Morocco's human rights advisory council rejects international human rights federation's letter to king Mohammed
Morocco, Culture, 9/21/2001

Morocco's human rights advisory council (CCDH) rejected contents of a letter sent by the International Human Rights Federation to king Mohammed VI and voiced astonishment and indignation over the discourteous tone and the misplaced content of the letter dated August 31.

The CCDH was reacting to the letter by secretary general of the International Federation, Sidiki Kaba, who associated the holding last January in Casablanca of the Federation 34th congress to his personal appreciation of the successful, resolved and serene political transition in Morocco. The Council says the Federation has not come to Morocco to caution anything or anybody but has asked to meet in Casablanca as it found out, like all observers worldwide, that Morocco is resolutely committed to consolidating the rule of law.

The federation letter was related to the case of Moroccan national Ahmed Boukhari, who was condemned by a court for delivering rubber checks, confusing the case with his being a witness in another case.

The Council members voiced astonishment and indignation both by the discourteous tones adopted in the letter and the misplaced content.

"Sidiki Kaba, president of the Federation, took the liberty to recall, with arrogance, the sovereign of his duty to fight impunity and almost ordered the king of Morocco to meet, with the strongest energy and the soonest, requirements of justice and truth. No less surprising is the link established between the holding of the Federation congress last January in Morocco and the federation president's personal appreciation of the political transition that Morocco is undertaking with success, serenity and determination, as Kaba suggests that by holding its meeting in Morocco, his organization has imprudently cautioned Morocco, which is wrong and evidently unacceptable, says the CCDH in a statement.

The council also recalls how since his enthronement, King Mohammed VI has been speeding up this evolution, out of personal faith and by a deliberate and firm choice, concretely meeting requirements of justice and truth in a delicate and sensitive field of human rights violations linked to forced disappearance and arbitrary detention.

The CCDH statement also cites as instances, the creation of an independent arbitration body to compensate victims of forced disappearance and arbitrary detention for the moral and material damages. In some months, 5,000 requests for compensations were submitted and in less than one year, the body handled thousands of requests by extending considerable sums of money as well as social, medical and humanitarian assistance to victims or their families.

The statement further voices astonishment at the request made the organization, which is militating for legality, separation of powers and the independence of justice to king Mohammed VI to interfere in a penal case submitted to a court while appeal methods are open. The federation letter also confuses between the status of a convicted person and the possibility of his being a possible witness in another case while a convicted person, even in prison, can be eventually heard in another legal procedure.

The CCDH describes the federation attitude as unexpected and totally regrettable because it could find out several times on the grounds the freedom and openness atmosphere prevailing in the kingdom. This was the case during the federation congress in Casablanca and following which it expressed satisfaction over the progress and gains in human rights matters achieved by Morocco.

The council concludes that it still adheres to transparency and resolve in setting forth common values shared by all international human rights-advocacy organizations and stresses that commitment for the promotion and protection of human rights is a permanent and daily struggle, as was put by King Mohammed VI.

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