Protests, General Strike Engulf N Morocco

Local Editor

The northern Morocco city of al-Hoceima had been gripped by a general strike Thursday, after being rocked by nearly a week of protests demanding the release of the leader of a popular movement.

The strike that saw nearly all of the shops in the city center shuttered came after thousands of people demonstrated in al-Hoceima for sixth straight night.

"This three-day strike is the result of what is happening here, the marginalization of a region that is only asking for its daily bread," a shopkeeper told AFP.

Al-Hoceima is in the neglected Rif region, which has been shaken by social unrest since the death in October of fishmonger Mouhcine Fikri.

The 31-year-old was crushed in a rubbish truck as he protested against the seizure of swordfish caught out of season.

Since then protests had snowballed in the port of al-Hoceima, sparking a wider movement demanding more development and railing against corruption, repression and unemployment.

Nasser Zefzafi, who emerged as the head of the grassroots al-Hirak al-Shaabi, or "Popular Movement", was arrested on Monday after three days on the run.

His mother, in remarks to a Moroccan television on Thursday, urged King Mohammed VI to show clemency and release her son.

Late Wednesday, between 2,000 and 3,000 protesters once again took to the streets of al-Hoceima, shouting slogans such as "We are all Nasser Zefzafi" and "Corrupt state".
"Arrest us, we are all activists," read one banner.
A shopkeeper said the strike will go on "until our prisoners are freed."

The mainly ethnically Berber Rif region has long had a tense relationship with Morocco's central authorities, and was at the heart of Arab Spring-inspired protests in 2011.

Najib Ahamjik, often referred to as the movement's number two, remains at large but continues to use social media to call for "mobilization" and to strike.

Nawal Benaissa, one of the public faces of the Popular Movement, was among three young women on Wednesday who urged protesters to demand "freedom for prisoners."

On Thursday morning, she said she was called in to the police station in al-Hoceima and questioned about the call to strike.

Prime Minister Saad-Eddine al-Othmani discussed the unrest with the interior minister and said the Rif "is at center of the government's preoccupations," the official MAP news agency reported.

Zefzafi was detained along with others on Monday for "attacking internal security," after a warrant for his arrest issued Friday sparked turmoil in al-Hoceima, a city of 56,000 inhabitants.

A new video of Zefzafi has been posted on social networks, apparently recorded shortly before his arrest, in which he says: "My brothers, the moment is very sensitive... Stay peaceful, above all."

State media and politicians have remained largely silent about the events, but the local branches of three parties including the ruling Justice and Development Party [PJD] issued a joint statement warning of a "serious situation" and criticizing the response of the authorities.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team