Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Casablanca on Sunday to demonstrate against global terrorism just over one week after a string of suicide bombings left 43 dead in Morocco's largest city. Dozens of associations and several political parties joined in the government-approved march. A large crowd from the country's Jewish communities, which along with foreign targets were the focus of the May 16 attacks, also rallied against Islamic extremism. Jewish community leader Serge Berdugo said he was "proud" of the strong turnout, adding: "The only solution (to the challenge of terrorism) is the Moroccan model - the coexistence of religions."
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Prime Minister Driss Jettou and several government officials led the march, which police and organisers put at up to one-million strong. The turnout sent a signal to the world showing "the true face of the Moroccan people, committed to tolerance and democracy," government minister and number two in the USFP ruling party, Mohamed El Yazghi, said. Ismail Alaoui, head of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS), said it showed "the desire to find a way out of the nightmare and make political, economic and social changes".
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Moroccan Human Rights Minister Mohamed Aujjar had said on Saturday the government was throwing its weight behind the protest, and welcomed the Moroccan people's "spontaneous reaction" to the attacks. |