RABAT – Thousands of protesters gathered in the Moroccan capital on Sunday to demand that King Mohammed give up some of his powers and clamp down on government corruption. Some people in the crowd were waving Tunisian and Egyptian flags in recognition of the popular uprisings that overthrew the two countries’ presidents.
A protest organiser said there were more than 5,000 participants while a police officer told Reuters there were fewer than 3,000 people at the protest in Rabat. Uniformed police kept their distance from the protest, which began in the central Bab El Ahad area, but plain-clothes officers with notebooks mingled with the crowd, amid chants of “The people reject a constitution made for slaves!” and “Down with autocracy!” Some called on Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi to leave but placards and slogans made no direct attacks on the king.
Analysts say Morocco, with a widely respected reformist monarch and growing economy, is one of the Arab countries least likely to succumb to the wave of protests sweeping the region. “This is a peaceful protest to push for constitutional reform, restore dignity and end graft and the plundering of public funds,” said Mustapha Muchtati of the Baraka (Enough) group, which helped organise the march. The protest was initiated by a group calling itself the February 20 Movement for Change, which has attracted 19,000 followers on the social networking website Facebook.
On Saturday, a youth movement said it was pulling out because of disagreements with Islamists and leftists. The protesters were joined by the youth section of the banned Islamist Justice and Charity group, by members of opposition parties and Berber militants. The main press union and human rights groups also voiced support for the protest. The city’s buses were taken out of service, preventing some people from taking part.
