King Mohammed VI’s speeches…a quarter century of revelation, passion and “Tamghrabit”

Reading all the historical speeches of many world leaders and politicians carries within it intellectual and cognitive pleasure on the one hand, and is a historical journey with clear details and others between the lines on the other hand, which adds to those royal speeches the qualities of historical travel and national memory.

By reading many royal speeches, especially those of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, we were on a historical journey, moving between historical moments and stations of national, continental, global, religious and social events…

We recalled our feelings when those royal speeches were delivered, and we recalled the response of Moroccans, including Moroccans around the world, to every letter and every word in the royal speeches, as they carry meanings of honesty, loyalty and allegiance.

Throughout our reading of this sample of royal speeches, we lived through pivotal moments in the new era and what it brought in terms of a gradual progression of quiet revolutions led by King Mohammed VI, whether in his capacity as head of state of Morocco (Article 41 of the Constitution) or in his capacity as Commander of the Faithful (Article 42 of the Constitution) in all social, political, legal, economic, cultural and environmental fields… and by adopting major national projects such as advanced regionalization or amending the constitutional document in 2011 or the initiative for self-rule for the southern Saharan regions in April 2007 or the process of reconciliation and justice…

We also experienced powerful moments that included the announcement of the birth of new institutions in all fields of rights, good governance, human development, and advisory institutions…

We also lived through those readings of the royal speeches all the details of the “quiet revolutions” of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God protect him, despite all the constraints, obstacles and difficulties.

We also felt a terrible sense of grandeur when His Majesty the King entered the Conference Palace in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, in January 2017, announcing Morocco’s return to the African home after a long absence. We felt proud of belonging to Morocco and the charisma and genius of the King of Morocco, whose presence was warmly and longly applauded by all African leaders. The warmth of the reception was extinguished by the King’s tears and his sincere words.

This trip also led us, on the other hand, to re-read the tape of images of His Majesty King Mohammed VI during his direct meetings with his dear people through royal speeches, and since his first direct meeting with the people after the death of his father, the late Hassan II, may God bless his soul, in the Throne Speech in July 1999, with his brother, His Royal Highness Moulay Rachid, by his side.

The photo strip will remind us of the first presence of the Crown Prince, Prince Moulay El Hassan, and then we will live with the photo strip of the royal speeches the stages of growth of Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan and his suits similar to the suits of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

Passing through many pictures of speeches in which His Majesty the King’s clothing varied between the official suit on the occasion of national speeches, and the traditional Moroccan dress on the occasion of the opening of legislative sessions in Parliament and religious occasions…

This journey (Royal Speeches) will take us to the places and spaces where those royal speeches were delivered, between Rabat, the capital, and Casablanca, Marrakesh, Ouarzazate, Meknes, Oujda, Fez, Tetouan, Laayoune, Tangier, and Al Hoceima…

These are places that have special connotations and important political, national, continental and international messages, especially the Green March anniversary speech from Laayoune in 2015 and the march speech from the Senegalese capital, Dakar, in November 2016. With this, we can say that it is another journey in the memory of the place… and that historical speeches have human value and a universal collective memory…

This makes it a source of pride for its people and leaders, because it documents life and historical images and documents the stages of development of its democratic and developmental structure, as well as moments of victory or defeat or moments of national struggle, as well as moments of communication between leaders and peoples…

From this standpoint, all royal speeches, whether those of the late Mohammed V or the late Hassan II, may God have mercy on them, on the one hand, and the speeches of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, on the other hand, can be considered a national memory that requires preserving it and encouraging its reading, analyzing its contents, and recalling it in every cognitive or historical analysis that concerns one of the Moroccan historical stages, as well as recalling it and citing its contents in every academic reading related to the humanities, social sciences, and legal sciences… and so on. In this sense, it belongs to all Moroccans and is a basic component of the Moroccan collective memory…

On the other hand, the process of re-reading the royal speeches places us before a multi-pillared architecture that is consistent in purpose and objectives. It is an architecture that requires multiple readings, including:

First – the legal nature of royal speeches, for example, which cannot be done without taking into account the specificities of the Moroccan royal institution, in that the King of the country is the head of the Moroccan state and also the Commander of the Faithful according to history, traditions, political customs and the text of all Moroccan constitutions, especially in Articles 41 and 42 of the 2011 Constitution.

Secondly, the “religious specificity” of the royal speeches or the religious touch in the royal speeches, especially since the one who said them is the Commander of the Faithful/King and all that the institution of “Commander of the Faithful” means in terms of religious, symbolic and spiritual burden… This is what makes all those Quranic verses and prophetic hadiths that are included in all the royal speeches and messages an integral part of the royal speeches and messages themselves; on the one hand, they inject a strong religious dose into them, and on the other hand, they help us to understand more deeply all the meanings of the royal speech and its various messages and implications… The great responsibility, the great trust and other terms with strong meanings and great reach were repeated in more than one royal speech and carried deep meanings and a great sense of responsibility on the part of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in his management of the helm of government and the service of Morocco and Moroccans, based on the accumulations of Moroccan history, traditions and customs, political practices and his constitutional powers, whether in his capacity as President of a modern state or as Commander of the Faithful…

We have decided to suffice with careful readings of a sample of some of the royal speeches from among the dozens that His Majesty the King has delivered on various religious and national occasions, as well as dozens of royal messages on the occasion of national or continental conferences, debates, meetings and international conferences…

With complete impartiality and responsibility, and far from all elements of emotional influence and belonging, His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s sense of great responsibility and great trust has indeed reached us more than once, and in more than one speech, in a clear and smooth manner, and it does not require much effort or extraordinary intelligence to discover them; it is the sense that led us to discover His Majesty’s “passion” to serve his dear and loyal people, and we have shown more than once through strong speeches that the King is, in addition to being the supreme representative of the sovereignty of the nation and the guardian of the sovereignty of the constitution and the smooth running of institutions and other constitutional powers… He is also the defender of the interests of the ordinary Moroccan citizen who aspires to a decent life before other constitutional institutions… He is also the guide to all strategies for integrating Moroccans abroad into the management of Moroccan public affairs and the development of the country… He is the strong and objective critic, and the realistic identifier of all the imbalances and difficulties of all development and strategic programs and in the face of all job ranks, linking responsibility to accountability…

“As the guarantor of the rule of law, the guardian of its respect, and the first to implement it, we have never hesitated to hold accountable anyone proven to have been negligent in carrying out his professional or national responsibility.”

The passion to serve Morocco is found in His Majesty’s follow-up and keenness to involve citizens in public affairs, through his push to intensify responsible and effective participation in elections at all levels, and through his encouragement of mediation institutions, whether civil society associations, professional unions, parties, and media institutions, to raise the level of framing and mobilizing citizens in order to build a development model that respects the dignity of the Moroccan citizen and ensures the development of Moroccan society, societal peace, and democratic construction…

Passion and identification with the expectations of Moroccans and Morocco and with their legitimate aspirations rise to a great trust, a firm bond, and a covenant that His Majesty the King has made to himself in order to serve Morocco and Moroccans and achieve its aspirations…

“I am proud to serve you until my last breath, because I was raised to love my country and serve its people. I promise you, before God, to continue working honestly, to respond to your demands, and to achieve your aspirations.”

* From the book: “Royal Speeches between Leadership Stakes and Reform Challenges.”