Some had deployed a crazy energy and mobilized, with pleas and deployment of their address book, to put this agitator on this list coveted. But Nasser Zefzafi, who became known only through the events of Al Hoceima, was simply ignored. This is why he is not on the list of the three finalists who can claim the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize. The information fell on Tuesday, August 27 and it is a setback both for the one who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for “undermining the security of the state” as for the troubled circles that surf on his “notoriety”, all relative to the rest, to try to make a reputation.
For more details, the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize is a distinction created in 2013, awarded annually by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. This prize is named after the Czech statesman (1936-2011), in whose honor he was created, a figurehead of the Velvet revolution, who put an end to the communist regime. This atypical politician, a beloved personality in his country, is often called the “president-philosopher”. The life of Václav Havel has been described as a “work of art” by one of his fellow citizens, the great writer Milan Kundera.
It is therefore no wonder that the jury of this prize did not think of associating the name of Václav Havel with that of Zefzafi, the very one who has recently “illustrated” by asking, nothing less than to be deprived of his Moroccan nationality, who had also been convicted for intelligence with foreign parties, who financed his activities against the stability of the region where he was born.
The Václav Havel Award recognizes well-known personalities who are known for their struggle for the defense of human rights. To take a brief look at the list of personalities selected for this year, can be immediately recognized, like Ilham Tohti, an intellectual who has been working for more than 20 years to improve the situation of the Uyghur minority and to promote interethnic dialogue and understanding in China.
Also on the list is Buzurgmehr Yorov, a human rights lawyer in Tajikistan, who has been persecuted for nearly 20 years because of their political beliefs and activism. Also include in this list a body, in this case the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, an organization that has been working since 2003 to promote reconciliation by connecting young people from different ethnic groups, regions and countries.
It is clear, then, that Nasser Zefzafi, whose only act of arms was to harangue the crowds to warn them against public order, by politicizing claims, while they were, in essence, economic and social, does not make weight.
Finally, remember that Nasser Zefzafi was excluded from the Sakharov Prize for the year 2018. This prize rewards those who have made “an exceptional contribution to the struggle for human rights in the world”. This agitator of an event circumscribed as well in time as in space, is thus far from it. What more is needed for its promoters to take full measure of its true dimension?