Moroccan Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui has announced a raise in the salaries of the kingdom’s Auxiliary Forces as part of an effort on the government’s part to contain the massive protests that have calling for democracy and political reform since February 20.
As Morocco has witnessed the most expansive anti-government protests in years and fears of the repercussions of the popular revolutions of Egypt and Tunisia have started to irk officials, the Interior Ministry decided to respond to the demands of the Auxiliary Forces, also called “mkhaznia.” Members of the forces have been complaining of low wages and mistreatment by higher-ranking officers, the official Moroccan news agency Maghreb Arabe Presse reported.
As Morocco has witnessed the most expansive anti-government protests in years and fears of the repercussions of the popular revolutions of Egypt and Tunisia have started to irk officials, the Interior Ministry decided to respond to the demands of the Auxiliary Forces, also called “mkhaznia.” Members of the forces have been complaining of low wages and mistreatment by higher-ranking officers, the official Moroccan news agency Maghreb Arabe Presse reported.
In addition to the salary raise, the minister announced that Auxiliary Forces staff will be also be given housing facilities.
Despite the link established between the new privileges given to the “mkhaznia” and the recent protests, the Interior Ministry stated that plans to better their condition have been discussed months ago—that is, before the start of the protests.
The government to suppress riots and demonstrations and sometimes aid the police and the army in cases of emergency generally uses the Moroccan Auxiliary Forces, estimated at 47,000 officers.
For many Moroccans, however, Auxiliary Forces, which are affiliated to the Interior Ministry, are not representative of the Moroccan people since their main job is suppressing freedom of expression and hitting demonstrators under the pretext of protecting national security.
According to official sources, the Moroccan government is already looking into the demands of various echelons of the society and is engaged in negotiations with trade unions about their demands.
The government, said the same sources, was also studying raising the salaries of civil servants and allocating 43 million dirhams ($55 million) for this purpose.
(Sonia Farid of Al Arabiya, who can be reached at sonia.farid@mbc.net, translated this article from Arabic)
Despite the link established between the new privileges given to the “mkhaznia” and the recent protests, the Interior Ministry stated that plans to better their condition have been discussed months ago—that is, before the start of the protests.
The government to suppress riots and demonstrations and sometimes aid the police and the army in cases of emergency generally uses the Moroccan Auxiliary Forces, estimated at 47,000 officers.
For many Moroccans, however, Auxiliary Forces, which are affiliated to the Interior Ministry, are not representative of the Moroccan people since their main job is suppressing freedom of expression and hitting demonstrators under the pretext of protecting national security.
According to official sources, the Moroccan government is already looking into the demands of various echelons of the society and is engaged in negotiations with trade unions about their demands.
The government, said the same sources, was also studying raising the salaries of civil servants and allocating 43 million dirhams ($55 million) for this purpose.
(Sonia Farid of Al Arabiya, who can be reached at sonia.farid@mbc.net, translated this article from Arabic)
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