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Rabat — The Justice and Development Party (PJD) has blamed the government led by Aziz Akhannouch for the deteriorating socio-economic situation that sparked a surge of protests across Morocco this weekend.
PJD issued a statement today, expressing concerns about the recent peaceful protests, including the youth-led demonstrations that took place in several cities on Saturday.
The protests in Rabat and Casablanca saw a police crackdown in which many activists, especially youth, were arrested.
In its statement, PJD urged the government to order the immediate release of all youth detained in connection with the peaceful demonstrations.
The party also called for measures to expand and generalize youth participation in the country’s social, economic, cultural, and political development as guaranteed by the country’s constitution.
For PJD, the opposition party led by former Head of Government Abdelilah Benkirane, Akhannouch’s cabinet holds the “full responsibility for the deterioration of social conditions and the increase in peaceful protests demanding basic rights and essential services guaranteed by the Constitution.”
The party cited Article 31 of the constitution, which guarantees citizens’ access to healthcare, social protection, equality education, professional training, decent housing, as well as employment, public services, water, and sustainable development.
“The PJD calls on the government and public authorities to engage with citizens- particularly young people- participating in peaceful protests, with openness, political wisdom and the framework of rights and freedoms,” the statement read.
The Political Bureau of the Democratic Left Federation, a collection of Moroccan leftist parties, also expressed concerns over the “growing public unrest across the country.”
It strongly condemned what it described as intimidation and repression by authorities targeting these protests.
The party’s youth wing also reacted to the arrests, demanding the immediate release of all detained young people and activists arrested during the protests.
