In Morocco, the hashtag #المهدي_بن_سعيد_ومستشاره_ديكاج translating to #Mehdi_Bensaid_and_His_Advisor_Leave is trending on Twitter and for legitimate reasons. Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, and his advisor Abdellah Eid Nizar, are under fire after prominent festivals in Rabat and Casablanca became spaces for serious offenses and indecent comments.
Abdellah Eid Nizar, an advisor to the Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication is accused of featuring El Grande Toto, an artist who made indecent comments, in some of Morocco’s biggest festivals. Even more so, it was later on revealed that Abdellah Eid Nizar, of Syrian origins, has made statements that encroach upon “the sacred referential premises of the country” and “the sacredness of the constants that are the subject of national unanimity” such as “the commandery of believers, the monarchy, national unity, territorial integrity, etc.”, in posts that resurfaced on social media.
سؤال الى السيد @ChefGov_ma و @mehdibensaid و @DGSN_MAROC :
كيف يعقل ان شخص يتهكم ويهين صاحب الجلالة ووالده على الملأ ان يكون مستشار لوزير التقافة في #المغرب؟ أليست شخصية الملك أعلى سلطة في البلاد مكان احترام لدى عموم الشعب؟ هل هاته الافعال لا يجرمها القانون؟ ام أن له من يحميه؟ pic.twitter.com/5Nyp43umMu— Mounir Doli (@mounirdoli) October 1, 2022
During the Great Concerts of Rabat, the Moroccan rapper El Grande Toto shouted indecent comments in what was supposed to be a family-friendly concert organized by Morocco’s Ministry of Culture. His statement during a press conference prior to the concert was also subject to public uproar, he declared: “Do I smoke week? Yes, and?” Moroccans slammed this behavior and blamed the Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication for this occurrence.
Not a few days have gone by that another scandal came to add to the brewing anger of Moroccans after L’Boulevard, a famous Moroccan Hip-Hop festival was subject to disorganization, looting, drug use, and testimonies of sexual abuse (in Casablanca). This was further exacerbated by the number of attendees that exceeded the venue in which the festival was held.
On this issue, the organizers of L’Boulevard stated that “faced with this outburst and for security reasons, the doors were closed at 8 pm, in order to let the authorities and agents do their job and ensure the safety of the public present and the artists scheduled.”
Several testimonies reported a wave of collective sexual assaults, robberies, hold-ups, and cases of rape. The attacks, according to several accounts, were coordinated and committed by groups of people. A testimony Barlaman Today collected revealed that “men surrounded unaccompanied women closely. They used sexual abuse as a diversion to seize some of their victims’ personal belongings, such as cell phones or wallets.”
The police prefecture of Casablanca issued a statement denying that its services recorded any “complaints or reports of sexual assault.” These false rumors were debunked following the contact the police prefecture established with hospitals and civil protection services that, in turn, denied having “seen or received any victim of sexual assault.”
That being said, the police services confirmed that they “have arrested 20 people following the outbursts that have marked this concert, including six for public intoxication and possession of alcoholic beverages, two people for possession and consumption of drugs, two others for assault and battery, and 10 for theft.”
Following the tragic events that unfolded in L’Boulevard, the association EAC-L’Boulvart issued a press release in which it states that “ it takes the social media posts reporting rapes that may have been committed on September 30th during the festival very seriously,” adding that “if we are speaking out just now, it is because we were seeking more information on what was published, with the competent authorities, as well as with Internet users who alerted public opinion.”