The symbolic image of the arrival of 8000 migrants in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, in Morocco, is that of an agent of the Guardia Civil. His name is Juan Francisco e saves a baby of a few months from the sea. It is the image of how migrants are used as political paper, as a bargaining chip. Eight thousand migrants have crossed the barriers between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, including 1000 minors.
Spanish territory on the African continent is seen as the gateway to Europe.
With Steven Forti, historian and political analyst who collaborates with the magazine Limes and professor of Contemporary History atAutonomous University of Barcelona, we have analyzed what is happening.
#Very big🎖️
Civil Guards of the #GEAS and the #ARS save the lives of dozens of minors who came to #Ceuta by sea with their families. pic.twitter.com/MyzOaB4hjR– Civil Guard 🇪🇸 (@guardiacivil) May 18, 2021
WHAT ARE CEUTA AND MELILLA
They are Spanish enclaves on the African continent, beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. They have been Spanish territory for several centuries. They are autonomous cities, they are European territory, but not within the Schengen agreements. They are claimed by Morocco, even if only rhetorically.
BECAUSE 8000 PEOPLE ENTERED CEUTA IN TWO DAYS
Because the Moroccan police let them through. It did so because the Moroccan government pressured Madrid using migratory pressure to show its “dissatisfaction” with an episode. The secretary general of the Polisario Front, the leader of the party for the liberation of Western Sahara, Ghali, is in a Spanish hospital to be treated for Covid since the end of April. The Moroccan government considers him a criminal and, although it has never explicitly said that what happens in Ceuta depends on it, it has made it clear through the ambassador in Madrid that certain facts have consequences and Spain must take responsibility for them.
Ghali arrived via Algeria which hosts the Saharawi for 40 years, since the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, was occupied by Morocco with the green march of 1976. Algeria also has excellent relations with Spain. Ghali entered Spain with false name and documents.
THE BASIC QUESTION
If the one mentioned above is the immediate motivation, there is however a fundamental question linked to the policy carried out in the last months of the administration Trump with the Abrahamic pact, the approach of the Sunni-Arab world to Israel. On December 10, 2020, the Trump administration recognized full Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, despite 40 years of UN resolutions calling for a referendum in which the Sahrawi population decides for independence or acceptance of Moroccan sovereignty.
THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM
Added to this is an economic problem. After years of growth, the Moroccan economy is in recession with high unemployment due to the pandemic that has stopped the leading tourism sector. There is intolerance in the urban suburbs. There is a sector of the population that wants to seek better living conditions.
MIGRANTS USED
The government of Rabat is using an Erdogan-like strategy in this situation, using the migration card as Turkey did years ago. People are bargaining chips. Like Turkey, it is asking for funds and no internal interference so as not to send 3.5 million Syrians to Europe. Ethically it is absolutely questionable, but, by removing the police control at the border, it allowed the passage, through the stretch of sea that can be reached towards Ceuta without having to overcome the network and masonry structure that prevents the passage. Between Spain and Morocco there is an agreement for immediate repatriation and in fact most of these people have already been sent back.
SPAIN AND EUROPE
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said immediately that order would be restored. «We will be firm in the face of any challenge. The integrity of Ceuta as part of the Spanish nation will be guaranteed by the government with all available means ”. “We will not be intimidated by anyone, Europe will not be the victim of tactics” says the European Commission.
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