(Bloomberg) — Moroccan activists urged the monarchy to directly start talks with a youth-led movement behind ongoing nationwide protests, sidelining the government and signaling broader support for demonstrations that erupted last month.
The Moroccan Coalition of Human Rights Organizations, which represents some 20 civil-society groups, criticized authorities’ repression of the so-called GenZ212 protesters and called for a shift to “a political and human rights approach based on dialog, listening, and recognition of the legitimacy of the demands,” according to a statement emailed to Bloomberg on Monday.
The call comes after Moroccan security forces killed three people and wounded an unspecified number of others in a crackdown last week in the southern town of Lqliaa, near Agadir. Authorities said the gendarmerie officers acted in “self-defense” to repel an attempt to rob them of their weapons.
“The Moroccan state is urged to listen seriously to the pulse of the street and respond immediately to the expectations of youth and society as a whole,” the coalition of NGOs said. “This dialogue will lead to realistic and tangible solutions that will alleviate the tension.”
The unrest gripping Morocco — long seen as an investor favorite and a rare oasis of stability in North Africa — is the most significant in the country since the Arab Spring in 2011.
The new protests began last month after a series of patient deaths at a poorly-equipped public hospital sparked anger over government plans to spend $35 billion on glitzy infrastructure, some of which is tied to co-hosting the 2030 men’s football World Cup. “Health care first, we don’t want the World Cup,” demonstrators have chanted.
The NGOs’ intervention follows a proposal by the government of Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch to start talks with the officially leaderless protest movement over its demands to reform public education and health care.
But Abdelilah Benabdeslam, a senior figure in the coalition, said the negotiations should be led by the “real center of power in Morocco, which is the Makhzen.”
Centered around the monarch, Makhzen is a coterie that comprises advisers and senior security officials who provide counsel on strategic issues.
“The government does not decide in Morocco,” Benabdeslam said. “It’s only a pawn in the Moroccan chessboard.”
The NGOs’ statement signals “the support of a broad fringe of the civil society in Morocco for this peaceful protest movement that’s been pushing for reasonable improvements and the legal rights of Moroccans,” he added.
GenZ212 announced plans for 10th consecutive day of protests on Monday across 23 cities, with security forces taking a lighter approach since the three civilians were shot dead last week.
King Mohammed VI, who has not commented publicly on the protests, may give clues about the monarchy’s response when he gives his annual address before parliament on Friday.
The semi-official Le Matin newspaper said on Monday that, in just few weeks, the GenZ212 “has become the embodiment of a youth that refuses to give up,” a sign authorities are coming to terms with the need for dialogue with the movement. “It has entered the Moroccan political scene with a bang, establishing itself as a key player in the debates surrounding reforms,” the newspaper published on its front page.
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