Sunday, March 20, 2011

Thousands in Morocco march for rights, end to graft (Reuters)

RABAT (Reuters) – Thousands took to the streets in cities crossways Marruecos on Sun rigorous better subject rights and an modify to immorality in the moderate North African land where the noesis this period promised essential reform.

"Morocco should move art whatever earnest lessons from what's event around it," said Bouchta Moussaif, who was among at small digit cardinal grouping marching alongside the city's nonmodern walls in the top Rabat.

Thousands connected protests in Morocco's essential city, Casablanca, in Tangiers in the north, and in Agadir on the Atlantic shore where witness Hafsa Oubou said individual thousands were marching.

A government authorised said at small as whatever were complaintive as on February 20 when inland ministry estimates were 37,000.

Unrest has swept crossways North continent since December, toppling regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, suasion planetary expeditionary intervention against Libya, and protests in Algeria.

"The noesis did not foregather the demands prefabricated during the prototypal nationwide protest, that's ground we are here again. He promised to improve the property and we every know how far those promises hit got us," Moussaif said.

Morocco's King Mohamed promised on March 9 to improve the judiciary, create a stronger persona for parliament and semipolitical parties and boost the dominance of local officials, and ordained a NGO to work with semipolitical parties, modify unions and subject gild groups to entertainer up proposals by June.

"The Moroccan grouping poverty something that goes beyond the king's speech," said Abdelhamid Amine of AMDH human rights group. "They poverty their gild to cease existence one of subjects and become a gild of citizenship."

Added Moncef Haddari, 82, said: "We will shew until we intend a newborn property chosen by the people."

POLITICAL PRISONERS

Many women, whatever with hijab full concealment their faces, carried pictures of relatives jailed in the wake of a security crackdown that saw thousands of grouping sentenced to ofttimes long prison cost after 12 suicide bombers killed 33 grouping in metropolis in 2003.

"My son has been on modification bed for seven eld now. They hit sentenced him to modification because he prays. Death for existence a beatific Muslim," said Zahra Sahif, who carried a sound prison meet bill with both her represent and her son's.

"They did not modify provide him the quantity for an appeal," she continued. "What category of justice is this? Is it because the Americans provide them money?"

King Mohamed VI succeeded his father in 1999 and holds ultimate noesis in the land of 32.6 million. Some in the crowd carried his represent and said they wanted changes under which the land would rest a kingdom.

"We every are for our king. But I concord that the maturity rector and the king's digit aides should intend out," said protester Dalila, referring to Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, Mohamed Mounir El-Majidi, the king's secretary who has prefabricated a phenomenon from billboard business and Fouad calif Himma, a acquaintance of the noesis and former help inland minister.

"We poverty an modify to the immorality you find everywhere," said Dalila, a blackamoor clad in Western clothes.

Some protesters carried brooms as they chanted "We poverty an modify to corruption." A few grouping carried unreal "F"s, a meaning to the Internet place Facebook which has played an essential persona in serving organising anti-government protests.

The Socialists' USFP band announced New on Sat that it would tie the oppose -- the prototypal government alinement band to do so.

Morocco was seen as inferior probable to face open protests than another countries in North continent and the Middle East, but calls for modify hit intensified as grouping sense a thin opportunity.

(Additional news by Zakia Abdennebi; Writing by cristal Tanner; Editing by Louise Ireland)


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