King Mohammed VI: the goal of human rights public hearings is to 'reconcile Morocco to its past'
Morocco, Politics, 1/17/2005

Morocco's King Mohammed affirmed the goal of the public hearings, started last December, and made by the victims of past violations of human rights, is "to reconcile Morocco to its past."

In an interview to the Spanish El Pais daily, on the eve of the state visit King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain will pay to Morocco on January 17 through 19, King Mohammed VI said he was "confident that the objectives of the Justice and reconciliation commission (IER, body in charge of compensating victims) will serve to prepare the future of our children" and that the commission's initiatives aim at "consolidating the kingy and democracy in our country, and to consecrate lastingly Morocco's attachment to human rights universal principals."

The sovereign noted " this is not, as some people claim, an initiative that will divide Morocco in two camps. There will be no judges and no persons standing trial. This is not a court. The objective is to examine, without any complex and any shame, this page of our history, as a starting point to move forward in the best conditions."

In this respect, the sovereign deems it is time to say to those "who have nothing to do with real militancy" who made "of human rights a business" and who want to "prevent us from working, moving forward and meeting the aspirations of Moroccans" that "we have to go ahead," "now that the problem is being settled, We no longer have any complex in this field" On the reforms initiated in his reign, the King noted that the adoption of a new family code, largely covered by the foreign media, is not the only reform which has been undertaken. Reforms encompass the electoral code, the labour code, as well as rehabilitating the Berber culture and restructuring the religious field, the sovereign added.

King Mohammed VI, who stressed that any reform should be undertaken timely, sees that the family code has a particular importance, for it is "abnormal that women who make up more than half of the population be marginalized in society.

To a question on whether Morocco could become a parliamentary monarchy like the European countries ones, King Mohammed underscored that

the model of European monarchies should not be transposed. "We have our own specificities and duties that define the path to follow in the future," added the King.

However, "our Constitution is not frozen. In the past 40 years, we had four constitutions and several amendments," The sovereign added.

Previous Stories:
  IER delegation visits old detention center in Casablanca   (1/15/2005)
  Draft law on political parties 'crucial' to rationalize political life, CMDH   (1/11/2005)
  Moroccan human rights organizations in Europe welcome results of meetings with authorities   (12/31/2004)

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