The local deputy of Vox MelillaJavier Da Costa said in a harsh budget debate last Thursday that it was not necessary to defend Tamazight in Melilla or allocate any funds to do so, according to El faro Melilla.
The Government of Melilla has launched in June the Amazigh Language and Culture Promoter Group, currently made up of 60 people, to promote the language and culture of the Amazigh people in the city, who represent practically half the population of Melilla.
Following the Minister of Finance, Commerce, and Employment comments on the new cultural project, the far-right party depute protested the decision, as he added, “It is not recognized in the Spanish Constitution, [Tamazight] it is recognized in the Moroccan Constitution if you want to defend it, defend it there.”
The comments of Da Costa, was followed by discomfort and other deputies’ murmurs of “what little shame!” or “respect us,” according to local media.
Yonaida Sel-lam, deputy of the Coalition for Melilla, answered the representative of Vox in the local Assembly, saying, “this language is included in the Statute of Melilla and is spoken by more than half of the population. You have branded half the population a foreigner.”
For her part, the socialist Elena Fernández Treviño said that Vox, Da Costa’s party, has always ignored the multilingualism of Melilla, as a multicultural city.
“We have deep respect for those identities that are different and that coexist with us. The world that you draw is very small, only you can fit,” said Treviño.
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