This morning, two marches were held in Morocco—one in the capital Rabat and the other in Marrakech—to mark the 45th anniversary of the Amazigh Spring, known as «Tafsut n Imazighen». The event commemorates the events of April 20, 1980, when Algeria's Kabylie region witnessed a brutal crackdown by security forces that left dozens of Amazigh protesters dead. Amazigh movements and organizations had initially planned to hold a unified national march for the occasion. However, disagreements over a shared set of demands led to a split, with one faction choosing Rabat and the other opting for Marrakech. In Rabat, security forces encircled the demonstrators in Bab El Had Square, preventing them from marching toward the parliament building. Protesters, who dubbed the gathering «The Mohamed Chafik Session», carried banners and chanted slogans calling for Amazigh identity to be fully recognized as part of the national identity. They urged the government to implement the official status of the Amazigh language, enshrine it constitutionally and politically, and protect it from marginalization in media and education. They also called for an end to all forms of discrimination against Amazigh people. The demonstrators demanded the immediate release of «Hirak Rif» detainees and other prisoners of conscience across the country. They also denounced practices that they say undermine Amazigh rights. Meanwhile, in Marrakech, march organizers placed a stronger emphasis on the economic and social rights of Amazigh communities, especially those living in mountainous areas still reeling from the Al Haouz earthquake. They used the march to highlight the ongoing suffering of earthquake survivors, many of whom continue to live in plastic tents months later. Protesters criticized what they described as slow reconstruction efforts in the provinces of Al Haouz, Taroudant, and Chichaoua, and pointed to the continued absence of basic services such as healthcare, housing, and infrastructure. They also called for an end to the economic and social marginalization of these regions, greater spatial justice, guaranteed basic rights for residents, and the protection of communal lands and natural resources. The protestors reaffirmed their demands for freedom of expression and the release of all prisoners of conscience.
