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Has Morocco eased border control for irregular migrants heading to Ceuta ? This is what some Spanish politicians and associations in Morocco have claimed, commenting on the massive arrivals of thousands of Moroccans who swam to Ceuta in the early hours of Monday, May 17.
«The latest numbers suggest that 3,000 Moroccans, including more than 700 minors, have swam to Ceuta. A number that could go up in the coming hours», Mohamed Said Soussi from the Northern Human Rights Observatory said. «The young people who made the crossing are all Moroccans, from Fnideq and other towns in the Kingdom. It is a pressure weapon in the hands of Morocco in its relations with the European Union and Spain», he told Yabiladi.
Finalizado el ramadán , comienza el éxodo desde #Marruecos a #Ceuta , a nado sorteando el espigón de la playa del tarajal y a la carrera @icembrero @A3Noticias @ElSaltoDiario @eldiarioes @puertodeceuta @otazuelcano @TelQuelOfficiel @marochebdo pic.twitter.com/Xq4cKa8i0J
— KARIM PRIM (@KARIMPRIM) May 17, 2021
Faced with this situation of «extreme gravity», the president of the city, Juan Vivas, cut short his visit to Seville, where he took part this morning to a forum. For her part, the government delegate in Ceuta has called an emergency meeting tonight to take the necessary measures, reports El Faro de Ceuta.
«The (Spanish) security forces are overwhelmed. It's unprecedented», notes the newspaper. Since then, all eyes have been on Morocco, accused of «doing nothing» to curb these irregular arrivals, recorded around two in the morning on Monday, May 17 with the arrival of around 100 Moroccans. This number grew throughout the day to reach 5,000 people.
The political right calls for the resignation of the Minister of the Interior
Europa Press has revealed that the Government Delegation in Ceuta has informed the Interior and Foreign Ministers of this surprising wave. He added that the two members of the government «have contacted the Moroccan authorities for the coordination of a response». A version that the Spanish Foreign Minister, Arancha Gonzalez, has swept aside, saying in a laconic response to a question on the subject that her services are not aware of the arrivals of Moroccans in Ceuta.
Faced with this obvious embarrassment from the left-wing coalition government, the right-wing opposition has taken up the issue. The People’s Party reiterated its call to the Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, to «submit his resignation».
«He has become the best ally of the mafias who deal with people. He did nothing during the migration crisis in the Canary Islands and does not intend to do anything for Ceuta», denounced the deputy secretary of the PP responsible for the organization of the party, Ana Beltrán, reports Europa Press. The formation of Pablo Casado demanded «explanations» from the executive led by Pedro Sanchez.
No es la fiesta del agua ? de fin de curso? Son cientos de jóvenes marroquíes que han llegado a #Ceuta sorteando los espigones de las playas de Benzu y Tarajal desde #Marruecos pic.twitter.com/40IMvtAaV5
— KARIM PRIM (@KARIMPRIM) May 17, 2021
Vox condemned what it claimed was a «blackmail» operation on the part of the «Moroccan neighbor and enemy». The far-right party, through its section in Ceuta, sees it as a measure of «reprisals» against the hospitalization of Brahim Ghali in Spain.
The Iberian press did not fail to recall that the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned, in its press release of May 8, that the Kingdom «will draw the consequences» of Madrid's decision to accommodate the Polisario leader in a hospital in Logroño.
As for Melilla, the authorities of the city neighboring Nador fear to experience the same scenario with Sub-Saharan migrants.
