Morocco Halts Unauthorized Holocaust Memorial Project in Al Haouz Province

The construction of the Holocaust memorial has little chance of being completed. Indeed, the local authorities of the province of Al Haouz began the demolitions on Monday, August 26, due to lack of authorization, reports HuffPost.

The local authorities issued a press release to justify the act. "The information circulated by some websites and on social networks about the establishment of a project by a foreign national including a museum and several facilities as well as a memorial in the form of artistic panels, in the commune of Aït Faska (province of Al Haouz), are unfounded," the statement said.

They claim to have granted no authorization for the establishment of such a project. For the authorities, "the establishment of such a project is subject to regulatory procedures and requires the obtaining of the administrative authorizations in force."

For its part, the German NGO, PixelHelper, in a statement published on its Facebook page, protests against the disproportionate destruction of the memorial. "Unfortunately, from the outset, the authorities refused any cooperation and, during the first year, all requests for meetings were rejected by the mayor," PixelHelper said, deploring the situation.

Furthermore, it is demanding compensation from the Moroccan state for the losses it has estimated at around 100,000 euros. Confiding in HuffPost, Oliver Bienkowski, the initiator of the project, hinted that the authorities remain deaf to his requests.