.
Morocco has long called for cooperation with neighboring countries and the international community against the scourge of terrorism, particularly in the Sahel region.
The North African country continues to warn that the region is a global hotbed of terrorism, convening several terrorist organizations, including local branches of ISIS and Al Qaeda.
DGSN’s radical changes
In his defense of Moroccan security institutions, Dkhissi also described the “radical change” the DGSN has undergone since 2015 as part of the modernization and mobilization of public police services.
He said the DGSN underwent radical changes at an accelerated pace within the mobilization of police services and the modernization of the institutional structure.
Dkhissi recalled a score of major projects, including the inauguration of new police headquarters, stations, and security districts to meet the high standards for public services.
The official explained that “the profound changes experienced by the DGSN come within the framework of the important strategic transformation that have taken place in all constitutional institutions” since King Mohammed VI ascended the throne in 1999.
