People have rallied in Morocco’s capital, Rabat, and in other northern cities to show support for a weeks-long campaign against corruption and official abuses in the north.
People demonstrated on Sunday, carrying the portraits of detained activists and chanting slogans against what they described as the “ruling mafia.”
Some chanted, “Your corruption is starting to stink.”
“We are here for dignity, equality, social justice,” said one of the protesters.
“We came out to protest about the social reality in Morocco,” said another, adding “We’re here in solidarity with al-Hoceima, to demand dignity,” referring to the city that has been the site of many demonstrations in recent weeks.
The rally in the capital, which ran from Rabat’s Bab El Hed area toward the parliament, had been organized by the Adl Wal Ihsan (Justice and Spirituality) movement of Morocco.
The demonstration in the North African country’s capital, where political unrest is rare, was one of the largest of its kind in several years.
Elsewhere, protesters also rallied in al-Hoceima and the nearby town of Imzouren.
Al-Hoceima has been shaken by protests since the death of a fish vendor named Mouhcine Fikri there in October 2016. He was crushed inside a garbage compactor while trying to salvage his fish, which had been confiscated by officials.
The northern Rif region has long been a hotbed of anti-government dissent.
A leader of the protesters, Nasser Zefzafi, as well as other activists, has been taken into custody on charges of threatening national security.
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| Security forces confront demonstrators during an anti-corruption rally in al-Hoceima, in the northern Rif region, Morocco, June 8, 2017. (Photo by AFP) |
The Moroccan Arab Spring
In 2011, a series of uprisings and revolutions that came to be known as the Arab Spring swept monarchical Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Morocco. The Moroccan king had to cede some of his powers to calm the protests in his country back then.
The Justice and Spirituality movement, which is officially banned from formal politics but has massive popular support, was a major organizer of those protests.
Fikri’s death in October last year has revived the spirit of the February 20 movement, which led pro-democracy rallies in 2011 and prompted King Mohammed VI to carry out constitutional reforms.
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