Spain on Monday called on Morocco to respect their common borders after the entry last week of more than 8,000 migrants in the enclave of Ceuta, including a thousand minors who are still there according to the authorities. The sudden arrival of these thousands of migrants in the enclave, made possible by the passivity of border controls on the Moroccan side, “provoked an unprecedented crisis in recent years between the European Union and Morocco”, lamented the Spanish Prime Minister. Pedro Sanchez at a European summit in Brussels.
“The relationship between the EU and Morocco, between Spain and Morocco, is strategic (…) but it must be based on two fundamental pillars”, he declared in remarks broadcast by the Spanish channels . “The first is trust and the second is respect, in this case, respect for the borders of Europe, the borders of Spain in Ceuta and Melilla”, two Spanish towns landlocked on the Mediterranean side of Morocco, according to him. “We must always remind Morocco that it has no better or greater ally within the EU than Spain to defend the strategic interests that matter to it,” insisted Mr. Sanchez.
Clashes with the police
Tensions remain high in Ceuta itself, where some 300 people demonstrated on Monday outside a hotel where far-right Vox party leader Santiago Abascal held a rally on Monday. Initially planned in town, the meeting of Mr. Abascal, known for his anti-immigration positions, had been canceled by the delegation of the Spanish government in Ceuta, and finally took place inside the hotel. “It was not the moment to further aggravate the situation” in Ceuta, justified the delegation.
The demonstrators threw stones, accusing Mr. Abascal of being a “provocateur” as he tried to leave the hotel through the back door, causing clashes with the police. “Several police officers were injured, two people were arrested, there was damage to police cars and street furniture,” a spokesperson for the delegation told AFP.
About a thousand minor migrants were also still on Monday in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, according to the Spanish authorities. These unaccompanied minors roam the streets or are accommodated in centers managed by the local authorities, which must study each case to decide whether to return to Morocco or to remain in Spain. A spokesperson for the Spanish Ministry of the Interior estimated the number of these minors at “around a thousand”. He recalled that “between 8,000 and 9,000” migrants, an unprecedented number, had entered Ceuta at the beginning of last week. For their part, the authorities in Ceuta had even mentioned the figure of 10,000 people. The city has a population of approximately 85,000 inhabitants.
Some 7,500 people have been returned to Morocco, the interior spokesperson told AFP. But he did not specify how many minors had already left for Morocco. Several NGOs recalled that minors could not be returned without a detailed preliminary examination of their situation. Two migrants had died by drowning while trying to reach Ceuta, while a young Moroccan who tried to hang himself on Friday was narrowly saved. Meanwhile, a minor suffered a broken leg on Sunday, Spanish police said in a statement.
Rabat is furious after Madrid since the arrival last month in Spain, for treatment, of the leader of the Saharawi separatists of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, sworn enemy of Morocco. On this subject, the Spanish Minister of Justice, Juan Carlos Campo, said Monday during an economic forum that the crisis with Morocco was being resolved.
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