After the arrest of Nasser Zefzafi, leader of the protests organized lately in the Rif region, members of the parliament and elected officials started commenting on the event all over social media platforms. Several MPs are calling the Ministers of Interior, Human rights, Islamic Affairs and Communication to react. While events raged by protests and arrests have shaken the Rif since Friday, several political parties and MPs are just beginning to break the silence. While some, such as Omar Balafrej and Mohamed Khiyi El Khamlichi, have chosen to ask questions, others like Imane El Yaacoubi and Nabil Andaloussi preferred to voice their concerns. On his Facebook page, MP Omar Balafrej from the Federation of the Democratic Left (FGD) resumed on Monday his written questions addressed to three Ministers of El Othmani's government. In his question to the Minister of Habous and Islamic Affairs, Omar Balafrej asks the minister to learn from what happened on Friday 26th of May when the Friday preaching Khotba was interrupted. «Shouldn't we exclude the political discourse from our places of worship?», wonders Balafrej. He also asked the Minister in charge of Human Rights about the measures taken to put an end to the violations of these rights. «Several sources and human rights activists report that the Rif region has experienced a series of arbitrary arrests involving Al Hirak militants in a flagrant violation of freedom of opinion and expression and the right to organize peaceful protests. Minister of Human Rights, what do you plan to do to put an end to the violation of human rights?» Al Oula and Médi 1 TV reports outraged MPs The parliamentarian also asked Mohamed Laaraj, Minister of Culture and Communication, about the broadcasting of «false images» on public TV channels to report on the Rif Hirak. The member of the FGD recalled that the SNRT and Médi 1 TV broadcasted images that date back to March the 3rd 2017, when a football game was held in the city. «This method reminds us of fascist regimes. What are your plans, Mr. Minister, to make sure that TV channels are being neutral and would enlighten the public instead ?», asks the politician.
Mohamed Khiyi El Khamlichi, on the other hand, resumed his two questions addressed respectively to the Ministers of Interior and Culture and Communication. Firstly, Mohamed Khiyi El Khamlichi came back on the repression of a spontaneous manifestation which took place Sunday the 28th of May in Tangier. «A violent intervention by the police has been reported. The anti-riot forces intervened to disperse violently the manifestation. Why did the forces intervene ? Has the law been respected in the dispersion of this demonstration?», asked the MP. As for the message put forward for Mohamed Laaraj, the subject is none other than the famous reports broadcasted on national television. The parliamentarian of the PJD is particularly concerned about the measures that Mohamed Laaraj intends to put in place to «correct this situation and determine the party responsible for these mistakes». Our colleagues from Al 3omk revealed yesterday evening the oral questions asked by two other parliamentarians. They are namely Imane Yaacoubi and Nabil Andaloussi. The two PJD members delivered oral questions to the Minister of Culture and Communication, describing the images used by the two channels as «dangerous overtaking» and «flagrant violation of professional ethics». These reactions, as well as the statements written by Ilyas El Omari, head of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, were released the day after the arrest of Nasser Zefzafi, leader of the protests that have shaken Al Hoceima.
