The mayor of Rabat “Arabizes” the streets and ignores the Amazigh language
In the footsteps of the previous management of the “Justice and Development” party, the municipality of Rabat, which is headed by Asmaa Galalo, who belongs to the “National Rally of Independents” party, has carried out the process of installing road signs in the streets and alleys of the city written in Arabic and French.
The departments affiliated with the municipality of Rabat placed and installed directional signs in the various alleys and streets of the city, written in Arabic and French. In return, they completely ignored the Amazigh language, the official language of the state and the common credit of all Moroccans without exception.
And at a time when the institution of Parliament “muffled” it, it faced it; The headquarters of the “Nation’s Representatives” added the Amazigh language to its visual interface a long time ago. It was noticed that all the new signs and signs that were installed at the level of Mohammed V Street in the heart of the capital, which leads to Parliament with its two chambers, are all written in Arabic and French without Tamazight.
At a time when Moroccans celebrate the historic decision of King Mohammed VI to demarcate the Amazigh year as an official holiday, and the widespread praise for this decision and the continuous royal interaction with the demands of the Amazigh movement, public and semi-public institutions and elected bodies insist on ignoring the Amazigh language, along with the royal will.
This decision of the Mayor of Rabat, disregarded everything expressed by Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, whether during the government statement as well as the commitments he expressed in more than one meeting, or during the electoral campaign, in addition to his previous statements during the “Arabization” and naming of the streets of Agadir by the “party.” Justice and Development” with “Palestinian” names, as he said at the time with the letter during his participation in the opening session of the “aza forum”, “By God, if the real Amazigh fighters were; We are present inside the group’s council and are present in it strongly. Will they not change things?” He added, “The struggle must be from within the elected institutions. It is nice to keep organizing lectures and association forums; As a struggle for the Amazigh cause, but it is better for us to be within the elected institutions and councils that make decisions.”
And he added during his speech: “Frankly, you left the positions and the struggle within the institutions, and you now see the results of that. The names of the alleys of Agadir are being changed.” And he explained in the exhibition of his speech: “In the year 2021, if you do not take matters into your own hands and storm the institutions, then this cultural complex in which we are now present; And he bears the name of the Amazigh artist, Al-Rayes Saeed Ashtouk, and he can be changed by another name.
At the time, he stressed that "the Amazigh language must be in the position it deserves. It must be in education, the media, public administrations, and in the various aspects of public life in Morocco." After a number of activists of the Amazigh movement decided to work within institutions and join political parties, they were surprised by the continuation of the same exclusionary mentalities that continue to marginalize and look at Amazigh with suspicion as if it is a “language of domestication” and not an official language of the state protected by the highest law in the country.
Aglalo’s decision also ignored Article 27 of the Organizational Law related to defining the stages of activating the official character of the Amazigh language, which emphasizes the use of the Amazigh language, in addition to the Arabic language, in signs and signs installed on the facades and inside the headquarters of administrations, public facilities, public institutions and establishments, councils, constitutional bodies, elected councils and bodies And the signs and signs installed on the facades and inside the headquarters of Moroccan embassies and consulates abroad, as well as the facilities and departments affiliated to them, in addition to the signs and signs installed in roads, road stations, airports, ports and public spaces.
However, it seems that the mayor of Rabat does not care about the laws or the constitution and continues to ignore the Amazigh language, the royal will, and even the obligations that the Secretary-General of the party to which she belongs has committed to!!
Montassir ithri