On Friday 9 September, at around 11 o’clock at night, Morocco was struck by a powerful earthquake, which, according to the US Geological Survey, had a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter Scale. The epicentre was near Oukaïmden, about 75 kilometres south west of Marrakesh. Thousands of people have lost their lives in a disaster whose impact was worsened by the criminal neglect and incompetence of the regime.

In recent days, cities and towns across Morocco have witnessed mass youth movements involving students and unemployed university graduates. Like all serious and deeply-rooted movements, it was marked by mass participation of young women, who stood at the forefront and brought with them high levels of militancy. The movement has been received with warm sympathy by all layers of the poor, not only because its demands are legitimate, but because the masses are angry and looking for a point of reference to rally around.

The so-called “assault” on the Ceuta border (a Spanish enclave on the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar) by thousands of young migrants in the past few days is part of the same migration crisis that has plagued Africa in recent decades. However, the most recent events have been triggered by a new diplomatic dispute between Spain and Morocco, rooted in the economic crisis unleashed by the pandemic and the worsening of the conflict in the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara.

The Moroccan regime has detained over 500 political prisoners, according to the president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, Aziz Ghali. Amongst them are those imprisoned in the Hirak Rif protests and the Gerak Jaradah movement: trade unionists, bloggers, a journalist… pretty much everybody. Not a day goes by without social media reporting the arrest of new militants or ordinary citizens whose only crime, in the majority of cases, is having published a Facebook post critical of living conditions or of the state’s politics.

A Moroccan proverb goes: “the sheep spends his whole life being afraid of the wolf, but in the end, who feasts on the sheep? The shepherd!” Well, some months after China and 10 days after Italy, Moroccan authorities announced the country’s first cases of COVID-19 on 2 March and attributed them to “external factors”. Specifically, a Moroccan returning from Italy, then French tourists. The epidemic has worsened, infecting 2,024 people, of whom 126 have died (as of 15 April, 45 days after the first infections) according to official data.

Those who follow the situation in Morocco can see that the repressive dictatorial regime has become more and more frenzied, and the police state has tightened its repressive grip on everyone and everything. They are arresting those who protest, who sing, who criticise, who write, and who show solidarity with those arrested.

Suddenly, and without any warning, a rap song appeared on social media, produced by three young men – who were unheard of up to that moment – and racked up millions of views in record time. The track was entitled "Long Live the People", based on the slogan of the revolutionary youth (especially notable in the 20F’s manifestations) directed against the monarchist slogan: “long live the king”. The track topped the list of most-watched Moroccan videos on YouTube. This is unprecedented for an agitational song, as the top spot has typically been occupied by pop trifles.

Late last Friday (5 April), the Casablanca Court of Appeal upheld the verdicts handed down by the Court of First Instance on Tuesday 26 June 2018 against detainees from the Rif movement, and the journalist Hamid Mehdaoui. Collectively, the defendants will face sentences of more than 300 years, including 20 years for four detainees, 15 years for three, 10 for seven, and so forth.

On Tuesday, 29 January 2019, the MAP (Maghreb Arabe Presse) announced that the Kingdom of Morocco expressed its official support for Juan Guaido, who has proclaimed himself “interim president” of Venezuela. By doing so, Morocco became the first country in all of Africa and the second in the Middle East to express its support for the American-backed coup against the democratically elected President Maduro. Israel (headed by the child-murderer Netanyahu) has also recognised Guaido as a "legitimate president", just because he declared himself so.

Desde outubro do ano passado, Al Hoceima e suas regiões vizinhas têm visto um grande movimento de protesto. A razão direta por traz disso foi o esmagamento de um jovem vendedor de peixes (Mohsen Fikri) em um container de lixo por funcionários locais depois de protestar a confiscação de seus bens. Atrás do movimento, no entanto, há razões mais profundas, como a ditadura, exploração, marginalização e desemprego: isto é, o capitalismo e o seu estado.

Het regime slaat hard in op de opstandige Rif. De Marokkaanse lente bloeit opnieuw op.

Afgelopen vrijdag, 26 mei, werden de gelovigen in de moskeeën van Al Hoceima verrast en kwaad gemaakt toen zij de preken van de religieuze leiders hoorden.

Dall’ottobre scorso, Al Hoceima e le sue regioni limitrofe hanno assistito un grande movimento di protesta. La ragione immediata dietro allo sviluppo delle mobilitazioni è stata l’omicidio di un giovane pescivendolo (Mouchine Fikri) letteralmente triturato in un camion della raccolta rifiuti. Fikri era inseguito dalla polizia locale dopo aver protestato per la confisca dei suoi beni. Dietro il movimento, però, esistono altri motivi più profondi, come la dittatura, lo sfruttamento, l’emarginazione e la disoccupazione, cioè il capitalismo e il suo stato.

Le régime marocain réprime durement le Rif en révolte. Vendredi 26 mai, les croyants de la mosquée d’Al-Hoceïma ont été surpris et offensés en entendant les sermons des chefs religieux.

Since last October, Al Hoceima and its neighboring regions have seen a big protest movement. The direct reason behind this has been the crushing of a young fish vendor (Mohsen Fikri) in a garbage container by local officials after protesting the confiscation of his goods. Behind the movement however there are other deeper reasons, such as dictatorship, exploitation, marginalization and unemployment: i.e Capitalism and its state.

The regime comes down hard on the rebellious Rif. The Moroccan spring rises again.

Last Friday, May 26th, the believers in the mosques in Al Hoceima were surprised and outraged when they heard the sermons of the religious leaders.