IThere are red lines that cannot be crossed. Aziz Ghali, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), has just trampled on them with disconcerting lightness. In a media outing this weekend, he pleaded for a self-determination referendum in the Moroccan Sahara. A position which borders on provocation and aligns the association he represents with the theses of the Polisario separatists.
Indeed, in a recent podcast with Talks 2, Ghali bluntly expressed his opposition to the Moroccan autonomy initiative, yet internationally hailed as the only realistic and credible solution. He preferred to agitate the chimera of a referendum, an idea buried for years by the very impossibility of its implementation. “Regarding the Sahara affair, we defend a negotiated solution which excludes the Moroccan proposal for autonomy.” These remarks, far from being a simple discrepancy in language, are similar to an assumed position against the territorial integrity of Morocco. And this, under the cover of a defense of human rights which fools no one.
This public outing is part of a series of tendentious statements which question the real independence of Ghali and the AMDH in the face of foreign agendas. Rather than tackling the real issues, such as the rights of the Saharan populations in the Tindouf camps, Ghali chooses to relay theses which divide and weaken national unity.
The Gdim Izik affair, mentioned in his speech, clearly illustrates this double discourse. Aziz Ghali seems to forget the violence committed against the police, where 11 agents lost their lives in atrocious conditions. He minimized these acts and justified them under the guise of human rights. Rights which, it must be remembered, cannot be negotiated. They include the right to life, dignity and security. The President of the AMDH therefore proves incapable of honoring the principles he claims to defend.
An AMDH losing its bearings
The AMDH, once respected for its role in defending human rights, now appears to be moving away from its initial objectives. Under the presidency of Ghali, it gives the impression of favoring ideological battles to the detriment of the concerns of Moroccans. This shift only reinforces the feeling of disconnection between the association and the realities on the ground.
The Ghali chapter, as noisy as it is, must not distract attention from the essential: the construction of an inclusive and resilient Morocco, where human rights are not slogans, but a reality experienced by all. As for the AMDH, sooner or later it will have to face this crucial question: does it want to continue on the path of ideological isolation, or return to becoming the strong and credible voice that it once was?
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