Scattered protests flared in Rabat during the evening of Tuesday May 24 as a crowd of approximately 100 youth demanded that the government answer to the rampant problem of poverty and unemployment.
“People are suffering. There is no work,” said one protester, who would not give his name for fear of the authorities. “These are college graduates and they can't find jobs,” he said, pointing to the crowd.
He went on to explain that this evening's protests are part of the ongoing youth protest movement throughout Morocco, with such demonstrations occurring daily on Muhammad V Avenue and larger mobilizations taking place every Sunday. “This is happening in the whole Arab world,” he declared.
Protesters proceeded down Muhammad V Avenue, which runs past Parliament to the entrance of the Old City, chanting slogans: “We want human rights,” and “They are spending millions on the Festival Mawazine while we don't have jobs.” This annual festival brings international and regional celebrities to perform concerts throughout Rabat, with this week's lineup including big names such as Cat Stevens, Kanye West and Shakira. These lavish concerts are provided for free every year by the government.
The crowd was scattered by three dozen police wielding batons, with roaring sirens indicating that more police were on the way. Within minutes, the demonstrators regrouped near the entrance to the old city, where they were then met by an encroaching police presence. A protester, who also did not give her name, explained that the police have been much more violent in recent days. “Police have gotten extremely repressive,” she said. “They are not tolerant of journalists.”
Morocco has seen an escalation in demonstrations calling for pro-democracy reforms and an end to poverty, in conjunction with the wave of protests and revolutions sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. Launched by a massive protest on February 20 of this year, these ongoing mobilizations have been termed the “February 20th Movement,” and have been met with harsh police repression, including riot police beatings of nonviolent demonstrators in Rabat last Sunday that garnered international attention.
King Muhammad VI is a close ally to the United States government, which is a major arms provider for the protracted Moroccan military occupation of Western Sahara. A 2006 Free Trade Agreement established Morocco as a “privileged” trading partner of the Middle East and Muhammed VI has repeatedly drawn praise from the Obama administration for his alleged embrace of democratic reforms.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment. We are presently looking for 432 new monthly donors in the next 7 days.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy