One of the main groups organizing protests against the pro-Western king of Morocco is funded by philanthropist George Soros and the U.S. State Department.
Soros' Open Society Institute also has funded opposition groups across the Middle East and North Africa, including organizations involved in the current chaos.
The Human Rights Education Associates opened its offices in Morocco in 2004 with funds provided by both the State Department and the Open Society Institute.
It was a key supporter of Sunday's protests in Morocco demanding that King Mohammed VI's powers be limited while pushing for constitutional reforms that would allow opposition parties to join the government.
The banned Islamist Justice and Charity is believed to be the country's biggest opposition force. It joined together this past Sunday with a coalition of leftistpartiesthat held mass protests in cities across Morocco that turned violent.
Five burned bodies reportedly were found in a bank set ablaze in a north Moroccan town where some of the violence was reported.
Morocco Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui said yesterday 128 people, including 115 members of the security forces, were wounded in violence in several other Moroccan towns following this weekend's unrest.
The protests were organized under the umbrella of the "February 20 Movement for Change," which boasts 19,000 Facebook fans. It officially is calling for the 47-year-old king to dismiss the government and dissolve parliament.
The protests were unusual for a country in which King Mohammed is widely considered popular, although Islamic groups seek his removal from office.
Mohammed, who took the throne in 1999, is an ally in the U.S.-led fight against terrorism. He even repeatedly has stated he is willing to normalize relations with Israel once a peace agreement is signed with the Palestinians.
Mohammed is also Western oriented. He has dramatically improved Morocco's human rights record and has been a champion of women's rights and a more open economy.
The Soros-funded Human Rights Education Associates has been engaged in teacher training and national training for family judges in Morocco.
It marks the latest connection of thephilanthropistactivist to protests sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.
Soros' Open Society Institute's Middle East and North Africa Initiative has provided numerous grants to a wide range of projects that promote so-called democratic issues across the region, including in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood stands to gain from any future election.
The Open Society also funded the main opposition voice in Tunisia, Radio Kalima, which championed the riots there that led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
WNDreported last weekan international "crisis management" group led by Soros long has petitioned for the Algerian government to cease "excessive" military activities against al-Qaida-linked groups and to allow organizations seeking to create an Islamic state to participate in the Algerian government.
Like Morocco, Algeria last week was the site of violent anti-regime protests.
The organization, the International Crisis Group, also is tied strongly to the Egyptian opposition movement whose protests led to the ouster of Mubarak.
Following protests that led to the resignations of Mubarak and Ben Ali– both key U.S. allies – Algeria similarly has been engulfed in anti-regime riots.
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has ruled the country with a tough hand. And he has been an ally of the U.S. in fighting al-Qaida.
Read more:Soros fingerprints on Morocco riotshttp://www.wnd.com/?pageId=266401#ixzz1EjycC48U
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