<p>Over 2,000 people took to the streets of the capital Rabat, 4,000 according to the organisers, shouting: "The people want change."<br /><br />In Casablanca, the North African nation's biggest city, over 1,000 people came out demanding: "Freedom, dignity, justice," an AFP correspondent reported.<br />The demonstrations were peaceful as of midday.<br /><br />"I want a Morocco that's more fair and with less corruption," said a student demonstrator in Casablanca who asked not to be named.<br /><br />"We've got nothing against the king, but we want more justice and work," said another student who gave his name as Brahim.<br /><br />Thousands of young Moroccans have joined the "February 20" movement on the social networking site Facebook, calling for peaceful demonstrations demanding a new constitution limiting the king's powers and more social justice.<br /><br />The call has similar origins to the so-called "Facebook revolutions" that toppled decades-old regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and sparked deadly protests in Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria and Morocco.<br /><br />Ahead of the protest, Morocco promised to inject 1.4 billion euros in subsidies to soften price hikes for staples -- a key factor among others including rampant unemployment behind the spreading unrest in the Arab world.<br /><br />That came despite an earlier reassurance that Morocco was unlikely to see Tunisia or Egypt-style unrest due to ongoing reforms by King Mohammed VI who has ruled the country for over a decade.<br /><br />Human rights and civil groups as well as independent journalists joined the movement, calling for the adoption of a democratic constitution.<br /><br />However on Saturday one of the protests' organisers, Rachid Antid, told AFP he was pulling out of Sunday's rally due to the inclusion of Islamist and far-left groups with which they share "ideological differences."<br /><br />The youth wing of banned Islamist group Justice and Charity, believed to be Morocco's biggest opposition force called for a peaceful rally.<br /><br />Others, including the pro-regime Istiqlal and the Islamist opposition Justice and Development, openly rejected the demonstration.</p>
<p>Over 2,000 people took to the streets of the capital Rabat, 4,000 according to the organisers, shouting: "The people want change."<br /><br />In Casablanca, the North African nation's biggest city, over 1,000 people came out demanding: "Freedom, dignity, justice," an AFP correspondent reported.<br />The demonstrations were peaceful as of midday.<br /><br />"I want a Morocco that's more fair and with less corruption," said a student demonstrator in Casablanca who asked not to be named.<br /><br />"We've got nothing against the king, but we want more justice and work," said another student who gave his name as Brahim.<br /><br />Thousands of young Moroccans have joined the "February 20" movement on the social networking site Facebook, calling for peaceful demonstrations demanding a new constitution limiting the king's powers and more social justice.<br /><br />The call has similar origins to the so-called "Facebook revolutions" that toppled decades-old regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and sparked deadly protests in Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria and Morocco.<br /><br />Ahead of the protest, Morocco promised to inject 1.4 billion euros in subsidies to soften price hikes for staples -- a key factor among others including rampant unemployment behind the spreading unrest in the Arab world.<br /><br />That came despite an earlier reassurance that Morocco was unlikely to see Tunisia or Egypt-style unrest due to ongoing reforms by King Mohammed VI who has ruled the country for over a decade.<br /><br />Human rights and civil groups as well as independent journalists joined the movement, calling for the adoption of a democratic constitution.<br /><br />However on Saturday one of the protests' organisers, Rachid Antid, told AFP he was pulling out of Sunday's rally due to the inclusion of Islamist and far-left groups with which they share "ideological differences."<br /><br />The youth wing of banned Islamist group Justice and Charity, believed to be Morocco's biggest opposition force called for a peaceful rally.<br /><br />Others, including the pro-regime Istiqlal and the Islamist opposition Justice and Development, openly rejected the demonstration.</p>
