Mohamed Neshnash, the head of a civil society initiative for the Rif region, has denied rumors that the organization had joined Moroccan businessman Noureddine Ayouch’s mediation between the state and the leading activists of the Hirak Rif protest movement.

Neshnash told French-language outlet H24info that the rumor, which had been reported by Moroccan daily Al Massae on the weekend, was “a lie.”

However, the veteran human rights activist affirmed that members of the initiative met with the detained Rif activists.

Ayouchhas also met with the key members of Hirak, acting as an emissary of the state.

The choice of the businessman Ayouch as a mediator in the Rif crisis drew criticism, as other initiatives for dialogue between the two groups, including that led by Neshnash, had not received a state response.

During his meetings with the detained leading Hirak members and their families, Ayouch reportedly said that he supported the release of the detainees gradually.

The initiative headed by Neshnash included several prominent Moroccan civil society activists and intellectuals, such as writers Ahmed Assid and Salah El Ouadie, university professor Amina El Messaoudi, and human rights activist Khadija Marouazi.

It was launched back in May to find a solution to the stalemate in the northern Moroccan region, and the group has issued several calls to the government to release the Rifianactivists currently in detention and meet the demands of the local population.

The initiative asserted that meeting the demands of the residents of the long-marginalized region of Al Hoceima, the epicenter of months-long protests, would meanthe completion of the process of state reconciliation with Rif

source:MoroccoWorldNews