The 1965 Moroccan riots were street riots in the cities of Morocco, originating in Casablanca in March 1965. They began with a student protest, which expanded to include marginalized members of the population. The number of casualties incurred is contested. Moroccan authorities reported a dozen deaths, whereas the foreign press and the Union nationale des forces populaires (UNFP) counted more than 1000 deaths. [1]
Hassan II became King of Morocco upon the death of Mohammed V on February 26, 1961. In December 1962, his appointees drafted a constitution which kept political power in the hands of the monarchy. Hassan II also abandoned the foreign policy of nonalignment and proclaimed hostility towards the newly independent, newly socialist nation of Algeria—resulting in the 1963–1964 "Sand War". [2]
The Union nationale des forces populaires, under the leadership of Mehdi Ben Barka, expanded its membership and overtly opposed Hassan II. An allied student group, the Union nationale des étudiants du Maroc (UNEM) — which formed as a nationalist, anti-colonial group—now prominently criticized the monarchy. [3] [4] These groups and the regime launched into an escalating cycle of protest and repression which created the conditions for a major confrontation. [5] Eleven UNFP leaders, accused of plotting against the king, were sentenced to death. Ben Barka escaped to France, where he served as a symbolic opposition leader in exile. [6]
Before March 1965, the national minister of education, Youssef Belabbès, originated a circular preventing youth above the age of 17 from attending in the second cycle of lycee (high school). In practice, this rule separated out 60% of students. Although at that time, the Baccalauréat concerned only a small few (1500 per year), for the others it became a rallying symbol which set off the student mobilization. [7] This decision provoked student unrest in Casablanca, Rabat, and other cities. [3]
On March 22, 1965, thousands of students gathered on the soccer field at Lycée Mohammed-V in Casablanca. They were already numerous by 10 am. According to a witness, there were almost 15,000 students present that morning. [1] [8]
The goal of the assembly was to organize a peaceful march to demand the right to public higher education for Moroccans. Arriving at the street in front of the French cultural center, the demonstration was brutally dispersed by law enforcement. Without further provocation, they discharged their firearms. The students were thus compelled to retreat into the poorer neighborhoods of the city, where they encountered the unemployed. They agreed to meet again the following day. [1]
On March 23, the students gathered again at the stadium of Lycée Mohammed-V. They were soon joined by their parents, workers, and the unemployed, as well as people coming from the bidonvilles (slums). This time, the assembly was not so peaceful. The advancing protesters vandalized stores, burned buses and cars, threw stones, and chanted slogans against the king. [1] [3] [9]
The repression was swift: the army and the police were mobilized. Tanks were deployed for two days to quell the protestors, and General Mohamed Oufkir had no hesitation in firing on the crowd from a helicopter. [10] [11]
The king blamed the events on teachers and parents. He declared, in a message to the nation on March 30, 1965: "Allow me to tell you that there is no greater danger to the State than a so-called intellectual. It would have been better if you were all illiterate." [12] [13]
The street is invincible,
irreducible,
all revolt is an avalanche of rocks
[…]
Standing, in the violent street
man is the first to speak. [14]
After the events of March 23, suspected dissidents including communists and Iraqi teachers were arrested. [15] In April, Hassan II tried to reconcile with the opposition, receiving at Ifrane a delegation from the Union nationale des forces populaires, which included, notably, Abderrahim Bouabid, Abdelhamid Zemmouri and Abderrahmane Youssoufi. They proposed to form a government and demanded to transmit their message to Mehdi Ben Barka. But these discussions resulted in no concrete action. [1]
In June of the same year, Hassan II declared a state of emergency, which lasted until 1970. UNFP continued to criticize the regime. On October 29, Mehdi Ben Barka was abducted and assassinated in Paris. [1] [16] Students in Casablanca rose again on March 23, 1966, and many were arrested. [17]
In reference to these events, members of UNFP proceeded to create a Marxist–Leninist organization, Harakat 23 Mars (March 23 Movement), which much later gave rise in 1983 to the Organisation de l'action démocratique populaire—one of the founding elements of the Unified Socialist Party. Among the personalities who have been active within this movement, one finds the politician Mohamed Bensaid Aït Idder, the researcher and author Abdelghani Abou El Aazm, the consultant Amal Cherif Haouat, and the Belgian politician Mohammed Daïf.
