Brussels : A thousand people took the streets to support the Hirak

A thousand people gathered yesterday afternoon in Brussels to support the Hirak popular movement  in the Rif region. They marched from the Brussels-south railway to the parliament, reports Belga, the Belgian news agency.

According to the police, 1,200 people participated to the demonstration. «We want to support the demands of the Rif population and bring them to the Belgian authorities», the protesters said. «We can not accept that in a country that has so many links with Europe, hundreds of people are denied the most basic rights».

The demonstrators want the Belgian authorities to reflect collaborating with Rabat and to advocate for human rights in the Rif.

The organizers of the rally said that the Moroccan government has created a climate of «fear» in the Rif region. «Hundreds of people, including teenagers, are in prison. At least three protesters were killed and dozens injured. This violence can no longer continue, or the situation will degenerate,» they told the Belga news agency.