Morocco rejects dialogue with jailed Islamists

2010-03-18

Rabat has rebuffed a recent call for dialogue by Moroccans imprisoned under the Terrorism Act.

By Naoufel Cherkaoui for Magharebia in Rabat — 18/03/10

[Naoufel Cherkaoui] Communications Minister Khalid Naciri has said that Morocco has no intention of opening talks with imprisoned Islamists.

The Moroccan government will not hold talks with jailed Islamists, Communications Minister and government spokesperson Khalid Naciri told Magharebia in an exclusive interview on Monday (March 15th).

Naciri told Magharebia that the Islamists' request for a reconciliation dialogue was "not on the government's agenda".

When many Islamist detainees arrested under the Terrorism Act recently released letters and statements disavowing their terrorist ideology and affiliation, they hoped to convince Moroccan authorities to accept their calls for dialogue.

Since the 2003 Casablanca bombings, Moroccan authorities have tracked down Islamist terrorists and arrested more than 1,000. The government's latest position may represent less flexibility than was evident last May, when then-minister of the interior, Chakib Benmoussa, said that there were are certain ways in which Salafia Jihadia prisoners could get out of jail – including by royal pardon – if they showed remorse and changed their thinking.

The most recent overture to imprisoned Islamists came in the form of a "Fairness Initiative" proposed by jailed Moroccan cleric Mohamed Abdelouahab Rafiki, also known as Abu Hafs. The letter containing the proposal was distributed by Forum for the Dignity of Human Rights in a press conference held last week.

The forum's head, Mustafa Ramid, said in a March 15th interview with Magharebia that the "initiative reflects the importance of the national interest, which means the necessity of opening the files of hundreds of prisoners".

"[I]n our opinion, even if there are terrorists amongst them, there are also innocent people who must be identified and released," said Ramid. "In addition, the government should review the cases of people who repented."

"Terrorism is not just a criminal behaviour; it's primarily an ideology, belief and conviction that must be abolished and defeated through dialogue," added the human rights leader. "The most important party qualified for dismantling terrorist thinking … is the circle of Islamist prisoners."

In an interview with daily newspaper Ettajdid published on March 5th, Abu Hafs said: "We are a group of innocent people who are denying all accusations, and requesting to be released. We made mistakes and we admit it."

"[F]rankly, I don't understand some parties' interest in keeping many of our young people behind bars, especially since they either denounced all terrorist acts and extremism, or they acknowledged their culpability," added Abu Hafs. "They expressed their readiness to integrate into society. What's the purpose of the ongoing anguish of these people and their families?"

Other sectors of Moroccan society had mixed reactions to the dialogue initiative.

"We applaud such an initiative. It's the only way to shed light on the Islamists' stance, so that everybody will be aware of it," Mohammad Muhtad, who heads a support group for those detained under the Terrorism Act, told Magharebia on March 15th.

"Moroccan authorities have made it clear they're not disposed to start any dialogue with the jailed Islamists [so] their only hope is to ask for the king's pardon," Mohammed Darif, an expert on Islamist groups, told Magharebia on Monday. "I don't think any initiative such as Abu Hafs' will help authorities re-open the case, because his statement proves that these people do not understand Moroccan society, its development and its ties to the West; therefore, they're still faithful to their extremist ideology."