« A great loss for the nation, the late Aïcha El Khattabi was a patriot deeply attached to the constants of the Kingdom”, said the Belgian-Moroccan Khalid Hanaoui, president of the “Jaliya 24” association.

« She always believed in a united Morocco, and never ceased to be proud of her Moroccan identity and her King,” the Nador-born community activist told MAP.

The deceased was a living memory of the Rif region, and her testimonies enriched the history of anti-occupation movements in different regions of the Kingdom, he added, pointing out that history will remember “a Moroccan woman who embodied the voice of wisdom”.

For his part, Dutch-Moroccan Aissa Meziani, a member of the Christian Democratic Party (CDA) in the Netherlands, emphasized the qualities of the late Aïcha El Khattabi as a national figure who had always defended the unity of Morocco and the Moroccan people, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom.

He recalled that HM King Mohammed VI had received the late Aicha El Khattabi, on the occasion of the 19th anniversary of the Sovereign’s accession to the throne of His glorious ancestors, noting that this event was a source of great pride for the late, but also for all members of the Moroccan community living abroad, who remain very attached to their country of origin.

The death of Aïcha El Khattabi, a patriotic figure who set an example in terms of love of country and attachment to the foundations of the Nation, is a great loss for Morocco, deplored Meziani, calling for the memory of national figures to be preserved, as a source of lessons for rising generations.

The late Aïcha El Khattabi symbolized the values of unity and solidarity that characterize the Moroccan people, and which were once again materialized in the response to the consequences of the Al Haouz earthquake, under the enlightened leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, he noted.

For his part, Kacem Achehboun, an active member of associations in the Netherlands, remembers the deceased as “a fervent defender of the unity of the nation and its sacred constants and causes”.

She enshrined the strong attachment of the family of the late Mohamed Ben Abdelkrim El Khattabi and the sons of the Rif region to the August person of His Majesty the King, he said, noting that she firmly believed in the region’s development under the High Guidance of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, particularly after the Sovereign’s visit to Al Hoceima in 2000, the day after His accession to the Throne of His Glorious Ancestors.

The funeral of the late Aïcha El Khattabi took place on Thursday in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid.

After the Dhuhr and funeral prayers, the deceased was buried in the Errahma cemetery. The funeral of the deceased was attended by members of her family and relatives, as well as by several personalities.

Born in 1942, she lived and studied in Egypt, before returning to the Motherland after the death of her father.