ANSD : Democracy is to ensure resolution of all these problems and I think that people in this region are aware of this

FRI 19 - 4 - 2024

Date: Mar 12, 2013
Author: AbdelAziz Karraky
Source: ORSAM - Morocco

Democracy is to ensure resolution of all these problems and I think that people in this region are aware of this

Mr. Karraky: “Democracy is to ensure resolution of all these problems and I think that people in this region are aware of this”

We talked to Abdulaziz Karraky, a well known human right activist and professor at Mohammed V University Souissi in Rabat on the developments in Morocco and in the region. He evaluated the reform process that took place in Morocco after the establishment of the new constitution in the context of human rights and ongoing protests. He also shared his observations on the recent developments in Tunisia.

Interview: Nebahat Tanrıverdi O Yaşar

ORSAM: Mr. Abdelaziz Karraky, first of all, thank you for accepting our interview request. Could you introduce yourself for ORSAM readers?

Abdulaziz Karraky: I’m Abdulaziz Karraky, political science professor at Mohammed V University at Souissi in Rabat. I work on the political transitions witnessed by Moroccan society, as well as the field of human rights. I have already worked as an advisor to the Secretary-General of the Consultative Council for Human Rights. I also enjoyed the gratitude of being a member in the center for studies and research on fight against poverty. I was also recently selected as a member to the scientific committee in charge of drafting a law on the equal sharing, which is provided by the Moroccan constitution, along with my membership in the Arab network for the study of democracy.

ORSAM: Mr. Karraky, after the spread of Arab Spring, the protest wave had its own influence in Morocco. For instance, February 20 Movement for the Change organized many protests in Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Fez, Agadir and Tangiers. How do you evaluate these protests in Morocco?

Abdulaziz Karraky: A word of caution at the outset of the February 20 Movement in Morocco, must be said that the protest movements, which have been seen in Morocco with solutions to Arab Spring, were not new at all. Hence, the practice of the protest has long been available in Morocco and those who walk to the capital Rabat discover that the protests taking place in the main streets around the issues multiple and spread to often Parliament or to the headquarters of ministries in order to present their cases. For reference that is already known, the previous protest movements in Moroccan history were often ended in a painful way. It is enough to know the developments between the years of 1965 and 1981 in order to see that protests did not begin with the Arab Spring. For a good long time, there were these dire issues of equity and reconciliation, which allowed for Morocco to a gradual shift towards folding the final file gross violations of human rights. From here you can understand why the slogans of the protests in Morocco were composed of the people’s demands on reforming the system; indeed they do not want to overthrow the regime. But it must be said that the February 20 Movement confirmed a turnaround that is no longer possible to exclude women and young people but at the same time to bury people with fear in Morocco. Perhaps the greatest gift provided by the movement to Morocco is a new constitution that opens up a wide range in the field of rights, freedoms and the relations between the authorities.

ORSAM: Mr. Karraky, Morocco has a new constitution and new political design. Also in previous year, parliamentary election was held and a new government was formed. Could you share your views on this reform process that took place in Morocco? What did new constitution bring to political life of the country?

Abdulaziz Karraky: I think that the political reform which took place in Morocco was delayed to some extent, as it was supposed to have happened in the year of 2002 at the latest, but it did not happen. The belief that priority is necessary to be given to the field of social for a number of actors has become prevalent, but what is certain is that the transition to democracy must need a new constitution, and therefore, this did not happen until 2011, i.e. Arab Spring has actualized the change through the Constitution as a way to express the desire of people to aspire to a better tomorrow.

The change that occurred in Morocco is confirmed by many data. First, the system evolves properly but not by rupture. And the second one is that the institutions that are derived from the community can challenge the difficulties and continue in the future. The third one is that human rights and freedoms have always been a sticky task to engine at the wheel of history. The new constitution shifts several fields that are mentioned here, but we can talk about the following areas: The Constitution adopted a new approach which widens the fundamental rights and rule of law. The mandate of judiciary also protects these rights; it gives new powers to political parties, and civil society about the constitutional institution; makes elections the only way to get to the exercise of political power; guarantee forming the government from the parliamentary majority; obligates that the prime minister must be appointed by the party that won the majority; restores balance the relations between the authorities; declares the independence of the judiciary; develops a new system of governance; allows the citizens to submit petitions to the local and national level. Regarding the fundamental reforms introduced by the Moroccan political system, some can objectively say that some things in the Constitution are not a lot of dreams. In addition, the King announced that only authorized interpretation of the Constitution is the democratic interpretation; now, stayed on all political forces to activate all its requirements.

ORSAM: You are also a human rights activist. How do you see the current situation regarding human rights in Morocco?

Abdulaziz Karraky: Since the nineties of the last century have improved the human rights situation much. A set of institutions to watch over the protection and promotion of these rights were established such as the Advisory Council for Human Rights, which will turn into a national council; and the Board of Grievances to be replaced by Foundation of mediator and administrative courts. All these will culminate the equity and reconciliation. I think that these have solved a lot of problem in these areas, but what was brought by the Constitution of 2011 is a real transformation at this level. As a matter of fact, the evolution of the Moroccan society often constitutes a red line regarding the human rights.

ORSAM: Could you express what are the new dynamics brought by the Arab Spring to MENA's political sphere? Can we be hopeful about democratization in the region, especially when we consider the latest developments in Tunisia after the assassination of opposition leader?

Abdulaziz Karraky: Perhaps the most important achievement of Arab Spring in this region is challenging the fear of repression. History stressed consistently that when people lost their lives and would rather die than live a life without honor. Change, in this case, must happen. There was no equitable distribution of wealth, which led to varying level of social groups. All this make large groups of people in the region feel the weight of it. Especially development of the media allowed to carry out comparisons, made the issue of the transition into democracy inevitable. Surely these will not be achieved quickly but beginning is important; that is no longer possible today to adopt other legislation sources than the democratic legitimacy in this region. Of course, there could be some slippage and was floating from time to incidents of violence and assassinations, such as what happened in Tunisia, but this will not stop the developments that occurred in the region. The people of the region should not forget that these areas were suffering from tyrannies which were not known by pluralism; and then democracy is to ensure the resolution of all these problems. I think that people in this region are aware of this.

ORSAM: The last question of our interview is on Turkish foreign policy? How do you evaluate Turkey's approach towards the region?

Abdulaziz Karraky: Turkey has witnessed profound changes in the latter half of the twentieth century, and today engaged in a global context without the shedding of self, as no longer a lot of elements of Turkish culture are exclusive to the Turkish people, and spread to the several areas of the world. I think that democracy that clung to Turkey granted the real power and made them strategically active in the region. We must not forget at all that Turkey is the heir of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled much of the world, and they learned a lot of lessons and the lessons of this past, but this is today that made its way with great confidence. Hence, Turkey can take political positions. As a person who has studied on Turkey’s importance, and is aware of Turkey's contracting ability in the area of Mediterranean I can say that what is scary about Turkey is to get involved in a war in the region. This may adversely affect a lot of capabilities.

ORSAM: Thank you very much for your answers.

* This interview was made online by Nebahat Tanrıverdi O Yaşar on 20 February 2013.

The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Arab Network for the Study of Democracy

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