RABAT - Morocco's King Mohammed VI vowed on Thursday to tighten the screw on extremists following the devastating suicide blasts in the country's largest city Casablanca earlier this month. "The hour of truth has come," the king said in an address broadcast on radio and television, vowing to ensure that the bombings, in which 43 people were killed including 12 assailants, would be the country's last. In his first public address since the blasts on May 16, the king promised to "confront those who seek to drag Morocco into the past".
| There's lots of them, King. Good luck to you... |
"Terrorism will not deviate us from our path and Morocco will continue to work towards democracy and modernity," said the king, who in his three years on the throne has forged a reputation as a moderniser of the monarchy. Branding as cowards those responsible for the attacks, Mohammed VI said they had betrayed their country and belonged neither to Morocco nor to Islam. The king condemned "those whose ideas represent a breeding ground for the thorns of division, fanaticism and discord" and vowed to clamp down on "those who exploit democracy to strike at the authority of the state". He said that in order to build a democracy, Morocco needed to act under "a strong state and the rule of law."
| It sounds like a contradiction, but it isn't. There's a difference between anarchy and liberty. Have a look at Pakistan or Yemen. |
Mohammed VI also announced that generous compensation would be made available to the families of the victims.
| And that's a matter of acting kingly... |
In the wake of the attacks, the Moroccan parliament on Tuesday adopted a controversial anti-terrorism law, which will stiffen penalties and ease police work in terrorism cases. The law, which also broadens the definition of terrorism, had been strongly criticised by human rights groups.
| But naturally. They strongly defend the rights of religious lunatics to slaughter people by the dozens, even hundreds... |
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