Enaam Mayara, the head of the House of Councilors, made some remarks regarding the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla. Spain’s minister of defense, Margarita Robles, has responded.

A nationalist Istiqlal party member named Naam Mayara had proposed that the “occupied” cities will eventually be reclaimed by diplomacy rather than force.

“Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish; there is nothing more to dispute,” Robles declared with “absolute and entire authority.”

Robles, quoted by Europa Press, said, “I feel very Ceut and Melillense because I feel Spanish,” avoiding a direct response to Mayara’s remarks in favor of emphasizing her personal ties to the two cities.

Robles merely said that there was no discussion on the subject when asked if the Spanish government would ask Morocco for a clarification.

Spain and Morocco have long had disagreements over the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla, with Spain claiming that they are an essential component of its territory while Morocco contests this.

Mayara’s remarks are especially relevant because the Istiqlal party, of which she is a member, is a component of the tripartite party led by the Moroccan government.

During a gathering hosted by the Istiqlal women’s organization, Mayara made the remarks. The conference’s theme was “Fundamentals and Possibilities one year after the new stage of Spanish-Moroccan relations.”

In a meeting video that Facebook made available, Mayara stated that “Spanish colonization continues in Ceuta and Melilla.”

The Istiqlal, he continued, “did not stop and won’t stop talking about colonization in these two cities and the potential solutions to recover them.” Additionally, he highlighted that neither city “will be subject to blackmail”.

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El Mundo reported on Thursday that Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the Spanish interior minister, will appear before the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee on March 22 to “explain” the June 24 Melilla-Nador catastrophe.

In statements to the media, the minister remarked, “It is not an appearance but an exchange of thoughts.

Grande-Marlaska recounted that once his nation’s court system finished its inquiry into the deaths of about 30 migrants at the land border, he had vowed to visit the European Parliament.

Then he responded, “This exchange will occur when the prosecution has finished its investigations.

Eyes have turned to the official for further information on the tragic events that led to the regrettable occurrence as the Spanish prosecutor’s office decided in December to end the inquiry into the Melilla-Nador catastrophe.

The Minister had defended the efforts made by border security and law enforcement to stop the hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa who flooded the border wall last summer.

Because to a coalition between the PSOE and the Popular Party, the lower house rejected Unidas-Podemos’ proposal to set up a parliamentary commission of investigation into the Melilla-Nador catastrophe in November.

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Around 6 am on Thursday, the Spanish Guardia Civil noticed several immigrants approaching the borders fence. According to the Government Delegation, about 1200 individuals originating from sub-Saharan Africa attempted to cross borders by jumping the high fence, some 350 managed to do so. The act took place between the border crossings of Barrio Chino and Beni-Enzar.

This is the second attempt to jump over the Melilla fence in two days. According to Efe, anti-riot means have been used by the Moroccan border guards to try to prevent the border crossing, yet the Spanish government delegation has indicated that the migrants “have displayed extreme violence, throwing stones, and using hooks and sticks against the security forces” which led to the injury of several immigrants and four civil guard agents.

The Spanish conservative nationalist political party VOX represented by its leader, Santiago Abascal, said that “at any time this represents a serious attack on Spanish sovereignty and borders, but now [with the Russian invasion of Ukraine] it takes on greater importance,” asking the government what measures they are willing to adopt in order to stop this act from happening again and if they consider this assault a threat to Spain’s National Security. Abascal continued “this inaction by the Government sends a tremendously wrong and dangerous message for the interests of Spain.”

Besides that, the far-right politician and candidate in the 2022 french presidential election Éric Zemmour commented on his Twitter account “At the gates of Europe, in Melilla on the African continent, thousands of migrants storm the Spanish border. We must support Spain to protect our nations.”

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According to the government delegation of Melilla, at 9:30 am up to 2500 sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees tried to cross borders by jumping the fence with only 500 of them succeeding in doing so as the local authorities said.

This flux, called “salto masivo” by the local police of Melilla, is considered the largest ever. On Wednesday, Sabrina Moh, the representative of the Spanish government, has witnessed “live” this border-crossing attempt and was surprised it took place in “broad daylight”.

According to Europa Press, the migrants and refugees were “armed with hooks, sticks, and screws in their shoes and were throwing stones, which meant that they overtook the Moroccan security forces who were trying to prevent them from reaching the fence”.

Also, the Spanish government’s local delegation said “The great violence used by the migrants … overwhelmed the Moroccan security forces who were trying to prevent them from reaching the fence”.

The authorities said that a number of civil guards suffered “slight injuries” due to the act, and about 20 of the migrants have been transferred to the regional hospital.

Sabrina Moh highlighted the efforts and the collaboration between the Moroccan border guards and the Spanish Guardia Civil police.

This took place months after the influx that happened when up to 10,000 people have tried to cross into Ceuta territory in the midst of the Rabat-Madrid diplomatic crisis during May 2021.

During the past years, many attempts to jump the fence took place in Melilla’s borders. The largest amongst them was that of 2014 when about 1100 immigrants have tried to cross the fence with only 492 who managed to do so.

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Spain decided to summon the rulers of occupied Ceuta and Melilla after accusations were brought against Morocco regarding the Kingdom’s previous decision to restrict borders describing it as an attempt to “suffocate and isolate” the economy of the two cities.

In this regard, Spanish media revealed, yesterday, Monday, that the Spanish government will receive the rulers of Ceuta and Melilla, Juan Vivas and Eduardo de Castro, today, Tuesday, March 30th, in order to provide clarifications about the accusations against Morocco and to find alternative ways to mitigate economic effects on the two occupied cities.

In the same context, Ceuta and Melilla authorities demanded to “have a dialogue”, previously, and immediately after Morocco’s decision in order to reopen borders, given the extent of the damage they had suffered as a result of this Moroccan move.  Analysts described the move as “smart” as it tightened the screws on the two occupying authorities and pushed them to resort to dialogue.

The Spanish government’s summoning of the two rulers comes after days of tension caused by statements of the Moroccan government putting emphasis on the Moroccanity of the two occupied cities.

The Spanish government had previously “urgently” summoned Morocco’s ambassador, Karima Benyaich, who did not hesitate to confirm, during her meeting with the Spanish Foreign Minister, that Morocco’s position on Ceuta and Melilla remains unchangeable.

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Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani’s statement regarding Morocco’s intention to reconsider its territorial sovereignty over Spanish Colonized Ceuta and Melilla was a nerve-racking experience for Spain.

Cristina Gallach, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, has summoned the Moroccan ambassador to Spain, Karima Benyaich, on an urgent note to provide more details about the statements of Moroccan prime minister, Saadeddine El Ohmani, who has assured that Ceuta and Melilla “are Moroccan like the Sahara.”

El Othmani’s statement came after US recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Moroccan Sahara. He had an interview during which he said that the day will come when Morocco is going to reopen the issue of Ceuta and Melilla, Moroccan territories like the Sahara.

The statement stirred huge debate in Spain and was considered a questioning of Spain’s territorial sovereignty.

On his part, Pablo Casado, Spanish leader of the opposition has requested the government to defend its territorial integrity on a Tweet.

El Othmani’s statements couldn’t have come out of the blue. Morocco’s diplomacy is firm and confident and Morocco won’t let go of its territories. Therefore, Spain must use its diplomacy and sit down to come to a diplomatic solution.

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