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Morocco declares start of Amazigh year national holiday

FILE PHOTO: Amazigh people wear traditional clothes as they celebrate their new year outside the parliament, with calls on the government to recognize the day and put more effort into supporting their language in Rabat, Morocco January 13, 2023. REUTERS/Abdelhak Balhaki

Morocco's royal palace said on Wednesday the start of the Amazigh year will be an official paid holiday much to the delight of Amazigh activists who campaigned for decades for the recognition of their calendar.

Home to North Africa's biggest Amazigh, or Berber, population, Morocco long marginalised its language and culture in favour of Arabic and French, giving rise to an Amazigh identity movement which has steadily gained influence.

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