Thousands march in Casablanca for political change

Several thousand people took to the streets of Casablanca on Sunday to press for deeper political reforms, saying recent changes did not go far enough. The protesters, mobilising on a call from the so-called February 20 pro-democracy movement, held their first demonstration without the Islamist Justice and Charity group. The group withdrew from the February 20 movement earlier this month, claiming it had been the object of "attacks" from youths within the movement. Up to 5,000 people demonstrated in Casablanca's poor Hay Mohammadi suburb, an AFP journalist witnessed, while police said about 3,500 people in total protested countrywide. "We are here to to say that the fight will continue despite the withdrawal of political organisations, Islamic or otherwise," protester Hamza Mahfoud told AFP. "Our demands are legitimate and they have not changed: a parliamentary monarchy and more social justice," said Mahfoud. About 300 to 500 people took part in a similar protest in Rabat. Earlier this month, the February 20 movement said it was willing to talk with the newly elected Islamist head of government under conditions that included the release of political prisoners, a guarantee of press freedom and more individual liberties. The Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) won elections in November which the protest movement boycotted. Unlike the overthrow of governments in Tunisia and Egypt, Morocco's king nipped swelling protests in the bud by offering constitutional reforms that curbed his near absolute powers. For the mostly young protesters who began to march in February giving the movement its name, the reforms were not enough, but the movement has lost some momentum since the elections.