Tripoli, 22 July:
Libya has formally protested to the Moroccan authorities about the treatment of Libyans visiting Morocco.
They are being photographed on . . .[restrict]arrival and departure.
On Thursday, the Libyan Foreign Ministry summoned the chargé d’affaires at the Moroccan embassy in Tripoli to protest against it, demanding that Morocco treat Libyan citizens well.
According to Saad Elshlmani, the ministry’s spokesman, the Moroccans claim the process is for security reasons.
“There are many Libyans in Morocco”, he said, “and many from the other side (elements of the Qaddafi regime) are there”. Nonetheless there was no justification for this treatment, he insisted. “They take you aside when you arrive and photograph you”, he explained, adding that no other Arab country was treating Libyans this way. Libya wants it to stop, he said.
Mohamed Assed, who writes for Libya Herald and whose mother was photographed when she arrived in Rabat this month, described it as “emotionally very upsetting” for her. It was a “painful process”, he said.
“No other Arabs are being treated this way in Morocco”, he added.
The Moroccans have not yet responded to the Libyan complaint. [/restrict]
