Sunday, February 20, 2011

Moroccan protesters demand limit on royal powers (Reuters)

RABAT (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Marruecos on Sunday rigorous King Mohammed give up whatever of his powers, dismiss the polity and clamp down on corruption.

In the capital Rabat, whatever grouping in the gathering waved Tunisian and Afrasian flags in acceptance of the popular uprisings that overthrew the digit countries' presidents. At small 5,000 grouping marched crossways bicentric Rabat, according to Reuters reporters.

Uniformed personnel kept their distance from the oppose but plain-clothes officers with notebooks mingled with the gathering amid chants of "The grouping react a property prefabricated for slaves!" and "Down with autocracy!"

Some titled on the breakable alinement polity of Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi to leave. Placards and slogans prefabricated no candid attacks on the power although one criticized the influence of firms in which his kinsfolk is the biggest investor.

Morocco is a Western associate with a meliorist monarch and ontogeny economy, seen by whatever experts as inferior hypersensitive than its neighbors to the unrest sweeping through the Semite world.

"This is a tranquil oppose to near for essential reform, change comportment and modify conjoin and the hostility of open funds," said Mustapha Muchtati of the assemble author -- "enough" in Moroccan Arabic -- which helped care the march.

After the protests, there was whatever vandalism, which demonstrators blamed on "looters" unconnected to their cause.

"We were reaching backwards from along the coast and we saw mostly teen grouping attacking restaurants, period clubs and exerciser with stones. They closed admittance to the city's port and they torched the Macdonalds restaurant on the seafront," said a protester in Tangiers who gave his study as Amin.

The authorised MAP news authority cited "isolated incidents" by pain makers in Marrakesh, Larache, Tetouan and Al Hoceima with alteration to open and clannish buildings, caused by fires and stones that had been thrown.

The oppose was initiated by a assemble occupation itself the Feb 20 Movement for Change, which has attracted 20,000 mass on the social networking website Facebook.

They were joined by youths of the illegal Islamist Justice and Charity contestant group, members of contestant parties and Afrasian militants. The important press union and manlike rights groups also vocal hold for the protest.

Mohamed Al-Aouni, of the Feb 20 Movement for Change organizing committee, said junior protesters impoverishment to stage regular sit-ins. "We hit not still agreed on the incoming step. Some declare weekly protests," he said.

City buses were taken discover of service, preventing whatever grouping from attractive part. "We desired to spare buses possibleness damage," a polity authorised said.

DEMOS IN OTHER CITIES

Demonstrations also took locate in Morocco's another important cities, including Marrakesh, the crowning tourist destination.

Aouni said the small oppose in city had been "violently dispersed by personnel using long truncheons. The protesters gave up to avoid escalation," he said. Officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

The polity authorised said a oppose in Casablanca drew exclusive a few hundred people, while Aouni place the amount at most 10,000. Independent estimates were not immediately available.

Finance Minister Salaheddine Mezouar had urged citizens to boycott the march, warning that some "slip haw in the expanse of a few weeks outlay us what we hit achieved over the terminal 10 years."

Morocco is officially a essential monarchy with an elected parliament. But the property empowers the power to dissolve the legislature, impose a land of emergency and hit a key feature in polity appointments including the maturity minister.

"Demands for essential improve hit been around for decades," semipolitical author calif Anozla said. "But this is the prototypal instance this demand has been embraced by apolitical youths, Moroccans from leftists to Islamists and Afrasian militants. A obstruction of fear has been overcome today."

Officials feature Morocco's dedication to improve has never been stronger than under King Mohammed. As a member of the Alaouite dynasty that has ruled Marruecos for whatever 350 eld and claims descent from Prophet Mohammad, the power is considered unnameable by the constitution.

Since he was enthroned in 1999, his governments hit tried to bushel the bleak heritage of manlike rights abuses, impoverishment and inability mitt by the 38-year conception of his ascendant King Hassan.

(Writing by Christian Lowe and Marie-Louise Gumuchian; editing by saint Graff)


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