Press freedom is sacred but interview with separatist leader not justified, press union says
Morocco, Culture, 4/21/2000

Following the government's ban of two Moroccan weeklies which published an interview with leader of the separatist group "Polisario," the Moroccan press union "SNPM" renewed that press freedom is sacred and should be handled with maturity to preserve this asset.

The union says "the interview of the mercenaries' leader cannot, politically, professionally and morally, be justified."

The union, which held on Wednesday a meeting to look into responses to the interview, renewed its unwavering position regarding the press freedom and recalled its proposals for a reform of the press code that should restrict the use of administrative procedure in the press and publishing matters. It also noted that the government's statement announcing the banning of the two publications refers to the editorial line, which is an unacceptable interference in professional practice.

For the government's spokesman, Khalid Alioua, the measure against the two publications, Le Journal and Assahifa, owned by the same firm, is actually meant to draw the attention of media professionals that, like other countries, Morocco has principles that should be respected.

He explained that the Moroccan constitution stipulates that the Islamic religion, the constitutional monarchy and the territorial unity are intangible principles.

Last Saturday, the communication ministry announced that the prime minister has given orders to ban entry to Morocco of the latest issues of Moroccan weeklies "Essahifa" and "Le Journal," printed abroad, for containing an interview with the leader of the separatist Polisario gang.

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