(Ecofin Agency) - In Morocco, the National Union of Small-scale Farmers and Forest Professionals denounces the risks faced by populations of Tamtatoucht (South-Eastern side) in the framework of the Toudgha “tourist port” project. In an open letter titled “Collective land grabbing and theft of public property in Morocco”, they expressed their feelings to the Secretary-General of the European Parliament.

 “This project, initiated by Aziz Akhannouch, Moroccan minister of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries, is intended to enrich his friends’ land speculators by exploiting collective lands belonging to Amazigh Ait Merghad tribes, a population of about 50,000 people, and the Ait Hani commune, which includes the 18,000 inhabitants of Tamtatoucht. That is another way to grab land from poor farmers as the so-called tourist port project in Al Hoceima, the Marina building complexes in Agadir and others across Morocco,” the Union indicated, adding that “the only purpose of these predators is to occupy the 20 million hectares of collective lands which contain among others gold and silver mines. These lands are grabbed from their real owners, Amazigh farmers already impoverished by the French colonial laws”. 

The complainants also recall that since works on the project began in February 2017, residents have expressed dissatisfaction through many ways such as sit-ins and protests. But the latter were repressed and even imprisoned. Therefore, the union is forced to launch a call for help towards Strasbourg. “We ask you, Mr. Secretary General, to forward our letter to parliamentarians to inform them of a serious situation that their silence would only endorse. The European Union, through its association agreements with Morocco, is involved in the conflict between the Moroccan regime and the farmers. It, therefore, seems urgent for us to adopt a resolution calling on the Council to remind the government of its commitments to respect human rights and democratic principles as set out in the association agreements with the EU,” they conclude.