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic coast of the Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a population of about 3.71 million in the urban area, and over 4.27 million in Greater Casablanca, making it the most populous city in the Maghreb region, and the eighth-largest in the Arab world.
Hassan II was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999.
Abderrahmane Youssoufi was a Moroccan politician and human rights lawyer who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Morocco from 1998 to 2002, serving under King Hassan II and King Mohammed VI. He was the Secretary General of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces.
Driss Basri was a Moroccan politician who served as interior minister from 1979 to 1999. After General Oufkir's death in 1972, and then Ahmed Dlimi's death in 1983, Driss Basri became Hassan II's right-hand man and number two of the regime from the beginning of the 1980s to the end of the 1990s. His name has been associated with the Years of Lead.
The National Union of Popular Forces was founded in 1959 in Morocco by Mehdi Ben Barka and his entourage, because they found that the Istiqlal Party was not radical enough.
Abdallah Ibrahim was a Moroccan politician and a figure of the national movement and was the left-wing Prime Minister of Morocco between December 16, 1958, and May 20, 1960. He was the 3rd prime minister of Morocco and served under king Mohammed V. He also served as the foreign minister from 1958 to 1960.
Lycée Lyautey is a French institution of secondary education located in Casablanca, Morocco. It is composed of a collège and a lycée, and belongs to the Académie de Bordeaux, an educational administrative district in France. The school was named after Marshal Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey who was the first French Resident General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925, at the beginning of the French protectorate in Morocco.
The history of the city of Casablanca in Morocco has been one of many political and cultural changes. At different times it has been governed by Berber, Roman, Arab, Portuguese, Spanish, French, British, and Moroccan regimes. It has had an important position in the region as a port city, making it valuable to a series of conquerors during its early history.
The Years of Lead was a period of the rule of King Hassan II of Morocco, from roughly the 1960s through the 1980s, marked by state violence and repression against political dissidents and democracy activists.
Abdelghani Bousta, was a Moroccan politician who opposed the monarchical power of his country. Like many of his fellow fighters at the time, his democratic views in favour of the separation of powers and taking absolute power away from King Hassan II forced him into exile for over twenty years.
Mehdi Ben Barka was a Moroccan nationalist, Arab socialist, politician, revolutionary, anti-imperialist, head of the left-wing National Union of Popular Forces (UNFP) and secretary of the Tricontinental Conference. An opponent of French Imperialism and King Hassan II, he was "disappeared" in Paris in 1965.
Hassan II University of Casablanca (UH2C), established in 1975, is a public university which is the result of a recent merger since 1 September 2014 of two universities: Hassan II University Ain Chock - Casablanca and the Hassan II University Mohammedia.
The Royal College is an education establishment located inside the royal palace in Rabat. Since its foundation in 1942 during the French Protectorate, it has specialized in the education of princes and princesses of the Alaouite dynasty. Its director is Abdeljalil Lahjomri.
The General Directorate for Studies and Documentation is the foreign intelligence agency of Morocco, under authority of the Administration for National Defense. It is officially tasked with maintaining national security and the safety of national institutions.
The General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance, is the internal intelligence agency of the Moroccan state. It is tasked with the monitoring of potentially subversive domestic activities.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Rabat, Morocco.
Mohamed Moatassim was a Moroccan scholar and politician who served as advisor to King Mohammed VI.
The Proclamation of Independence of Morocco, also translated as the Manifesto of Independence of Morocco or Proclamation of January 11, 1944, is a document in which Moroccan nationalists called for the independence of Morocco in its national entirety under Muhammad V Bin Yusuf, as well as the installment of a democratic, constitutional government to guarantee the rights of all segments of society. January 11 is an official government holiday in Morocco.
Harakat 23 Mars was a Marxist Leninist movement founded in Morocco on March 23, 1970.
Serge Berdugo is a Moroccan lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Tourism for both Prime Ministers Mohammed Karim Lamrani and Abdellatif Filali between 1993 and 1995. Berdugo is a leader within the Moroccan Jewish community, serving as Secretary-General of the Israelite Community Council of Morocco and President of the Israelite Community of Casablanca.