Rabat: Moroccans support Palestine and demand a break with Israel

More than 10,000 demonstrators marched in Rabat on Sunday in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, denouncing a "war of extermination" and the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel.

At the call of a heterogeneous group of support for the Palestinian cause made up of left-wing groups and activists from the Islamist Justice and Charity movement, the demonstrators marched along Avenue Mohammed V, the beating heart of the capital, under the slogan “stop the war of extermination in Gaza, stop normalization”.

Many protesters brandished banners criticizing the “destruction of hospitals” and the “colonization” of Palestinian territories.

“Free Palestine”, “Save Gaza”, also proclaimed signs.

Chanting slogans saluting the "resistance of the Palestinian people", demonstrators notably criticized the United States' support for Israel in its war against Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“When we bomb massively and without distinction between military targets and civilians, including babies, it is genocide. We must call a spade a spade,” condemned Jihane, a 27-year-old protester.

The war in Gaza was launched on October 7 after the unprecedented attack carried out on Israeli soil by the Islamist movement Hamas, which left 1,140 dead in Israel, according to the authorities.

The retaliatory operations carried out by the Israeli army left 20,424 dead, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.

In Rabat, Hachimi Damni, a sixty-year-old demonstrator, "came to express his rejection" of the bombings against civilians and of "normalization with Israel".

Since the end of 2020, the kingdom has established all-out relations with Israel in return for the recognition by the United States of Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Since the start of the war, several large-scale demonstrations have taken place in Morocco to demand a repeal of normalization, whereas before October 7, opposition to this process was limited.

This normalization is a “betrayal”, according to demonstrators last Sunday.

The kingdom officially denounced "flagrant violations of the provisions of international law and the law.

Opposition amnesty bill 'technically impossible', says Talon

Beninese President Patrice Talon declared on Saturday evening that it was “technically impossible” to adopt the amnesty law for political prisoners proposed by the opposition, in an interview with national television.

“Perhaps the Beninese do not know exactly the content of what the Democrats are asking For me, out of sincerity, they do not believe in it, because they are asking for something that is not even technically possible,” declared the Beninese president.

At the end of November, the Democrats, the main opposition party in Benin, denounced the "inflexibility" of President Patrice Talon who opposed the adoption of this law, during his meeting with opponent Thomas Boni Yayi, at the head of this party.

Since the arrival of Patrice Talon at the head of Benin, many opposition leaders have been imprisoned or gone into exile, undermining the country's image of multi-party democracy.

Such a law would allow the release of political detainees and the return of those who have taken refuge abroad.

“Even if Parliament were 100% democratic, such a law could not be passed. We cannot choose like that, select ten, twenty or thirty people in the country and say, we will pardon these people for everything they have done. This is not possible,” commented Patrice Talon.

“We can grant amnesty for an event, a particular fact as we did in 2019. There was a serious situation. All those involved have been amnestied,” he added.

The case of opponent and former Minister of Justice Reckya Madougou, whose release the opposition is demanding, was raised by the president. The latter was sentenced to 20 years in prison for complicity in terrorist acts in December 2021.

“She was convicted because she ordered the assassination of the former mayor of Parakou and her accomplices were arrested and confessed. We saw the traces of exchanges through which people were paid, mandated to commit an assassination, sponsored by a woman,” Mr. Talon said on television.

“We noted with great sadness his refusal to be attentive to our cries from the heart in relation to Ms. Madougou,” Eric Houndété, the first vice-president of the Democrats, told AFP during a press conference. organized in November.

In 2021, Ms Madougou was banned from running in the presidential election, which saw Mr Talon win a second term with 86% of the vote.

Patrice Talon repeated during the interview that only the Beninese Parliament had the power to pass this amnesty law.