Banned Moroccan group 'ready to form party'
2013-01-08 09:51
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Morocco
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Rabat - A top member of Morocco's largest Islamist group,
whose founding leader died last month, has said that the banned but tolerated
opposition movement was ready to enter the political fray if the authorities
allowed it to.
"If we submit a request to form a political party, we
will find ourselves up against the justice system, which is in the hands of the
state," Fathallah Arsalane, the Justice and Charity movement's number two,
said in an interview published on Monday.
"The authorities have given no sign that they are
willing to accept" such a request, Arsalane told the Arabic-language daily
Akhbar al-Youm.
His comments came less than four weeks after the death of
Abdessalam Yassine, the group's charismatic founder and spiritual leader who
shunned mainstream politics, and amid speculation about its future direction.
Sheikh Yassine's funeral, which took place in central Rabat
on 14 December, attracted tens of thousands of people, in a strong show of
support for the 84-year-old leader who repeatedly criticised the wealth and
power of Morocco's monarchy.
Mohammed Abbadi, then Yassine's deputy, was elected secretary
general of the movement, which advocates the establishment of an Islamic state
in Morocco through non-violent means, and Arsalane became the new number two.
Justice and Charity refuses to recognise the king's title of
commander of the faithful, a key difference with the moderate Islamist Party of
Justice and Development (PJD) that came to power after winning elections in
November 2011.
"I don't see what the problem is [with not recognising
the monarchy], because it is a matter of opinion. Shouldn't the state guarantee
freedom of opinion so long as those opinions are expressed peacefully?"
Arsalane argued.
On the group's relationship with the PJD, he said it was
necessary to distinguish between the members and the "role" of the
government.
"The PJD officials are serious, loyal and committed,
but as for the role of the government, we must recognise that it does not
govern," he told the newspaper.
"None of that is new. Some had thought... that things
would change," he added, referring to the high hopes that accompanied King
Mohammed VI's decision to introduce a new constitution in 2011 as Arab Spring
protests swept the region.
