A Great Loss for Morocco and for Human Rights

I was very privileged and honored to be able to attend a ceremony this past Friday evening to celebrate the life and the 40th day after the death of a great Moroccan human rights leader, Driss Benzekri. The 40th day after the death of a Muslim is a very important day, because it it the day that one's soul ascends to heaven to reside with Allah. It was a beautiful and majestic ceremony -- extremely inspiring and moving. The Prime Minister of Morocco spoke. Many human rights lawyers and leaders from all over the world were in attendance and also spoke about the numerous accomplishments of Monsieur Benzekri. It was held in the Mohammed V theater in central Rabat. I will post some photos of the ceremony soon.

I was pleasantly surprised by the forcefulness of some of the speeches. There were some speeches in which the speakers demanded that the government do more to protect freedom of speech, of the press, of association, even in the face of terrorism. Some speakers also spoke to the results of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission, a commission meant to address gross human rights violations committed within Morocco during the reign of the current king's father, Hassan II, between 1956 and 1999. Driss Benzekri was the President of the Commission. Some are demanding that the government do more, since the commission did not allow the victims of the human rights violations to name their abusers. None of the abuses could be attributed to Hassan II. And, no current violations, during the reign of the present king, Mohammed VI, could be addressed. The reparations resulting from the commission tended to provide funds and resources on a community level. The trial did allow victims to voice their experiences. It is now a matter of public record -- that these events occurred, which is a positive step forward, but, on Friday evening, there was a French human rights lawyer in particular, who really derided the government for not allowing the victims to name their abusers. Morocco has laws condemning torture, and Morocco has also ratified the UN Convention Against Torture, but the laws are just not being applied as they should, especially with the crackdown on terrorism, and a lot of people just simply don't realize that it's not ok for the police to beat you.

Driss Benzekri spent 17 years in prison as a political dissident. He was also the Vice President of the organization with which I am working this summer, OMDH, the Moroccan Organization of Human Rights. He was the Secretary General of the Advisory Council on Human Rights which led to the establishment of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission. He continued to work for human rights until his death on May 20, 2007, in Rabat. He had been ill. He was only 57 years old.

It was really wonderful to see so many people attend this ceremony and to be able to be a part of it. There was a lot of love and hope and camaraderie in the room. I will post pictures soon.