Protest leader in Morocco’s Rif calls for 3-day strike

By Khaled Majdoub

RABAT

A protest leader in Morocco’s restive Al-Rif region on Thursday called for a three-day general strike in the northern city of Hoceima starting from Friday.

In a video posted on social-media platforms, Nabil Ahmajiq called on Hoceima residents to stock up on basic commodities in advance of the planned strike.

For the last eight months, Morocco’s northeastern Al-Rif region has been rocked by intermittent protests by disaffected youth demanding jobs and decrying perceived government corruption.

The wave of protests was sparked last October by the death of Mohsen Fikri, a fisherman from Hoceima who was crushed to death by a garbage truck while protesting attempts by police to confiscate his fish.

This week, protests appeared to spread farther afield, with Moroccan security forces dispersing demonstrations in the cities of Casablanca, Fez and capital Rabat.

Video footage shared on social media showed security forces breaking up protests in several parts of the country, with several reports of injuries among demonstrators.

The authorities have reportedly arrested dozens of political activists this week alone for taking part in demonstrations.

On Monday, three prominent political parties blamed Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit for failing to contain the ongoing wave of unrest.

In a joint statement, the ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP), the Socialist Union Party (a JDP coalition partner) and the opposition Istiqlal Party called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of detained demonstrators.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Saadeddine al-Othmani responded to the ongoing wave of protests, saying his government hoped to respond to demonstrators’ demands “reasonably and expeditiously”.

He also stressed his government’s “respect for human rights and the right of accused persons to be subject to due legal process”.

Al-Othmani went on to note that his government had recently launched several development projects in the restive Al-Rif region, including the construction of new hospitals and roads and a number of agricultural and housing projects.