Sunday, February 20, 2011

Thousands march calling for more democracy in Morocco

The winds of change blowing over the Arab world for two months, arrived in Morocco. Its strength can be measured not so much by the number of participants, limited in some cities, for the boldness of the banners and the slogans chanted by the crowd. "Majidi dégage! (Majidi go away!) Shouted, for example, the crowd in French adapted to the Moroccan reality the slogan chanted by the Tunisians against Ben Ali to flee just before his country.

Mounir Majidi is the private secretary of King Mohamed VI and among his tasks include managing the fortunes of the royal family. "Dictatorship get out!", "No illegal institutions!" and also "SNI ONA out" read in English several banners displayed by the protesters, referring to the two business consortia of the monarchy.

There was, however, no direct attack against the king, but when a passer-by wanted to join the demonstration with his portrait was expelled manu militari. Some 15,000 people have taken the center of Rabat, according to organizers, and 2,000, according to the official Moroccan press agency (MAP), to demand reforms and a democratic constitution and not to make social demands.

Estimates of the independent Moroccan newspaper calculated that the number of protesters in the capital has placed around 8,000. The atmosphere in Rabat has been relaxed concentration, where no symbols have been Islamists, social classes were mixed but mostly there were people from middle class families with children and young people.

The center of the other cities has also been traversed by processions of protest involve thousands of demonstrators, as in Casablanca, Oujda, Al Hoceima and Marrakesh-where riot police clashed with hundreds, or just as Tangiers and Kenitra. In Casablanca, the demonstrators chanted "Freedom, dignity and justice" in addition to "less power to the monarchy", "The king should reign and not rule" and "the people want a new constitution," reports AFP.

The police, deployed since last night, stays relatively quiet time and at the forefront. Today's protest was called by young people on Facebook, but had the support of several human rights NGOs, small leftist parties, on the basis of some trade unions and the youth of the Islamist movement Justice and Spirituality is illegal, but has some tolerance.

Democracy Protests, convened by the social network Facebook, are the first in which citizens demand democracy, an end to corruption and the resignation of the government. Communications over the Internet are very limited and has not been possible to monitor the demonstrations through the television channel Al Jazeera, as its broadcast was suspended.

Police prevents access to road and Rabat also maintains a control on the bridge linking the capital and Sale, a bastion of Justice and Charity, Islamic party. In the hours leading up to Sunday in Facebook youth organizers have sought new members to the call for protests, especially from the unions in many of the provinces, which are added to the youths of the main Islamist movement, small parties Left and NGOs.

Also detected among its followers some concern about the risk of vandalism recorded in Tangier today can tarnish the whole protest. Several hundred young people anticipated the call and took to the streets in Tangiers (northern Morocco), on Friday night, instigated by the Moroccan branch of ATTAC anti-globalization movement, which calls for the imposition of taxes on international financial transactions.

Their protest began with a sit in the Place des Nations, but then tried to march through the center of the city and ran into a police barrier. The youths smashed the moons of dozens of vehicles and stoned a police station, but their main goal were symbols of foreign companies that signed major contracts with the city of Tangier, beginning with the French AMENDIS, a subsidiary of Veolia, which provides light and drinkable water from the city.

UIDELINES a bus (from Madrid Ruiz Group) and trucks MedTech (Urbaser affiliate) which collects the waste, were also attacked. A 40 km south of Tangier, in Asilah, Mohamed Benaissa, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco, was scared to death when dozens of youths threw stones at his home whose first door forced.

They shouted: "That fall Benaissa!", To paraphrase a slogan chanted against Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. The police broke up the merger. The scheme includes related news, however, with big headlines rejection manifested by the national leadership of the unions, the government coalition parties as well as more moderate Islamists as well as numerous associations.

The official MAP news agency announced even cover three of inspiring young people protest in Facebook's called off to avoid being exploited with "illegitimate purposes." The authorities thwarted a rally in Algeria while Morocco protest population in Algeria the authorities managed to defeat again yesterday, with hardly been fighting, the second major attempt by the opposition manifested this month.

The regime seems to have drawn the second challenge posed by their opponents. The massive deployment of riot police almost aborted yesterday for the second time so far this month, the demonstration called by the Coordinator which includes the bulk of the opposition. To achieve this, the police closed with metal barriers to access of May Square, space provided in the call where barely managed to get between 800 and 1,000 protesters, fewer than the previous weeks, according to eyewitnesses.

There they were surrounded by thousands of police. One of them dealt a blow to the belly Besbes Tahar, deputy of the opposition, which fell to the floor with his head hit the curb. Last night I was admitted in serious condition in hospital. The physical pressure was exerted on concentrated riot in the square was such that, according to Agence France Presse, Rachid Malaoui, leader of the independent trade union officials, he lost consciousness.

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