Collective land grabs and exploitation of the children of Sidi Ayad.

Open letter to

 Ambassador of Germany in Rabat

Object: grabbing of collective land and exploitation of children of Sidi Ayad.

Sidi Ayad, an Amazigh tribe in southeastern Morocco is completely marginalized. Ruins of the concentration camp built by the French army are still standing at the foot of the mountain: it aimed to control the workers of the Ahouli mine at the top of the hill. It is now sheltered from the poor peasants, their children seek stones in the mineral waste of the mine to survive their families. The mines mafia supported by the Midelt Gendarmerie exploit these children who risk their lives instead of being in school.

Sidi Ayad is home to one of the great mineral resources of Morocco, already exploited by the French in the colonial era, like all regions of south-eastern Morocco. It has a large body of water, a dam was built to supplement the electricity production of the solar panels of the Noor 4 power plant.

Noor 4 is a solar power station intended to supply electricity to the projected mining industry factories. Morocco is engaged in new colonial projects on the land of the oppressed poor peasants of Sidi Ayad.

Sidi Ayad is devoid of any sign of a dignified life: no school, no health center, no electricity, no drinking water ... nothing but torture, especially after their demonstration for their right to land, water and natural resources in 2017.

The authorities are suing the peasants who are trying to build a house, and the agents of the water and forests are condemning them to heavy lawsuits, they are strange on their land.

They fight in the National Union of small farmers and forestry professionals for their right to 4500 hectares of their land by the Moroccan State without compensation, these farmers are in sit-in open since February 22, 2019.

See this link:

https://www.facebook.com/lahoucine.amal.5/videos/10217283796539769/UzpfSTEwMTc5NDY3Mjk6MTAyMTcyOTE4Mzg3NDA4MTk/

A portion of these lands are set aside for the construction of the Noor 4 solar power plant of a credit fund of the German Development Bank of 70 million euros following official statements.

See the link:

https://lenergeek.com/2017/04/06/projet-noor-iv-maroc-energie-solaire/

Our union considers your Bank, as a stakeholder, an important member in this dispute.

We ask the Ambassador to take our letter into consideration, to transmit it to the German Federal Government and to inform the German Development Bank of its commitments in this type of project which does not respect the standards of the rights of the populations.

Germany, through its association agreements with Morocco, is involved in the conflict between the Moroccan regime and the peasants. It therefore seems urgent to us that the Federal Government of Germany adopt a demanding resolution, which it recalls as the member of the German Development Bank, as a member of this project, of its commitments to respect human rights and democratic principles.