Ladies and Gentlemen,
My loyal subjects,
I promised to address you whenever we concluded a specific stage in the country's resolute march towards progress, or started a new one, as you display further mobilization, confidence and optimism, rallying around your King, the First Servant of the nation.
My address to you comes at a decisive juncture, a watershed moment in our history. Indeed, we are bidding farewell to the half century that has elapsed since our country gained independence, a 50-year period marked by the successes, failures and expectations which have accompanied the founding of a modern state. By the grace of the Almighty, this anniversary will also mark the beginning of the struggle to complete the building of a unified, democratic, prosperous Morocco.
By reminiscing about the past, my purpose is not to pass judgement on history, which has always been a mixture of positive things and negative ones. Only historians have the ability to pass objective, unbiased judgements, without being affected by transient political considerations.
Yet this hardly means we consider that period of history to be a bygone era, nor do we intend to remain prisoners thereof. Rather, it is an intrinsic part of the long history of our nation, and I am keen to ensure history remains, for all Moroccans, an effective means to read the past, understand the present, and confidently prepare for the future.
In this respect, and in order to keep public opinion informed, I have asked for the publishing of the final report of the Justice and Reconciliation Commission, and of the Study on our country's human development achievements and future prospects.
In addition to preserving this part of our heritage in the nation's collective memory, we must all of us draw the necessary lessons from it, in a way that will shield our country from a repetition of what happened, and enable it to make up for what was lost.
What matters most, however, is to have a constructive approach towards the future, and to muster our resources in order to address the pressing issues of our people and achieve the country's development. Indeed, there is much to be done, especially after the measures taken to speed up the pace of development. Our ultimate goal is to enhance solidarity in our society so as to achieve a life of dignity for all and promote responsible citizenship, striking a balance between rights and obligations. Otherwise, we cannot fulfil the aspirations of our youth nor, for that matter, keep up with the times.
On behalf of our young generations, I say: Enough selfishness; enough isolation and waste of valuable opportunities; enough squandering of resources and energies in false struggles. It is high time we turned to the present and the future of our sons, for they will not understand our failure to fulfil their reasonable aspiration for a life of dignity.
There is no other way of achieving this goal except by being committed to hard work, by pursuing the sacrifices made by the generations of the independence and of the Green March eras, and by forging ahead with a broad-based reform process, boosted by the resolve and enthusiasm of our youth. They are the generation that will achieve human development, while remaining strongly committed to the nation's identity and territorial integrity, and to its civic-minded monarchy.
My loyal subjects,
I have sought, with courage, wisdom and resolve, to achieve full and fair settlement of the question of past human rights abuses, a groundbreaking process started in the early 1990s by my revered father, His Majesty King Hassan II, may he rest in peace. I remember, with a great deal of humility and reverence, how my father, blessed be his soul, insisted in his last state opening of parliament address, in October 1998, on the need to settle all unresolved cases once and for all, so that, as His Majesty said, Morocco would no longer be burdened with a reputation which does not reflect the truth, nor does it tally with its reality, nor is it useful for its future.
When my father passed away, I sought to carry on that mission, using a unique, distinctive approach that has made it possible to resolve problematic cases, in compliance with the principle of “change within continuity”, which is a characteristic feature of our monarchy. Praise be to Almighty God that, as the loyal successor of my venerable father, I have seen to it this mission has been successfully carried out. On behalf of the entire Moroccan people, I send these glad tidings to his blessed soul to bring joy to his heart, as well as to the hearts of all victims, harm sufferers and grieving families, about whom I care so deeply.
I should like to commend the Justice and Reconciliation Commission, its president and its members, for their sincere endeavours, and I call on the Advisory Council on Human Rights to implement of the Commission's recommendations. I also call on public authorities to continue their fruitful cooperation with the Council; by doing so, they will be reflecting my determination to promote the pursuit of truth, justice and reconciliation.
The sincere reconciliation we have achieved does not mean we are putting the past behind us, for history is ever present in people's minds. Rather, this reconciliation is in keeping with the divine injunction which says: “So overlook (any human faults) with gracious forgiveness”.
It is a collective forgiveness which is likely to bolster the in-depth institutional reform under way, one that should enable our country to free itself from the blemishes of past civil and political rights abuses. This will help us pave the way for the second fifty-year post-independence period, and focus on the hard, decisive mission of promoting the economic, social and cultural rights of all Moroccans, especially those who suffer from poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and marginalization.
Hence, and in keeping with my overall perception of human rights, as well as my strategic outlook advocating integrated and harmonized public policies, a Board composed of eminent scholars and experts as well as a scientific commission and ad-hoc groups, was entrusted with preparing a comprehensive study on the outcome of fifty years of human development as well as the prospects for the future.
I should like to commend those who supervised this important work as well as the Moroccan experts and specialists who took part in it. I hope the individual and collective contributions underlying this study will serve as an incentive for all segments of our country's elite to resume their role in guiding the nation and spearheading strategic thinking. It is also hoped the study will lead to a broad-based, constructive debate on clear, distinctive projects for our society.
The task of finalizing and implementing these projects, and of reflecting the will of the people, lies with the nation's constitutional bodies, political institutions, trade unions and NGOs.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My loyal subjects,
I wanted this address to be future-oriented in order to promote dignity-based citizenship and renew the pledge to implement the major, ongoing project of achieving human development.
For that, we need to muster the tremendous resources of our young generations, to facilitate wealth-generating projects, and to promote creativity in the sciences and the arts, inside as well as outside Morocco. Our ultimate objective is to build a society characterized by accountability and equal opportunity.
I shall continue to see to it state authorities do all they can in this respect. I also intend to ensure all Moroccans enjoy a life of dignity, and promote, to that effect, close cooperation between all the stakeholders concerned, be they public authorities, NGOs, groups or individuals.
The best way to attain this objective is through upholding the virtues of integrity and merit, as well as enforcing the mechanisms of accountability and transparency, within the framework of the rule of law and of responsible citizenship.
I shall continue to steer the ship in the right direction towards the shores of stability, security, progress and prosperity, through successive, in-depth reforms. I shall see to it the ship sails ahead confidently and purposefully in the waters of the international environment.
Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh.
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