Leading Moroccan daily Al Akhbar shared a story on the sidelines of King Mohammed VI’s speech to the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, a speech read out by the head of the Moroccan Government Abdelilah Benkirane.
The daily said that the speech was unprecedented, featuring a new discourse that aims at criticizing constructively the west.
The leading Moroccan daily highlighted the part of the speech when Benkirane said that the west should not pressure Africa to follow its own model, as there are many models to follow in order to become a developed country, especially in regards to those African countries that still suffer from the effects of colonialism.
“Instead of providing the assistance needed by the peoples concerned [Africans], some Western countries, which asked nobody’s permission to colonize countries of the South, continue to impose on them harsh conditions which hinder these countries’ normal course towards progress,” Benkirane read out on behalf of King Mohammed VI.
The Moroccan head of the government added “that all what Western countries and their affiliated institutions do is give lessons, and, at best, a few pieces of advice. As for support, it is very limited and is always conditional.”
“The first call I should like to make from this rostrum regards the need to respect the characteristic values and principles of each country as it builds its own development model. This is particularly true for developing countries which are still suffering from the consequences of colonialism,” Benkirane added.
“I [King Mohammed VI] am not here today to tell you about my country’s experience or about our achievements. I am here to make an appeal for developing countries to be treated fairly, especially in Africa, and for the development issue to be addressed in an objective manner….”
What applies to the West should not be used as the sole criterion for determining the efficiency of other development models; nor should one make comparisons between countries…”
Al Akhbar said that King Mohammed VI’s speech featured a “strongly worded” and “constructively criticizing” message.
The Moroccan Times.
