In an interview with the liberal Berber website "Tamazgha," Mustapha Berhouchi, president of the TADA umbrella group of Moroccan Berber organizations, said that the Berbers need a state of their own: "In a world where a fanatical Islam is looking to acquire nuclear capabilities, and faced with Europe's hypocritical attitude, the Imazighen (i.e. Berbers), if they want to continue to exist as a people, have no choice but to acquire a state."
In a separate statement, the CNCCOT, a Moroccan organization demanding official status for the Berber language in Morocco, called for a new secular and democratic constitution, guarantees of freedom of expression, and an end to Morocco's membership in the Arab League: "The Moroccan authorities' membership in illusory, phantom organizations like the Arab League is nothing but a waste of time and money… We demand that Morocco withdraw from the Arab League and from all the racist organizations of which it is a member."
Sources: www.tamazgha.fr, March 3, 2007; www.kabyle.com, March 3, 2007.
