Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Moroccan Independence Day.


The late King Mohammed V returns from Madagascar

Today Morocco celebrates the 54th anniversary of the return of the late King Mohammed V from forced exile which heralded an era of freedom and independence after the struggle of the Throne and the people to achieve liberation from colonial rule.



For 43 years Morocco had been under French and Spanish occupation since the announcement in 1912 of the Protectorate. Moroccans achieved independence after a long and laborious resistance by the King and the people which lead to the exile of the late King Mohamed V and the royal family for about three years during which time they were in Madagascar. You can read more about this exile in our earlier story HERE

The liberation struggle was initiated by people from all regions of the Kingdom,and the colonial authorities were left in no doubt that any attack on the person of the Sovereign would not be tolerated . They expressed their overwhelming dedication and loyalty to the late King Mohammed V.

This was followed by the victorious return of the King to the country bringing with him the declaration of independence and the departure of the colonial powers.

Since then, Morocco has achieved great developments implementing projects in the economic, political, social, and cultural fields. Morocco continues to achieve sustained progress.

The View from Fez team offers its best wishes to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Khadija, His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid and all members of the Royal Family as well as all the Moroccan people with continuing development and progress.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I doubt whether the first photo really is the King returning from exile. He is getting off a Royal Air Maroc plane and this name was not adopted by the airline until after independence.

The View from Fez Team said...

We also noted that, but can find no verification of the date. It is widely publicised as being an actual photograph at the time. We would love some more research if anyone knows more.