‘Bouazizi’ type protest in Morocco

RABAT - The Associated Press

Five unemployed Moroccan men set themselves on fire in the capital Rabat as part of widespread demonstrations in the country over the lack of jobs, especially for university graduates, a rights activist said Jan. 19. Three were burned badly enough to be hospitalized.

Once rare, self-immolation became a tactic of protest in the Middle East and North Africa ever since a vegetable seller, Mohammed Bouazizi, in Tunisia set himself on fire in December 2010 to protest police harassment, setting off an uprising that toppled the government and sparked similar movements elsewhere in the region. Last week, four more people set themselves on fire in Tunisia, including a father of three who died from his burns.

The Moroccans were part of the “unemployed graduates” movement, a loose collections of associations across the country filled with millions of university graduates demanding jobs. While the official unemployment rate is only 9.1 percent nationally, it rises to around 16 percent for graduates. On Jan. 19, the government elected in November presented its new plan to parliament with a focus on job creation. The Islamist-led government promised to create 200,000 new jobs a year through public and private investment. Around 160 members of the movement have been occupying an administrative building of the Ministry of Higher Education for the past two weeks in Rabat as part of their protest. Supporters would bring them food until two days ago when security forces stopped them.”The authorities prevented them from receiving food and water, so five people went outside to get food and threatened to set themselves on fire if they were stopped,” said Youssef al-Rissouni of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights. Of the three who were hospitalized, two were in serious condition, while the other two just had their clothing singed, he added.