Preparations for the 9th CMA Congress

The Federal Council had already decided at its meeting on May 26, 2024, to hold the 9th CMA Congress in Morocco. After various consultations, the city of Amur-n-Yakuc (Marrakech) was chosen as the venue for this congress next October. With this in mind, a technical organizing committee was established in Marrakech, coordinated by Youssef Mahfouf, member of the Federal Council-Morocco.

 

The Federal Council opportunely recalls that the choice to organize the next CMA congress in Morocco was self-imposed due to the lack of alternatives. The last congress having taken place in Tunisia, Libya still being in the grip of instability and insecurity, as is the case in Aïr and Azawad, the excessive difficulties in Mauritania, the visa problem for the Canary Islands, Algeria being banned from the CMA by the Algerian military dictatorship, only Morocco remained, even though this country has already hosted three CMA congresses. As for organizing the next CMA congress abroad, this option was not discussed because the strategic choice of the CMA is to organize its meetings in the Tamazgha countries for as long as possible. And since the harshest criticism of the organization of the CMA congress in Morocco comes from Algeria, the Federal Council challenges the Algerian authorities to allow the CMA congress to be held in that country. In this regard, it is worth recalling the misfortune experienced by some Amazighs in 2008, who were turned away at Algiers airport, and the numerous expulsions of CMA members who came to participate in meetings in Kabylia. The FC also informs its members that they will be able to participate in the congress by videoconference in the event that they are prevented from traveling to Morocco.

 

The Federal Council therefore heard a presentation by Youssef Mahfouf, who provided details on logistics, including the venues that will host the congress and the accommodations for delegates and guests. The FC then asked the members of the Bureau to make the exact date of the congress public as soon as possible so that participants in this major international gathering of the Amazighs can organize their travel to Marrakech.

 

The members of the Federal Council then addressed current issues, beginning with a pseudo-statement that had recently circulated implicating the current leadership of the CMA. Following the presentation by the CMA Secretary General, the Federal Council stated:

 

- It is common for the CMA to be subjected to malicious acts in the run-up to its congresses, with the aim of destabilizing it and attempting to sow confusion.

- None of the names appearing in this document circulated on social media have any legitimacy or legality to speak on behalf of the CMA. Furthermore, two individuals whose names appear at the bottom of this statement resigned several years ago, in writing and at their own request, while others have stated that they were unaware of the existence of this statement. This underlines the far-fetched and dishonest nature of this approach.

- The FC recalls that at its meeting of May 26, 2024, it noted, with regard to Khalid Zerrari, former co-president, "his total failure as defined by Article 4 of the CMA's internal regulations and unanimously confirmed his exclusion from the CMA in accordance with Article 8 of said internal regulations". The Federal Council then asked Mr. Zerrari to "no longer speak on behalf of the CMA and to immediately cease using the title of CMA Co-President."

- The Federal Council also recalls its decision taken at the same meeting of May 26, 2024, which states that in order to adapt to the exceptionally restrictive context and to address the vacancy of the CMA Presidency, as well as to meet the formal need for legality, the Federal Council has decided to appoint the Vice-President for the Diaspora, Rabah Issadi, as Interim President of the CMA until the organization's next congress, in accordance with Article 8 of the statutes, which provides that "in the event of the death, resignation, or incapacity of the Co-Presidents, a new President will be elected by the Federal Council from among the Vice-Presidents." Consequently, the appointment of Rabah Issadi as interim President of the CMA on May 26, 2024, automatically terminates Kamira Nait-Sid's term as Co-President of the CMA. Therefore, any initiative bearing the names of the former Co-Presidents is null and void and in no way binds the CMA.

 

Furthermore, the CF declares:

- that it considers Kamira Nait-Sid a victim of the Algerian regime and reiterates the CMA's demands, supported by UN decisions: the kidnapping on August 24, 2021, and the sequestration of Kamira Nait-Sid for a week, followed by her detention for more than three years, are illegal and arbitrary. Since Kamira Nait-Sid's judgment was overturned and annulled by the Algerian Supreme Court on March 28, 2024, Algeria was required to drop all charges and proceedings against Ms. Nait-Sid, rehabilitate her legal, moral, and physical integrity, and pay her substantial compensation for the harm suffered by her and her family.

- The CMA also demands the identification of the Algerian officials who inflicted such an ordeal on Kamira Nait-Sid and their severe punishment.

- The Federal Council reiterates its unwavering solidarity with Kamira Nait-Sid.

 

The CMA Federal Council considers that Kamira Nait-Sid left her cell at Koléa prison on September 1, 2024, but she is still not free, as she now lives in the open-air prison that Algeria and particularly Kabylia has become. In fact, she remains under close surveillance and deprived of any freedom of speech, professional activity, communication, or movement. Moreover, since her conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court, Kamira Nait-Sid must be retried, in fact and in law, by the designated referring court. But her trial in this new procedure, which was scheduled to take place on November 25, 2024, before a court in Algiers, was postponed to December 9, 2024, then February 10, 2025, and postponed once again to an unspecified later date. Suffice it to say, Kamira Nait-Sid lives under the sword of Damocles, which could send her back to her cell at any time, by arbitrary decision of Algerian injustice. Consequently, like all former Kabyle political prisoners, Kamira Nait-Sid is a hostage of the Algerian regime. She will only be truly free the day Algeria becomes a state governed by the rule of law or if she manages to leave this country administered by a totalitarian military power.

 

The FC reiterates that the CMA will remain faithful to its principles and values and will continue, regardless of adversity, to pursue its mission independently and unwaveringly. It welcomes the efforts of the members of the Bureau and the FC, who have all contributed to providing concrete support to Kamira Nait-Sid and ensuring that no one forgets her. The CF recalls that during the period of her detention, the CMA did everything possible to urge regional and international bodies to react in support of its detained co-president, including before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the European External Action Service (EEAS) of the European Union, the European Parliament, and the UN. It was thanks to a complaint from the CMA that the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) took into consideration the case of Kamira Nait-Sid and decided on April 1, 2022, after hearing from the Algerian government, that Kamira Nait Sid had been abducted, kidnapped and arbitrarily detained and called for her immediate release. The CMA also insisted on Mr. Voule, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of association and assembly, asking him to raise the case of Kamira Nait-Sid with the Algerian authorities during his visit to Algeria in September 2023. And this is what he did, as his final report on his visit testifies. The CMA also urged Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, to visit Kamira Nait-Sid in prison during her visit to Algeria in November/December 2024. We sincerely thank Ms. Lawlor for visiting Kamira Nait-Sid in Koléa prison. This was an exceptional gesture that we highly appreciated and which must have boosted Kamira's morale, who also benefited from the support of major NGOs such as IWGIA, Frontline Defenders and Amnesty International. The CMA also took advantage of every opportunity and platform to raise awareness of the injustice inflicted on Kamira Nait-Sid by the Algerian authorities, in Marseille, Geneva, Paris, New York, Nairobi, and elsewhere. It was important to briefly recall these events but without expecting any recognition, as it is the CMA's duty to constantly stand by its members and all Amazigh people.

 

In a context marked by hostility toward our organization, the CMA Federal Council calls on CMA members and all Amazigh people to remain vigilant while remaining focused on the CMA's missions and on preparing for its upcoming congress in Amur-n-Yakuc* (Marrakech).

 

*Amur-n-Yakuc, the land of god (the original name of Marrakech in tamazight language)

 

Paris, 03/13/2975 – 03/25/2025

The CMA Federal Council