Ahmed Assid optimistic about inclusion of Amazigh in Moroccan Constitution

2006-04-25

In an interview with Magharebia, Amazigh scholar Ahmed Assid discusses the chances of realising the demand for Amazigh to be recognised as an official language in the Moroccan Constitution.

By Lahcen Moqnia for Magharebia in Casablanca -- 25/04/06

[File] Assid confirms the Amazigh want language recognition and democratisation of local authorities and the powers granted to these authorities.

Morocco is considering constitutional changes as King Mohammad VI has embraced the recommendations of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission. One potential reform is the Amazigh demand for recognition of their language as an official language in the Moroccan Constitution. Amazigh scholar Ahmed Assid, a member of the Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture, discusses the issue in an interview with Magharebia.

Magharebia: What are the chances of realising the Amazigh demand for recognition of their language as an official language in the Moroccan Constitution?

Ahmed Assid: I am optimistic. At the moment, consensus exists among the political leadership in Morocco over the need to determine clearly the dimensions of Moroccan identity, including the Amazigh dimension, in the preamble to the Constitution, thereby recognising the right of Amazigh to be a national language.

This represents an important development compared to the 1990s when even the very mention of the Amazigh language was unacceptable. But this will not meet the full demands of the Amazigh movement. What we expect from the anticipated constitutional reforms concerns not only the issue of Amazigh language recognition, but also the democratisation of local authorities and the powers which are granted to these authorities, which will assist in raising Amazigh status.

Magharebia: Four years after the Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture was established on the initiative of King Mohammad VI, how would you evaluate its achievements?

Assid: The institute's first achievement was to carry the Amazigh struggle off the streets and into the "establishment". For the first time in history, we have an official body gathering together great and well-renowned experts in the Amazigh field, enabling them to work collectively on comprehensive strategies.

The institute has succeeded in introducing Amazigh language programmes into the education system on the grounds that the teaching of Amazigh should be available to every Moroccan as a national language. Work is also being done to gradually standardise the Amazigh language within educational establishments, promote the writing of Amazigh in its original "Tifinagh" and introduce teaching of the language in all schools.

The institute has also produced an Amazigh textbook using the latest teaching methods, with a new content based on universal human values and a universal strategy to introduce Amazigh into audio and visual media. It has also succeeded in getting 30 per cent of television programmes on national channels to be broadcast in Amazigh.

Magharebia: The Azetta Association proposes an initiative to establish an alternative body to the Royal Institute, which it criticises for lacking independence. What is your opinion of this initiative?

Assid: Azetta has not offered any written account of its evaluation of the institute's work. Regarding independence, I believe that the institute's presence at the King's side grants it greater independence in practice, which would not be the case if it belonged to the government, as the Azetta association claims.

The work of the government is tied to directives of political parties and the big Moroccan parties are known for their hostility towards the Amazigh. It is well-known in Morocco that controversial issues regarding women, for example, or the Amazigh, can only be resolved by references to the rulings of the royal establishment and the powers granted to it by the Constitution. We favour exploiting these powers in order to strengthen democracy and human rights in our country.