King of the Alawi dynasty He made no statement Saturday morning, at a time when the world was learning the magnitude of the tragedy.. While the heads of state of Spain, France, the United States and Russia expressed their support, there was only silence on the part of the authorities.

At the end of the day, He declared three days of mourning, but this was announced by his Cabinet. Later, a photo was released with a press release in which he was seen leading a work meeting in Rabat to “check the situation”. Prior to the meeting, the official silence was only interrupted by an announcement from the Ministry of Interior to update the number of earthquake victims and a statement from the Armed Forces to inform their movements to help those affected. Currently, Mohamed VI has not visited the affected areas.

Where did the authorities stand in those early moments of controversial silence? According to information from Le Parisien, Mohamed VI was not in his country when the earth shook: he was in France, where he spent a long time. The newspaper claims that the Moroccan king will travel to the country on September 1, but not to visit his castle in the L’Oise department, but rather for “medical reasons”. French authorities have not confirmed this information.

Mohamed VI suffers from sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease that attacks the lungs and lymph nodes.. She had undergone surgery at a clinic in Paris in 2018. Last June, her thinness raised concerns about her health condition.

The king was criticized for spending more time outside his country than at homehave not traveled to France since June 2022.

Now, his slow response is being highlighted by international media. “The King of Morocco is conspicuous by his absence the first hours after the earthquake,” the newspaper criticized Western France.

Assistance to help earthquake victims

On the other hand, the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior said in a statement that They only accepted the help offered by Spain, Britain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, reports Europa Press. “The Moroccan authorities have responded well, during this particular phase, to offers of support from friendly countries Spain, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, who have offered to mobilize search and rescue teams,” according to the statement. released by Moroccan television 2M.

Rabat justified his decision in the “precise assessment” made of the needs and “considering a lack of coordination in situations like this can be counterproductive”.

Moroccan Government does not rule out the possibility of asking other countries for assistance if necessary: “As the intervention operation progresses, an evaluation of possible needs may develop, allowing the utilization of offers of support provided by other friendly countries, according to the specific needs at each stage.”

Furthermore, he had expressed his opinion “thank you” for the offer of “availability to provide assistance and assistance under these special circumstances.”