Former PPS Leader Reveals Details of 1972 Coup Attempt Against Hassan II

"About thirteen months after the bloody massacre of Skhirat, caused by the 1971 coup attempt, another attempt took place on August 16, 1972," recounts Moulay Ismaïl Alaoui in his book, adding that "it was summer, and that day I was with my family at my grandmother’s house, on the beach of Sidi Bouzid, in the suburbs of the city of El Jadida." The author confides that he "crossed the trade union leader Mahjoub Ben Seddik, who was cycling in the seaside resort. I neither informed nor approached him - I am by nature a rather reserved person - all there is to say is that, before the coup attempt reached me through Radio France Internationale (RFI), I saw Ben Seddik, and he too was unaware of anything, because it seemed unlikely that the army would attempt a second time to overthrow the regime."

The former Secretary General of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) emphasizes that "this second attempt revealed underground political ties, forming an alliance between certain elements affiliated with the progressive movement in Morocco, who had no intention of continuing their commitment within the political frameworks. They therefore allied themselves with General Mohamed Oufkir, who was considering, in case of success, seizing power as indicated by certain confidential documents, and launching a vast operation of reprisals against all the progressives of Morocco." According to him, Oufkir planned to eliminate or imprison nearly "six thousand political, military and other figures of the Moroccan elite, including members of the PPS. If he had succeeded, an unprecedented disaster would have befallen the country."

Alaoui specified that his uncle, Dr. Abdelkrim El Khatib, had informed Hassan II on July 26, 1972 of Oufkir’s plot. "But unfortunately, the late king did not take this information with the seriousness it deserved." "I immediately went to the Rabat train station, where the royal train was about to leave for Tangier, from where the royal delegation was to board a ship bound for France. I got on the royal car and asked to meet His Majesty the King. When he received me, I informed him of what had been communicated to me. The king then called Oufkir and told him: ’Come, listen to what El Khatib says,’" El Khatib recounted in his memoirs.

"After the first coup attempt, we did not imagine that the situation would improve for the Party of Liberation and Socialism, as long as Oufkir was in place. We met within the party, and the decision was to delve deeper into clandestinity, until things became clearer," continues the author, indicating that after "the failure of the second coup attempt, the cards were on the table. The party, like other political formations, sent a memorandum to the king. Following this, King Hassan II individually received the main leaders of the Moroccan parties, including comrade Ali Yata, in what seemed to be frank confessions. From that moment on, things changed for Hassan II, who understood that the quickest way to restore his authority was to appease tensions with the national movement, which led to the emergence of the idea of liberating the southern provinces."