Morocco: the Moroccan Parliament rejects the "interference" of the European Parliament
Moroccan MPs from both chambers of parliament take part in a joint session in the capital Rabat, January 23, 2023. Moroccan lawmakers have unanimously rejected a non-binding text from the European Parliament adopted on January 19, urging the kingdom to respect the freedom of press.
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The Moroccan Parliament unanimously rejected, this Monday, January 23, the accusations of MEPs who voted, four days ago, a resolution calling on Morocco to respect freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
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In this resolution, the European Parliament also called for the release of the three imprisoned journalists, Omar Radi, Souleiman Raissouni and Taoufik Bouachrine and also denounced the use of the
Pegasus spy software by Rabat
.
The Moroccan Parliament, meeting specially in plenary session on Monday, wanted to unite behind the Kingdom of Morocco, issuing a warning to the European Parliament.
Outrageous speeches and threats to re-evaluate privileged relations... In a quarter of a century, the Moroccan Parliament has never been so vocal about the European Parliament.
Displaying an almost united front, the parliamentarians of the two Moroccan Chambers denounced "
false
" accusations, a sign of the shock experienced by Rabat, following the condemnation, by MEPs, of cases of corruption following the revelations on the " Morocco Gate”.
"It's up to us to lead this fight"
Among the rare dissonant voices, that of Nabil Benabdallah, boss of the left-wing party, the Party for Progress and Socialism (PPS).
The latter denounces counterproductive European criticism, but advocates a third voice calling for the release of the three Moroccan journalists mentioned by Strasbourg
“
We do not understand this attitude of the European Parliament and condemn it.
As much as we consider that there are other objectives that are targeted, well as much, it is a question of considering that it is up to us to lead this fight.
You have to know how to intelligently bend certain files that are negative and it is especially about these journalists
"
The official reaction of Morocco was confined to the Moroccan Parliament alone, but behind the scenes, it is not hidden that if Europe multiplies the condemnations like that of Thursday, Rabat could not be satisfied with a single reassessment of its parliamentary relations , but to use, as in 2021, the weapon of migrants in the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla or even to stop its anti-terrorist cooperation to put pressure on Europe.
►Also read EU: the European Parliament is concerned about press freedom in Morocco
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