Speaking to media on Tuesday, 3rd of July, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita stated that the Netherlands should not intervene in Rabat's «internal affairs», reports Turkish press agency Anadolu. The minister's reaction comes as the Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Block brought Hirak protests and the sentences handed down to detainees that led the movement in the Rif region to the parliament. He has even warned Dutch-Moroccan citizens against entering Morocco. «As we respect the decisions of the Dutch courts, they too must respect decisions made by the Moroccan judiciary», said Bourita, insisting that they «we were surprised by [Block's] latest statements». The minister explained that «Rabat has already summoned the Dutch ambassador over the remarks». «During the Dutch foreign minister's previous visit to Morocco [last April], I said at a press conference that the protests were a strictly internal issue», he said. Several protests and sit-ins have taken place in the Netherlands, showing support for the Hirak protest movement and denouncing the arrests that followed the unrest in the Rif.
