Moroccan government, NGOs disagree over Sidi Ifni clashes

11/06/2008

Accounts vary over what took place during clashes between protestors and police at the port of Sidi Ifni on Saturday. The government has described a legal operation to restore order, while several NGOs claim excessive police violence and rights abuses.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 11/06/08

[Getty Images] The Moroccan government and human rights NGOs have provided different versions of the police operation to remove protestors from the port of Sidi Ifni over the weekend.

The Moroccan government and human rights NGOs have provided conflicting accounts of a police operation on Saturday (June 7th) to remove young unemployed demonstrators from the port of Sidi Ifni. The Moroccan government initially denied the incident but later said 44 people were injured, including 27 law enforcement officers. NGOs say the operation was a "wave of official aggression" in which security forces raided homes, stole personal property and detained many residents. On Monday, the Moroccan Human Rights Centre said several people were still missing.

The Moroccan government has strongly denied claims by Aljazeera and several Moroccan NGOs that people were killed in the clashes.

The demonstrators had been blocking the port of Sidi Ifni since May 30th to protest the high level of unemployment in the region. A group of 120 unemployed youths had applied to a lottery designed by the local council to take on eight employees for cleaning work. After the results were announced, however, an estimated 100 disappointed people decided to block the entries to the port, effectively trapping 89 lorries loaded with nearly 800 tonnes of fish.

That meant "losing money," said Brahim Sbaalil, chairman of the local section of the Moroccan Centre for Human Rights. "That's what caused the police to become involved."

The young demonstrators had laid out several demands. Having heard about the wave of socio-economic development that had affected other regions of the country, the unemployed youths wanted their own town to grow and develop. They called for the construction of a fish processing factory to reduce unemployment and bring money to the wilaya.

Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi confirmed that events were driven by "demands for employment and by social unease similar to the crises affecting society on a universal scale."

Government spokesman Khalid Naciri said the police operation took place only after dialogue with the protesters had failed. "We needed to get the port back to normal once the authorities had done their best to talk with them, but in vain. Caring about human rights and democracy does not mean you should let anarchy establish itself."

"In the early hours of Saturday," said Abdullah Birdaha, head of the Tiznit branch of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, "a yacht neared the shore and landed quick intervention squads and supporting forces."

Local residents described what happened next. Mohamed, a young student and the brother of one of the protesters, told Magharebia: "The police were armed with truncheons and police dogs. Some demonstrators were arrested, whilst others are still in hiding in the mountains."

Zahra, a young high school student, said "I was searched very thoroughly by the police, even though I had done nothing. I was terrified. But fortunately they released me straight away. All the talk here is about what's just happened, with the hope that we can find effective solutions to the problems rather than resorting to violence. Some families are waiting for news of their sons who have been jailed or have disappeared."

Souilem Bouchâab, Governor of Tiznit wilaya, said the operation was carried out legally under the supervision of the Public Prosecutor. He added that the police were successful in ending the blockade and allowing the lorries to leave.

The Amazigh Human Rights League, however, called the operation "a wave of official aggression" and called on the state to open a calm, constructive and transparent dialogue with those living in the Ifni region to address their demands for employment.