Rabat- The founder of the Andalusian National Assembly (ANA), Pedro Ignacio Altamirano, has stated an ambition to create a republic including Morocco’s Rif.

Ahlam Ben Saga is a Cultural Studies graduate from university Mohammed V of Literature and Humanities in Rabat.

Rabat- The founder of the Andalusian National Assembly (ANA), Pedro Ignacio Altamirano, has stated an ambition to create a republic including Morocco’s Rif.

Altamirano’s statements during the October 13 “Ask Freqüents” show on Spanish television channel TV3 have raised eyebrows.

As the founder of ANA, a nationalist, independence, and socialist political party in southern Spain, Altamirano discussed his ambition to reform a republic of the “Andalusian Countries.” He said the republic would include Murcia, the province of Badajoz in western Spain; Portugal’s Algarve; and Morocco’s northern Rif region.

Although the Rif is not geographically related to the Iberian Peninsula, Altamirano said they are similar in terms of culture, language, cuisine, poetry, and socio-cultural factors.

Altamirano explained that his project does not imply an invasion on Morocco or Portugal: “We are only sharing our project in case Andalusia became independent from Spain,” he stated.

Altamirano said that with the situation in the Rif region in line with the Hirak movement, many people in the region expressed their desire to leave Morocco and join Andalusia.

Altamirano’s imaginary republic has not only inspired the mockery of Moroccans but also some Spanish media outlets.

The Hirak movement began in October 2016 after the death of Mohcine Fikri, a local fishmonger who was crushed to death in a garbage truck while trying to save his goods that authorities had confiscated in Al Hoceima.

Fikri’s death angered citizens, causing protests across the country, but especially in Al Hoceima province, which condemned Fikri’s death and social disparities in Morocco. Police arrested an estimated 400 activists and protesters involved in the protests in 2016 and 2017.

In June, a court in Casablanca gave sentences ranging from 1 to 20 years for 54 Hirak Rif activists. Protest leader Nasser Zefzafi and three other activists received 20 years in prison for their participation in the “unauthorized” protests.

The sentences have resulted in other protests across the country demanding the activists be set free.