By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Monday, March 14, 2011

CASABLANCA, Morocco: Dozens of protesters were injured, some seriously, Sunday during a clash with security forces who tried to storm the headquarters of a left-wing party in Casablanca, witnesses and reporters said.
The protesters had sought refuge in the offices of the Unified Socialist Party (PSU) after the security forces broke up a peaceful demonstration calling for political reforms.

A violent confrontation ensued during which a reporter said he witnessed police beating a pregnant woman and some young girls. “It was unusually violent,” he said.

“We were meeting in the political office and were about to publish a communique praising the king’s speech last Wednesday when the security forces tried to break in,” said Mohammad Bouaziz, a PSU leader.
“The Casablanca governor gave the order,” he said. “I consider this a serious political mistake and an action directed against His Majesty [King Mohammad VI], who promised to strengthen individual freedoms.”
Earlier, security forces sealed off Mohammad V Square, the site of most demonstrations in the city, and forcefully kept protesters and pedestrians away, a journalist and witnesses said.

The activists were from the Islamist Justice and Charity movement, which is banned but tolerated in Morocco.
The state-run MAP news agency says members of the banned Islamist group gathered on a Casablanca square and “tried to start their march with violence.”

According to an Interior Ministry official, about 50 protesters were arrested and four police officers injured.
King Mohammad VI said Wednesday that Morocco will revise its constitution for the first time in 15 years, part of steps to build greater democracy amid a push for it across the Arab world.
In a rare televised address, the king announced sweeping democratic reforms including an elected prime minister and broader personal freedoms in his first speech to the nation since demonstrations on Feb. 20 calling for democratization and less corruption.

The Moroccan press Friday described the promised reforms, announced amid popular uprisings rocking the Arab world, as “historic” while speculating over the future of some members of the king’s entourage.
Senior U.S. Senator John McCain has urged “tireless” support from Washington to help the king enact his agenda. “I support the aspirations of the Moroccan people for greater democracy, economic opportunity, and rule of law,” he said Friday in a statement.

“In the weeks and months ahead, the United States must be vigilant and tireless in our support for the government and people of Morocco in transforming the king’s vision of reform into a reality that improves the lives of all Moroccans.” – AFP, AP