Five Die and 120 Were Wounded in the Protests in Morocco
King Mohammed VI and Princess Consort Lalla Salma (nettyroyal.nl)
The wave of change that swept the entire Arab world finally reaches the most distant part of north Africa, the Kingdom of Morocco, previously untouched by the unrest that shook the rest of the region.
The Moroccan government reports on Monday that five people were killed in the unrest that erupted over the weekend, when thousands of people demonstrated in several cities demanding change, and political reforms.
The protests began peacefully, but as the security forces began to crack down on people, they turned violent, causing 128 to be wounded, 115 of them being members of the police.
The Minister of Interior declared that 120 people were arrested in six cities, but the minors of those arrested were returned to their families.
Protests in Morocco (theaustralian.com.au)
The Moroccan people demanded among other things the limitation of the powers of King Mohammed VI.
According to officials, the bodies of the five people found burnt belonged to people who were trying to loot a bank.
The interior minister said that during the protests 33 public buildings, 50 business buildings, 24 banks, and 66 cars were torched.
The minister said that about 37,000 people participated in the demonstrations, which were mostly peaceful, because the people of Morocco have a right to demonstrate.
The Communication Minister added that the government received the message of the demonstrators, and that the democracy in his country is maturing.
He added that since the new king, Mohammed VI, came to power in 1999, reforms have begun to be implemented, and now had to be speeded.
4,000 people participated in the demonstrations in Rabat, and another 4,000 in Casablanca, the famous tourist resort and the largest city of the country.
In Marrakesh, another tourist hub, violence broke out as 150-200 people attacked and looted shops.
Meanwhile, protests continue in Libya, where president Qaddafi is reported fleeing the country to Venezuela, while the presidential son, Seif al-Islam, brings in the air force against his own nation, in Yemen, where the president refuses to stand down, and in Bahrain, where people regained the Pearl Square, the symbol of their revolution, forcing the royal family to engage talks.
