After the arrest on Sunday of some thirty people involved in a demonstration in Sefrou ( near Fez), the British Consulate issued an advice that stated: "This may cause an increased police presence in all major urban areas including Fez. Our advice is to avoid large gatherings and to remain alert at all times."However Fez has remained quiet although there is widespread discontent over the rise in prices over the last few weeks and highlighted by the Moroccan Association of Human Rights calling for a public reaction. Security services had to intervene to stop angry demonstrators who damaged several educational, administrative and commercial institutions and set fire to private property.
On Tuesday Rabat was the centre of the protests with more than two hundred people staging a sit in to protest against the latest price hikes and the deterioration in public services. The demonstration called for the immediate cancellation of this price increase in basic products as well as in water, electricity and health bills.
Government Reaction
According to Maghreb Arabe Presse the Interior Minister, Chakib Benmoussa, held a meeting with several Moroccan ministers and officials to consider ways to deal with the price hikes that are causing so much unrest. The first response was the lowering of import duties on milk and wheat, suspending taxes and duties on the wholesale market, which it is believed could reduce the price of vegetables by 7%. The price of wheat will be subsidised, a measure that will cost the state some USD37.4Mn per month.
Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
1 comment:
Hi,
You are probably wondering why I’ve been lurking about your blog so much. I’m taking a class on Urban Development and Issues in the Middle East and we have an assignment to write a paper based on a blog about a city. I’m going to be following your blog for the next few weeks for my paper, although I’ll probably keep following afterward because it’s very interesting and informative. I was just wondering, though, what do you feel the biggest urban issues are in Fez? (Only if you have time to answer such a question though.) I’m trying to figure out what to really look for in writing about the urban issues and what’s being done to cope with those issues in the city. I am particularly interested in the Berber culture though, so any types of urban issues that may have to do with that would be really interesting to learn about.
Best wishes,
Girl In the Crosswalk
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