A memorandum aimed at eradicating all aspects of discrimination against the Amazighs.

The Amazigh people have been settling in North Africa for thousands of years. This area was marked by the arrival of different human communities (the Phoenicians, the Vandals, the Romans, the frenchs, the spanishs…) for colonial, trading, or religious reasons; or in search of a safe refuge. Despite the interaction between the cultures of these communities and the Amazigh culture, the Amazighs have been able to preserve their lifestyle and to maintain their identity. Due to the hegemony of an exclusionary Arabist ideology over the decision making from 1956 to the present time, there has been a rise in the aspects of discrimination against the Amazigh people in Morocco at the levels of legislation and of the state of affairs. 1-At the level of legislation. A-The constitution of Morocco, in its preamble, stipulates that Arabic is the only official language of the state. Tamazight, the native language, has thus been disregarded and flagrantly considered as being non-official. This stand is in contradiction with the international commitments passed by Morocco to promote the culture of human rights namely the recommendations of the world Conference of Vienna in 1993, the World Pact on Education, and the United Nations Resolution 41/187 to recognize the cultural dimension of human rights and to enlarge participation in the cultural life. B-The judiciary, the administration, and other public or private institutions are banned from using the Amazigh language according to a legal article related to Arabization promulgated on 25/01/1965. C- The Amazighs are banned from giving their new born children Amazigh names according to the content of a circular issued by the ministry of interior on 12/05/1997 issued to the walis and governors of the provinces of the kingdom. A circular which rectifies and completes the 6th Article of the Dahir issued on 08/03/1950(…) D-The state of Morocco continues implementing the laws issued during the French protectorate concerning the property of lands, forests, and mines. According to such laws the indigenous tribes are denied the right of the property of their lands and the property of the forests which cover and the mines under these lands. 2- At the level of the state of affairs. A-The media: -The systematic folklorization of the Amazigh culture in the official media; -The timing devoted to Tamazight in the official media is extremely short compared with other languages and cultures; -The Amazigh newspapers are denied any financial support form the state funds whereas the state-backed French and Arabic newspapers are not; -The state of Morocco still continues delaying the coming out of an Amazigh television station; -Faycal El Araichi, the president of the National Company of the Moroccan Radio and Television Stations, has declared his opposition to the use of the Amazigh language as a language of broadcasting in the sports channel created recently. This declaration was during a press conference. B-Education: -The absence of a good will to integrate the Amazigh language in the Moroccan educational system despite the signature of an agreement between the ministry of education and the Royal Institute of the Amazigh Culture concerning this issue; -The scarcity of training sessions for the teachers of the Amazigh language; -Teaching aids and pedagogical supports are not available in the schools in which the Amazigh language is taught; -The scarcity of the Amazigh school textbooks in bookshops; -The scarcity of the pedagogical supervisors concerning the teaching of the Amazigh language; -The discriminating declarations towards the Amazighs by some officials of the ministry of education (the delegates of the ministry in Ouarzazat and Khméssat.) C-The right to a legal personality: The local authorities, the civil state services in different areas of the national territories, and some consulates of the kingdom abroad are still banning the Amazigh families from giving their newborn children Amazigh names. Cases in point are the family of Ouammi in Figuig, the families of Sifaw and Bouhouch in Casablanca, the family of Amir Elidrissi in Rabat, the family of Noumidia Tin Ass in Lille (France), and the family of Aazouz in Beni Tajit… D-The right to Assembly and association: Numerous Amazigh bodies still face blockade or banning by the ministry of interior. The latter withholds the legal depositing receipts from them. Some instances are the Moroccan Amazigh Democratic Party and all its branches, Andaz Amazigh association in El-Hajeb, Imal association in Masst, Izuran association in Lakhssas… E-The right to demonstration and public gathering: -The interdiction of the first conference of the Democratic Amazigh Party in Marrakech on 03/02/2007. For This reason the party held the conference in the street; -The unwarranted interdiction of Afraa association from organizing a symposium on Tamazight and human development; -The violent intervention of the security forces against a spontaneous and peaceful march following the arbitrary interdiction of the symposium of Afraa association with the result being that many demonstrators were subjected to injuries of varying gravity; -The interdiction of Afraa association for culture and art from holding a debate in Agadir about a book entitled “A Kidnapped Without Address” by the Amazigh journalist Said Baji on 18/03/2007. F- The right to a decent life: -The state of Morocco still upholds the policy of marginalizing the Amazigh regions; -The victims of the devastating earthquake which hit Alhuceima city and its vicinities still continue suffering in complete neglect of the state; -The death of many children, elderly people, and women (37 in all); and 15 cases of abortion from severe cold climate and hunger in the areas of Khnifra (Anfgou, Tirghsin, Tighdwin…); -The Amazigh activist and secretary general of the Moroccan Amazigh Democratic Party (PDAM) have been subjected to an assassination attempt in Rabat. G-The rights linked to the land: -The real estate mafias, in collusion with some state services, still continue seizing the lands of the indigenous communities in different Moroccan areas (Ouzgan, Ait Rkha, Khnefra, Mrirt, Tagant, Agadir…). H-The right to freedom of opinion and expression: -The pursuit of the Amazigh activist Abdelaziz Elwazzani (member of the Amazigh League for Human Rights and of Ouzgan association for development) by the real estate mafias following his talk in the international seminar on “The Rights Linked to the Land” organized jointly by the World Amazigh Congress and Ouzgan Association for Development on 10/02/2007; -The unwarranted prosecution of Ibrahim Ouzid, Agraw Amazigh newspaper correspondent and coordinator of the collective of Amazigh associations and activists of the south, following his article published in Annahar newspaper about the indecent living conditions of the inhabitants of the rural commune of Reggada in the region of Tiznit. Demands and recommendations to the state of Morocco: 1-To officially recognize the rights of the Amazigh people by setting up a democratic constitution which acknowledges explicitly the Amazigh dimension of Morocco and the Amazigh language as an official language of the state; 2-To respect the fundamental freedoms, the rights to the freedom of opinion and expression, the rights to gathering and demonstration, and the freedom of movement; 3-To adopt informational, educational, judiciary, and administrative policies based on the equality between the national languages and the respect for the rights of the Amazighs and Tamazight in all aspects of life; 4-To adapt the laws of the civil status to the international conventions and treaties on human rights and lift the ban on Amazigh names; 5-To abrogate all laws and legislations issued during the French protectorate which still take effect and under which the mafias deprive the indigenous tribes of their lands, forests, and mines. 6-To reconsider all national legislations and adapt them to the international conventions on human rights and abolish all legal articles which implicitly corroborate discrimination.