Democratic Palestine : 2 (ص 21)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 2 (ص 21)
- المحتوى
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Tunisia - Morocco
Once Again, the Hungry Rise Up
Before the quelling of the popular uprising in Tunisia, in early
January, a new one had started in Morocco. Besides the great sim-
ilarity in the causes of both, the masses in the two countries used the
same methods of protest. This led to widespread clashes with the
regimes’ forces, and as a result, hundreds of victims. Both the Tuni-
sian and Moroccan authorities answered the protesting masses with
iron and fire.
In Morocco, the uprising coincided
with the Islamic Summit Conference, a
fact of great embarrassment to King
Hassan II, who promptly clamped a
news black-out on events in the streets.
Both regimes employed tanks, besieged
universities and schools, and imposed
martial law. In Tunisia, brute force was
rounded off with a political maneuver:
The Interior Minister was made to re-
sign, serving as a scapegoat for the price
rises which sparked the revolt. And as
spoke Bourguiba in Tunis, so did King
Hassan in Morocco, on local television
and radio, accusing “communists,
Zionists, Khomeiniists” and other foreign
forces whose names were not menti-
oned, of instigating the events.
The events in Tunisia started on De-
cember 29th, the date when the decision
State of emergency in Tunis
to enact an increase in the price of bread,
flour and other staples was announced.
The city of Nakrawa, in the Saharan
south, was the point from which the
demonstrations and clashes started, later
spreading to the four largest oases, as
well as the cities of Al Kasrayn and Gafsa.
The demonstrators were beset by the re-
gime’s forces, which led to the injury and
death of at least 60 persons. When the
Tunisian government first acknow-
ledged the uprising, the Foreign Minister
issued a statement accusing the unem-
ployed, the lazy and enemy forces of
being the instigators and spreaders of the
protest. That, however, did rot calm the
situation. The Tunisian president was
prompted to send a message over the
local media, promising to freeze prices
and prepare a new budget. Martial law,
however, continued for a month, attest-
ing to the regime’s fear of the masses,
whose problems will not be resolved by
stop-gap measures.
In Morocco, the spark began from Ag-
adeer and Anzaan and focused in the
high schools, but the uprising was soon
joined by broader sectors of the people
and spread to the center of the country,
to Marakash, Souwaiyra, Asfi, Jadida,
Wajda, Rabat (the capital), Al Quinaitra,
Al Khamaisiyal, Sidi Kasim, Wazan, Mi-
knas, Fez, Taza, Al Nadour, Malila, Sab-
ta and Casablanca, where almost three
millions live and where there is the larg-
est industrial compound in Morocco, as
well as the largest expanse of shanty
towns and poor workers neighborhoods.
The regime’s response was immediate
and decisive, though shrouded by the
news black-out. Still, the regime’s forces
were unable to stop the spread of the
events, despite killing almost 200 people
and injuring hundreds more. Appearing
on television, King Hassan II announced
the cancellation of price increases on
basic consumer products. However,
campaigns of arrest continued, covering
many cities and villages. Schools and
universities in the capital were closed,
and some towns were blockaded for a
number of days. Many issues of the op-
position’s newspapers were censored,
and a number of opposition leaders
were detained.
The main cause driving the masses in
both Tunisia and Morocco to revolt is the
constant decrease in their standard of liv-
21 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 2
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- مارس ١٩٨٤
- المنشئ
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