On the other hand, the government side affirms on every occasion that it is on the path of activating the official character of Amazigh, by taking all possible measures to accelerate this goal within all ministerial sectors.
On the eve of the 11th anniversary of the constitution of Amazigh in Morocco, the National Federation of Amazigh Associations (non-governmental) issued a “grim” report on the situation of Amazigh in the Kingdom, confirming that the government is taking a set of decisions that are directed towards strengthening the reality of the fragility experienced by the Amazigh language and culture in various fields.
The report of the Federation of Amazigh Associations considered that “the minimum set for the protection of the Amazigh language calls for positive discrimination that guarantees its protection and advancement without any racist vision.”
The coordinator of the Federation of Amazigh Associations, Mohamed Hammouchi, asserts that “11 years after the demarcation of Tamazight in the 2011 constitution, and 3 years after the issuance of laws regulating the activation of the official character of Amazigh, the actual integration of Amazigh in public institutions has not been achieved properly until today.”
In an interview with “Sky News Arabia”, Hammouchi believes that “the problem lies in the absence of real political will among public policy makers, although the Prime Minister’s party made optimistic electoral commitments and promises regarding the advancement of the Amazigh language, but they remained just promises and did not take any legislative or procedural steps.” In order to make the process of activating the official character of the Amazigh a success.
Therefore, “this stage requires the continuation of the struggle alongside all democratic forces in order to activate the official character of Amazigh, and to ensure full citizenship for all Moroccans with all its political, economic, cultural and linguistic dimensions, in a modern society and a democratic civil state,” according to the same spokesman.
Optimism and open arms
On the contrary, the Amazigh media and actor, Amina bin Al-Sheikh, seems optimistic about what has been achieved for the Amazigh language in the Kingdom recently, calling to look at the half-full of the cup without turning a blind eye to the other half that we must all work to fill.
In her interview with Sky News Arabia, Ben Al-Sheikh said: “We cannot say that nothing has been achieved, because the Amazigh language has been marginalized for centuries, and its marginalization continued even after its constitution for more than 10 years, that is, two government mandates.”
And the Amazigh media and activism continues, “With the current government, there are open projects in the Amazigh file, including the employment of the Ministry of Justice for social assistants and aides in Moroccan courts who will communicate with the users of the Amazigh language orally and in writing.”
At the beginning of this month, Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch received the first group of social assistants in the justice sector, who will work to help Moroccan citizens who speak the Berber language join the judiciary.
In his speech on the occasion, Akhannouch stressed that this regiment is the first step of its kind in the framework of downloading workshops on the official character of Amazigh in government sectors, which constitutes one of the government’s commitments.
From demarcation to empowerment
Always in the context of advancing the Amazigh language and changing its status, the head of the Tamgharbet Bloc of Citizenship Meetings (non-governmental), Abdullah Hattous, believes that “the matter does not depend only on the work of the governmental actor and the rest of the institutional actors, but rather requires a constructive and effective contribution from civil dynamics in particular and social dynamics in general. “.
In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Hattush said: “International experiences have taught us that in the absence of collective awareness of the importance of change, it is impossible to change society and its conditions through laws, decrees and plans.”
He explains that “there is a fundamental reason that those interested in issues of activating the official character of Tamazight rarely focus on, and it is the obstacles to moving from demarcating Tamazight to empowering it. The regulatory framework stipulated in Chapter Five of the Constitution, and the delay in activating the demarcation until today.”
Therefore, “empowerment of the Amazigh language would cultivate a linguistic awareness in society that would achieve the desired collective awareness of the importance of Tamazight and the strategic connotations of demarcating it, an awareness that provides it with protection, enhances its position, and provides it with the elements of strength and resilience against the variables of the language market, which requires strong bridges linking civil work and government work. ‘, calls the head of the Temgarbet conglomerate.
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