On October 9, 2010 residents of Laayoune, Morocco began setting up a protest site in the desert east of the city. The protests were for additional housing and job opportunities to accommodate the growing population. Pro-Polisario provocateurs soon infiltrated the demonstration site to "hijack" the protest. The protest had nothing to do with Polisario demands for independence. Once the provocateurs began intimidate and threaten the peaceful protesters, Moroccan authorities decided to dismantle the protest site before the circumstances deteriorated further. In the early morning of November 8, 2010, Moroccan police authorities, carrying only non-lethal weapons, sought to peacefully dismantle the protest site. This video contains images of the police intervention from cameras carried by Moroccan authorities and a confiscated camera phone. The images are extremely graphic and gruesome.



Wednesday, September 21, 2011

New "Morocco Caucus" Formed in Congress

Leaders of Congress unveiled the formation of a "Congressional Morocco Caucus" last week. The bipartisan group is tasked with "deepening the economic and strategic relationship between the United States and Morocco". A letter sent from the group to fellow House members highlighted the importance of Morocco's alliance and praised Morocco's recent constitutional referendum in response to the Arab Spring. Members also worried that the continuing dispute in the Western Sahara was distracting from issues such as anti-terrorism and dealing with the regional unrest. Read More

Question of the Day: Does the formation of the Caucus represent a step-forward on the Western Sahara issue that will produce actual results?
Posted by western sahara today at 11:39 AM

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