Mohammed Sellam Amezian (; Tazourakht (Ait Boukhlef)

Al Hoceima Al Hoceima () is a city in the north of Morocco, on the northern edge of the Rif Mountains and on the Mediterranean coast. It is the capital city of the Al Hoceima Province. The city is a known tourist destination despite its small size. It has ...

, 1925 – 9 September 1995, in

Bergen op Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the Brabantian dialect, local dialect) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southwestern Netherlands. It is located in the Province ...

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

) was a Riffian politician, a member of the Democratic Independence Party and a veteran of the pre-independence guerilla Army of Liberation. He led the Rif Revolt (1958-1959).

Early life

Mohammed Sellam Amezian was born in 1925 in Beni Boukhlef, within the

Ait Ouriaghel The Ait Waryaghar or Ait Ouriaghel (Berber languages, Berber: ⴰⵢⵜ ⵡⴰⵔⵢⴰⵖⴻⵔ) is one of the biggest Riffians, Riffian tribes of the Rif region of the north-eastern part of Morocco and one of the most populous. Ait Waryagher mea ...

tribe in the

Rif The Rif (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea and Spain and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the homeland of the Rifians and the Jebala people ...

region in northern

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. He studied at the

University of al-Qarawiyyin The University of al-Qarawiyyin (), also written Al-Karaouine or Al Quaraouiyine, is a university located in Fez, Morocco. It was founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in 857–859 and subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educ ...

in Fez and graduated from it. At the beginning of the fifties, he was sent to teach in Karia Ba Mohamed, where he remained four years, before moving to

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

and

Tétouan Tétouan (, or ) is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles south of the Strait of Gibraltar, and about E.S.E. of Tangier. In the 2014 Morocc ...

to pursue his teaching career. In parallel with his work, he was politically active as a member of the

Moroccan Army of Liberation The Army of Liberation (; ) was an organization of various loosely united militias fighting for the independence of Morocco from the French- Spanish protectorate. It was founded in 1955 as an attempt to organise the various factions of rural ...

and the Democratic Independence Party. He was from the Ait Bu 'Ayyash khoms of the Ait Ouriaghel and under the Spanish protectorate was a sub-fractional ''mqaddim''. However, he lost his job under independence like with other local Riffian authorities.

The Rif Revolt

In October 1958, riots started in the

region, as a result of marginalization of the region by the central authority. Sellam Amezian directed this movement. In fact, he embodied all the frustrations associated with independence. He came from a prestigious Riffian lineage that the new ruling class marginalized, he was a member of the MLA and the DIP, both of which the palace and the

Istiqlal Party The Istiqlal Party (; ; ) is a political party in Morocco. It is a conservative and monarchist party and a member of the Centrist Democrat International and International Democracy Union. Istiqlal headed a coalition government under Abbas El Fa ...

hoped to eliminate. He was also a victim of extortion at the hands of the authorities, having spent more than two years in prison without being formally charged. On 7 October 1958, the protesters issued a chart with a list of demands including "The immediate withdraw of all foreign forces from Morocco, and the return of

Abd el-Krim Muḥammad bin ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Khaṭṭābī, better known as Abd el-Krim (; 1882 or 1883 – 6 February 1963), was a Moroccan political and military leader and the president of the Republic of the Rif. He and his brother M'Hammad led a ...

and his family to the country". The events escalated quickly, and weapons started to be used by both the protesters and the army. The uprising was fiercely oppressed by the army, even using aircraft flown by French pilots. Hundreds were killed and thousands were arrested and wounded. Abd El-Karim estimated the number of detainees in the wake of the Rif uprising at 8420.

Life in exile

After the crush of the

Rif Revolt 1958 Rif riots, Rif Revolt or Rif uprising () took place in the northern Rif region of Morocco by tribes rebelling against the Moroccan government, motivated by the region's marginalization. The revolt, led by Sellam Amezian, had a clear set of ...

, Sellam Amezian sought initially refuge in Spain before leaving for

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

then

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. He remained in

until 1994 before moving to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, where he lived until passing away on 9 September 1995. He was later buried in his hometown of Beni Boukhlef in

. One of his sons, Mohammed Amezian is a journalist, and worked with

Radio Netherlands Worldwide Radio Netherlands (RNW; ) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012. Its services in Dutch ended on 11 May 2012. Eng ...

from 2008 to 2017.In Search of my father – Mohammed Amezian – Hespress (2008) – In Arabic
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References

{{Reflist

External links

Documentary on Sellam Amezian (in Arabic and Berber).
Sunni Muslims Moroccan Berbers Berber rebels Moroccan Berber politicians Moroccan dissidents Moroccan exiles Moroccan independence activists Moroccan revolutionaries Riffian people University of al-Qarawiyyin alumni 20th-century Moroccan educators 1925 births 1995 deaths