Protests Erupt in Morocco Over Education, Health

By Staff, Agencies

Scores of people have been arrested in Morocco following protests calling for education and health reforms in the North African kingdom.

Dozens were detained in the capital, Rabat, as security forces prevented groups of young people from gathering around the city.

Demonstrators have complained that the kingdom has spent a fortune on preparations for hosting the 2030 Fifa World Cup while neglecting more immediate priorities.

“Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?” chanted the activists.

The protests were initiated by an anonymous collective known as "GenZ 212". The collective put out the call for protests days before on the platform Discord, citing issues such as "health, education and the fight against corruption". It says it rejects "violence" and acts out of "love of the homeland and of King [Mohammed VI].

Part of the anger has been stoked by recent reports of the deaths of eight pregnant women at a public hospital in Agadir.

According to Hakim Sikouk, president of the Rabat branch of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights [AMDH], there were "more than 100 arrests in Rabat and dozens of others in Casablanca, Marrakesh [and] Agadir" over the weekend.

Despite the arrests, GenZ 212 said it would continue the protests against Morocco's spiraling inequality.

The preparations for the World Cup have already provoked outcry over reports that the kingdom was instigating a mass culling programme of stray animals.