The National Union of Moroccan Journalists condemns the acts of bullying and intimidation, and calls on the Public Prosecution to investigate.

Agadir24

The National Union of Moroccan Journalists expressed its deep concern and dissatisfaction with a series of articles and videos that dealt with media affairs in Morocco in a very offensive manner, and in another part attacked the union itself, by targeting a number of members of the union’s apparatus, in what it described as a systematic campaign in which language drawn from a dictionary full of slander, insults and defamation was used, which sometimes reached the point of individual intimidation.

The union stressed that, as much as it believes in and is keen to preserve freedom of expression and opinion to an unlimited extent, it also stresses, to the same extent, the importance of linking this freedom to responsibility and respect for the freedoms and dignity of others.

The National Union of Moroccan Journalists said, “The slogan of moralizing the profession of journalism, which has become available for everyone to express their opinions on, does not give the right to practice deception in the information provided and the data expressed, which has no relation to the reality of the situation expressed. Rather, the failure to verify the accuracy of the data that is being used to target people in positions of responsibility takes criticism out of its legitimate scope and into the level of settling scores, which is no less dangerous than the excuses used.”

The union strongly condemned “all the vulgar expressions that make the lives of individuals permissible, and the harm they cause extends to harming the lives of those around the targeted person,” wondering about the guilt of the families of the defamed persons, the benefit of directly targeting the consciences and lives of the individuals who bear responsibility, and how to understand the intention of criticism for the sake of correction in such reckless behavior and foolish and foolish action.”

The statement considered that “the exploitation of unregulated communication spaces by some, and the failure to activate legal accountability mechanisms for the defamation and intimidation committed against citizens, encourages the persistence of the practice of “Bring it to me, mouth, and say” terrorism, in an attempt to subjugate at times and blackmail at other times, and to create a “system” that tramples on all laws, customs, and values ​​of Tamaghrabit under the “banner of fighting corruption,” while these people, with their childish actions and behavior, distance themselves from the principles of this slogan.”

The National Union of Moroccan Journalists stressed its belief and consideration that “the blatant misuse of freedom of expression poses a grave danger to the gains of years of human rights struggle, and it even doubts the aims and objectives behind this dilution that targets the media field.”

The same union boldly confirmed that “the harmony of irresponsible outings targeting individuals and institutions, which reach the level of bullying, in targeting private life to the point of threatening the entity of existing families with criminal tools, after a practice targeting freedom of expression in itself, and constitutes criminal acts that deserve an investigation into all parties involved in it.”

The statement called for “the intervention of the Public Prosecution and all relevant authorities and the opening of an urgent investigation in order to uncover all the threads of this organized network of planners and implementers, which poses a threat to the country’s reputation and the sanctity of its institutions.”

The union considered that “the ambition to improve the profession and purify its environment from impurities and thorns is facing today with the mixing of papers and the use of different masks to cry over this common diagnosis, and the goal of that is to stop the sector’s reform workshops from the entrance of the legal mechanism to maintain the chaos that the profession’s opponents and those infiltrating its high authority feed off of, and to transform it into a drawing for internal and external blackmail, and that everyone who contributes to this miserable atmosphere of name-calling is accused of perpetuating this situation.”

She added, stressing that “the seriousness of what these groups and individuals are committing, whether from within or outside, is not limited to the damage to the National Union of Moroccan Journalists – the union organization and leading officials, but extends to the systematic attack on national institutions, such that Morocco is portrayed as if it has no judiciary and no public prosecution to protect people’s rights, honor and dignity, and without legal, moral and human rights oversight bodies, as if we are facing a country that is a hotbed of chaos and anarchy, not a state of institutions that enjoys security and stability.”

The union stressed that “legitimate criticism of the sector and its actors is a service to progress and development, stressing that this criticism will cause great harm to this endeavor if these dirty means are used. It also called on everyone to appreciate the importance of this stage in the history of the press sector, to refrain from collusion in sponsoring this degenerate and miserable atmosphere, and to move towards deep and calm discussion to formulate solutions and visions for the future of the profession and professionals.”

The union concluded its statement, a copy of which was received by Agadir 24, by recalling “the sector’s priorities, which are to produce a legal system that protects and fortifies the profession and professionals, and to adhere to upholding professional ethics and noble practice to restore the prestige of this sector, and to value the human element in it by speeding up the signing of the collective agreement, calling on journalists, both male and female, and workers to separate the real discussion from the creative chaos in which some are trying to distract them, and to move towards completing the tasks of building a sector that deserves the title of the fourth estate and “Her Majesty.”