Several leading figures of the Hirak popular movement reacted on Monday night to the prohibition of a peaceful march, scheduled for Thursday the 20th of July in Al Hoceima. Among them, El Mortada Iamrachen who launched an appeal for Moroccans living abroad currently on holidays. Hirak activists are unhappy regarding the statement issued by Al Hoceima's Wilaya, announcing the ban of a march schedueled for the 20th of July in Al Hoceima. On Monday, some of them denounced the ban on social media platforms, namely Facebook, and confirmed that the demonstration, to which Moroccans living abroad were invited, will be despite all held on Thursday. «Have the masses asked for a permission beforehand ?» wondered Nawal Ben Aissa, a female Hirak activist. «For the last eight months we have been taken the streets calling for civil rights in a peaceful way, and have never asked for a permission to come out and denounce the neglect we are experiencing here in the Rif», she stated. «We are not a clerk to wait for an authorization. We are citizens and we protest to tell the truth. For that we will say what we have t say on July the 20th.» «We'd rather die than be humiliated», she said on a facebook post. For its turn, Ashraf Boukkadi, another Hirak activist, considers that «the security forces' intervention undertaken by the state makes us think whether it respects the 2011 constitution». The latter «clearly states that organizing peaceful demonstrations is legitimate in both articles 29 and 37, and that the freedom of rallying is guaranteed by the law», he added. «And then, they would say, this is what has been said by the Ministry of Interior in a communiqué and that the demonstration shouldn't be banned. This is our answer : how can the authorities allow a march against them, against their policy and their inability to solve problems ?», he wrote. Speaking to Moroccans living abroad El Mortada Iamrachen, a salafist and Hirak activist, did not miss the chance to give his honest opinion about the ban of the march, addressing Moroccans living abroad who are currently in the kingdom for summer vacations. «I hope that the children of the Rif, who are back to their country for the first time, Morocco, do not want a repressive machine in every neighborhood. I hope you continue to cling to it and to our foundations. Do not let them destroy the beautiful image we have of you, which fascinated us, surrounding the king during his last visit to the Netherlands or in front of the hotel where he was staying, do not let the Rif's enemies to ruin it». He then attacked those who are «corrupted and who hindered development projects, who put their brothers in prison», before returning on the march set for Thursday. «Dear compatriots residing abroad, you have seen how violent and repressive the police were, which you have certainly never seen in your life. Please do not keep them because they will be ephemeral», he wrote. As a result, El Mortada Iamrachen calls the Moroccans living abroad currently in the Rif to keep only «good and pretty pictures». Images that recall the era of our King, which the enemies of the monarchy and the people are trying to tarnish and think of the previous era despite all efforts to turn the page and start a new chapter of equity and reconciliation», he said. Do «not return abroad until the prisoners are released and their dignity is restored so that they (MLA) can bring back with them the best memories». On Monday, local authorities in Al Hoceima announced the ban of the 20th of July march, saying that the appeal in favor of this event «did not respect the procedures» and that «the authorities Have received no declaration on this subject». The wilaya also considered that walking, and «after evaluating its circumstances, would impact the right of the local population to a secure environment, especially in relation to the coincidence of this march with the summer season».
