19/06/05
Claiming that the monarchy is not suitable for Morocco is absolute nihilism,” said on Friday the leader of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) in a statement to the Moroccan French-language weekly newspaper Maroc Hebdo International.
Saadeddine El Othmani, Leader of the Justice and Development party
Saadeddine El Othmani whose ‘moderate' party is represented in parliament, was reacting to a recent interview granted to the weekly Al Ousbouya Al Jadida by Nadia Yassine, daughter of the leader of the unauthorized movement Al Adl Wal Ihsane (Justice and Charity), Abdessalam Yassine, in which she said that she preferred the republican regime, claiming that the monarchy system no longer suits Morocco.
“These are irresponsible statements,” said El Othmani. “Everybody should bear their responsibilities, and stop creating fake problems.”
We “should work to achieve the projects that are underway today,” he said, noting that “Moroccans cannot engage in sterile and detrimental debates,” since they have made the choice of monarchy “twelve centuries ago”.
The party leader also voiced hope that “Nadia Yassine's statements do not reflect the position of Al Adl Wal Ihsane movement. “Otherwise, that would be serious,” he said.
Since the publication of Yassine's statements, the Moroccan civil society, political parties and the local media, including Islamist ones, voiced unanimous condemnation of such statements that “oppose the beliefs” and the “choice” that Moroccans have opted for since many centuries.
The Minister of Communication, Spokesperson of the government, Nabil Benabdellah had said, early this week, law will be applied “against those who misuse the atmosphere of democracy and freedom, to which Morocco has committed, to damage the institutions and the sacred values of our country.”
Nadia Yassine and the director of Al Ousbouia Al Jadida, Abdelaziz Koukas, will appear before court on June 28 in relation with these statements.