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Rabat – Atajdid Atolabi (the Organization for Student Reform), the student wing of the Islamist Unity and Reform Movement (MUR), has said it is ready to take part in pro-Rif protests.
The student wing with ties to the government-leading Justice and Development Party (PJD) published a statement on Friday declaring itself ready to take part in demonstrations against “injustice” and show support for “all forms of peaceful protests.”
Tensions are still high in the Rif, as security forces tried on Thursday to shut down demonstrations, resulting in clashes with local young activists. Atajdid denounced the government’s treatment of the protests.
“[The Rif protests] have been dealt with in a hit-and-miss and confused way,” the student wing. “Security approach is getting the upper-hand, while protesters have been criminalized through the instrumentalization of Friday sermon. The culmination of all this was the chilling mass of arrests against activists, many of whom are accused of heavy charges, thus making the situation in the region even tenser.”
The organization said the state has hesitated in pursuing reforms and ensuring “dignity, freedom and social justice” for citizens, instead “undermining the trust in the Moroccan model, which exposes our country to a great danger, which requires from everybody, and the state in the first place, to act with rationality and seriousness.” They called for dialogue between “credible institutions and personalities” to resolve the current crisis in Al Hoceima.
The Islamist student movement urged the state to release detained activists and meet the demands of the population in the Rif.
The communiqué also brought up the issue of the detained members of PJD’s Youth wing, accused of praising terrorism. Atajdid called for their immediate release.
The members in question were arrested for allegedly praising terrorism due to Facebook posts cheering for the assassination of Russian ambassador in Turkey in December 2016.
