20110408
reuters

RABAT (Reuters) - A youth-led protest movement in Morocco said on Friday it would boycott an invitation to present its ideas for political reform to a constitutional review panel, branding the exercise a sham.

The February 20 Movement pushed ahead with regular protests with hundreds taking part in one on Friday in front of parliament to demand King Mohammed cede his political powers, the dismissal of government and the dissolution of parliament.

The group has spearheaded some of the largest anti-government protests the North African state has witnessed for decades, unsettling a political elite desperate to prevent any spill over from popular revolts in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

"We refuse to be part of a pseudo-democratic process that seeks to give Moroccans half the reform they deserve," Ahmed Mediany, a member from the group's branch in Casablanca, Morocco's biggest city, told Reuters.

Formed by the monarch, the review panel had invited members of the group from 40 cities nationwide to attend an April 16 meeting, part of consultations that also include political parties and the trade unions.

"There are many honest and wholly-independent experts that can draft basic principles for a constitution that is truly representative of people's desire," said Jalal Makhfi at the protest in front of parliament.

Protesters are demanding reforms that put democratic limits on the monarchy and say the king must curb his business and political clout and that of his inner circle.

They also want to see legal cases brought against officials and businessmen they accuse of abuse of power, public fund mismanagement and other malpractices.