Minister stresses refusal to Benkiran

Moroccan Minister of Human Rights Mustafa Al Rameed said that it is natural for these differences to prevail within the Moroccan Justice and Development Party after a stormy week in which he voted against the candidacy of Abd El-Ilah Benkiran for the Secretariat at the next conference. He added that “I wished, unfortunately, that this disagreement over whether or not to extend to the Secretary-General of the party, Abd al-Ilah Ben Kairan, was not to be discussed to give the opportunity to the other critical issues that hit the party during the latest period.  He shares Kandil’s opinion on the party’s demise. Except that for him, this would have occurred if Benkirane remained secretary general. The lifelong rival of Benkirane did not hesitate to affirm that he sees “no interest” for the PJD to amend Article 16 that would have permitted Benkirane at to lead the party. “That would be synonymous with partition. We would then become a new party,” he said. According to Mustapha Ramid, the Minister in charge of Human Rights, Morocco is on its way to adopt a “referential” National Action Plan for Democracy and Human Rights (PANDDH), free of any “controversial issues,” namely the death penalty and family law. The minister is finally taking some time off from his legendary feud with former secretary general of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), Abdelilah Benkirane, to refocus somewhat on human rights issues in Morocco. During a meeting with the Supervisory Committee in charge of reviewing the PANDDH in Rabat this Wednesday, Ramid said that “everything related to human rights will be included in this plan, including civil, political, economic, social and other rights.” However, the committee has failed to reach consensus on some “controversial issues,” at least as seen by the Ministry of Human Rights. According to Ramid, the dispute remained stuck on the death penalty, between those who call for its abolition and those who defended  it, as well as other “contentious issues” related to the family law and Morocco’s accession to the Statute of the International Criminal Court.