Moroccan Amazigh linguist and civil-society figure Mohamed Chami has urged activists to make greater use of the courts to force compliance with the country’s official Tamazight commitments.
Chami made the remarks during a Tawiza Festival panel in Tangier devoted to the gap between recognition and implementation of Amazigh language rights. His intervention focused on Article 5 of Morocco’s Constitution, which recognizes Tamazight as an official language, and Organic Law 26.16, which defines stages for putting that status into practice.
According to Moroccan coverage of the panel, Chami argued that public institutions should not be allowed to treat the officialization of Tamazight as an optional or symbolic policy. He criticized the slow rollout of Amazigh-language education, saying the subject remains largely confined to primary school even though earlier planning had anticipated extension across school cycles.
One of his strongest points concerned legal accountability. Chami said Amazigh actors should pursue judicial remedies when ministries or public bodies fail to comply with constitutional and statutory obligations. That approach reflects a shift from advocacy based mainly on public pressure to one that also treats language rights as enforceable public-law commitments.
The remarks also revived the institutional history of the Amazigh movement. Chami recalled earlier efforts to secure constitutional protection and described how activists tried to ensure their demands reached the highest levels of the state. The broader message was that recognition achieved in 2011 should now be defended through practical mechanisms, including litigation where necessary.
The intervention comes at a time when Morocco has made visible symbolic advances, including the planned addition of Tamazight to the new biometric passport. Chami’s argument, however, is that symbolic measures must be paired with consistent implementation in schools, administration, justice and public-facing services.