This project was established by Said Hajji within the framework of his participation in a follow-up committee on the demands for a free press created on September 17, 1936 to execute the decisions made by the National Action Committee on January 16 of the same year. Unfortunately the last section of his manuscript was not found amongst the papers left by the deceased. Only the contents on the first and second areas of his project remain. These were published in the book by Abou Bakr Kadiri titled "Memories Within the National Movement in the 1930s". The excerpt of this interesting text is translated here despite being incomplete.
The project has three areas of focus
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The means to be implemented to get access to a (free) press
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The type of newspapers to be created
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The policies that must be drawn for a national press in Arabic
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How to get access to a free press
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Present a minimum of five Authorization Requests for publishing newspapers in Arabic
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Specify whether or not these newspapers would have a political purpose
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Address a letter to the Resident General in Rabat on behalf of the National Action Committee emphasizing the wish of Moroccans to have access to an Arabic press which can uniquely respond to the imperatives of Moroccan sentiment.
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Create one or two newspapers in French and write in them articles on the necessity of creating national newspapers in Arabic.
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Pursue the publication in Paris of a newspaper called Al Maghrib in French and dedicate a special edition on the issue of Moroccan newspapers written in Arabic
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In case of a negative response from the authorities, establish a Board for the Petition of Civil Liberties composed of four members charged with presenting a petition to His Majesty the King and to the Resident General of France.
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Distribute across Moroccan society a communique accompanied by the aforementioned petition after it has been presented to the competent authorities
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Send telegrams to the higher authorities emphasizing the petition from the board and the demand for a free press.
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In case there is no response after a month has passed, send a new petition edited with a firmer tone to protest to government authorities their negligence to address this important issue.
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Maintain permanent contact with Moroccan cities to keep them informed of the board's activities and to spread the results of their endeavors to the different layers of the population.
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In case the authorities do not follow up on the board's petition, send a manifesto to the League of Nations as well as to diplomatic missions and to the foreign press.
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In case of the arrest of the board's members, establish immediately a new board and announce its membership to the people and to the government. Send telegrams of protest to the higher authorities. Reiterate the requests for authorization which have remained unanswered.
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Charter the new board to send a third petition. Broadcast through the (newspapers mentioned above) a press release reiterating the demands for a free press.
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In case the government authorities dismiss the requests submitted to them claiming that they never received them and proceed to arrest members of the second board, then resort clandestinely to the distribution of leaflets denouncing vigorously the policies of the Protectorate power and to stigmatize its colonialist aims as well as the misdeeds and wrongs it has inflicted on the Moroccan people.
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Spread all rumors circulating about the Protectorate Authority's designs and spare no effort to undermine the reputation of the French residents of Morocco.
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Inform the foreign press, without mincing words, about all the activities of the French authorities in Morocco.
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Spread a petition written in several key European languages to the main international media and invite them to show interest in the news from Morocco which has been subjected to all kinds of injustice and abuse. Have the petition signed by a large number of Moroccans.
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Organize demonstrations destined to mobilize the energy of the popular masses.
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Give informal speeches in mosques to create a burst of public enthusiasm and reinvigorate their struggle.
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To not fear being arrested and jailed as part of the framework of the reprisals orchestrated by the colonial power.
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Charter a small group during this period to spread propaganda abroad.
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The type of newspapers whose creation should be considered:
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A daily in Arabic and one in French, both representing the official views of the National Action Committee. Of moderate tone, they do not attack the private lives of any persons and address only those issues related to the national cause. Avoiding as much as possible to become the subject of seizure and shutdown.
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An ultra-nationalistic newspaper, vigorously defending its patriotic ideals and engaging the editorial team fully and in its entirety on all articles it publishes.
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Newspapers to inform that share the same patriotic convictions except their mission is to avoid criticism of the authorities to limit themselves to expose objectively the political and economic situation in Morocco and elsewhere.
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Newspapers and magazines with a focus on cultural topics. No political content but addresses in particular building a sense of renewal and need for social reform and economic development.
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