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Berber associations reject claims to write Amazigh in Latin transcripts
Morocco, Politics, 11/1/2002

Some 70 Moroccan Berber Associations on Thursday voiced rejection of calls to write the Berbers' Amazigh language in Latin Characters.

A group of Berber associations issued recently a declaration calling for the writing of Amazigh in Latin characters, arguing the transcripts are universal.

The associations, which opposed the call, argued the Amazigh language has always been written in Arabic characters, noting that "the so-called universality of the Latin transcripts is a mere stratagem proving the adherence of the promoters of the call to western hegemonic schemes."

They called on the signatories of the declaration to reconsider their position and avoid unpopular calls that can be harmful to the Amazigh identity.

The associations urged the Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture, set up by King Mohammed VI, not to cede to the pressures made by a small group that claims legitimacy to represent the Amazigh culture.