Beijing News (reporter Luan Ruoxi intern Zhang Yuan) "Spain is encountering a humanitarian crisis and a diplomatic crisis. The Associated Press described the current situation on Spain's border.
Recently, some 8,000 illegal immigrants have taken advantage of the loose control of the Moroccan border to set foot on European borders by swimming or riding inflatable rubber boats into Ceuta, Spain's North African "enclave". The BBC noted that most of these illegal immigrants were Moroccans.
There is speculation in the Spanish media that the Moroccan government has loosened its border management or is related to a diplomatic dispute between the Spanish government that has lasted for many weeks, and Morocco may want to pressure Spain on the issue of border immigration.
At present, Spain has sent additional police and soldiers to the Moroccan border to control the situation. Spain's border issue has also caught the attention of the European Union, where OFFICIALS have called on the Moroccan government to take steps to control the entry of illegal immigrants as soon as possible.
About 8,000 people entered Spain illegally within two days
From May 17 to 18, local time, nearly 8,000 illegal immigrants entered Ceuta, Spain's North African "enclave", from Morocco, including about 1,500 minors.
An enclave is a land that is under the jurisdiction of an administrative region but not contiguous to that district. Ceuta is Spain's "enclave" in North Africa and is part of the European Union.
According to CNN, some illegal immigrants entered southern Ceuta from Tarahar Beach, while others entered northern Ceuta from Honjo Beach. A spokesman for the Spanish government's Ceuta region said an adult man had drowned during the crossing.
In addition to Ceuta, about 300 crossers attempted to cross the border from another Spanish "enclave", the municipality of Melilla, earlier on May 18, local time.
In order to deal with the problem of illegal immigration, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez cancelled the trip scheduled for the 18th to Paris, France, and personally went to North Africa.
The Spanish-Moroccan border welcomed about 8,000 illegal immigrants. /Twitter screenshot
On May 18, local time, Spain sent additional police and soldiers to the Moroccan border. Spain's Interior Minister, Fernando Grande Marasca, noted that Spain has sent 200 soldiers, as well as 200 policemen, to assist a force of 1,100 people normally stationed at the border to patrol the border.
The Spanish government says the growth in illegal arrivals has slowed following the deployment of additional police and soldiers in Spain. Video footage from Ceuta Beach shows that by late May 18, local time, there were almost no illegal immigrants near the border beach.
At present, the Spanish and Moroccan governments have reached an agreement on the repatriation of illegal immigrants, and at least 4,000 people have been repatriated to Morocco.
In fact, for a long time, some illegal immigrants have tried to travel to Europe through Ceuta and Melilla. The main reason for this is that in recent years, many parts of Africa have continued to face more serious problems of political chaos, poverty, famine and violence. These people want to smuggle themselves into developed Europe to get out of the status quo.
Ceuta and Melilla are the only two territories of the EUROPEAN Union on the African continent, so these two "enclaves" have become important "springboards" for illegal immigrants.
However, the rate of growth in the number of illegal immigrants is particularly interesting. Some analysts suspect that the surge in illegal immigration at the Spanish border may be related to the diplomatic dispute between Spain and Morocco.
Diplomatic turmoil between Spain and Morocco
Prior to Spain's "border crisis," diplomatic tensions between Spain and Morocco had lasted for more than a month.
The diplomatic dispute began in April. According to the Spanish newspaper El País, Moroccan intelligence at the time discovered that the 73-year-old leader of the "People's Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara" (also known as the "Frente POLISARIO"), a political and military organization dedicated to the independence of Western Sahara, Washin Ghali, was infected with COVID-19 and had been treated by a local hospital in Logroño, Spain.
Spain's foreign minister, Alancha González Raya, defended the move for purely humanitarian reasons. However, moroccan foreign ministries denounced the Spanish government's actions as an insult to the spirit of good-neighbourliness between Morocco and Spain and threatened Spain with retaliation.
The admission of patients to the hospital actually involves diplomatic turmoil, in fact, behind the implication is the territorial dispute of Morocco.
Spain deploys troops to the border areas. / Screenshot of the report of the Spanish newspaper El País
Western Sahara was once a Spanish colony. In November 1975, Spain signed a partition agreement with Morocco and Mauritania, promising to withdraw all from Western Sahara early the following year.
At that time, the Algerian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara had also made territorial claims against The Western Sahara region. There had been numerous clashes between the three parties, and in 1979 Mauritania renounced its territorial sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Subsequently, the armed conflict occurred mainly between Morocco and the "People's Liberation Front of Western Sahara". At present, most of Western Sahara is controlled by Morocco.
Today, Spain's admission to Gali has caused great dissatisfaction in Morocco. As a result, several Spanish media have speculated that the increase in illegal immigration in Spanish enclaves may be related to the diplomatic turmoil between the two countries.
Some residents of Fnidic, Morocco (near the Spanish enclave of Ceuta), said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Haaretz that the Moroccan government has lax border controls and has not tried to stop illegal immigration.
However, this claim was refuted by the Spanish government. Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande Marasca and Spain's Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya both denied that it was related to diplomatic disputes. Gonzalez said Moroccan officials had assured Spain that the influx of crossers had nothing to do with the contradictions between the two countries.
In addition to the diplomatic turmoil, analysts also pointed out that the recent entry into the seasonal immigration period, coupled with good weather, has made illegal immigrants "eager to move".
The EU urges the Government of Morocco to take action
Ceuta and Melilla are the ONLY land borders between the EU and Africa, and the situation on the Spanish border has also raised concerns among EU officials.
On May 18, local time, the European Commission commissioner in charge of internal affairs, Jourva Johansson, urged the Moroccan government to control illegal immigration. Speaking in the European Parliament, Johansson noted that the current number of illegal migrants arriving in Ceuta is "unprecedented" and "worrying", many of them minors.
Johnsson stressed that the most important thing now is for the Moroccan government to prevent people from leaving the country abnormally and to allow those who do not have the right to stay in EU countries to return in an orderly manner. European Council President Charles Michel even tweeted that "Spain's border is the border of the European Union."
European Council President Charles Michel tweeted. /Twitter screenshot
Spain is also adjusting its immigration policy. According to Deutsche Welle, the Spanish Interior Ministry issued a statement saying that Spain is working on an immigration policy involving the EU as a whole and Morocco.
The Spanish government has deployed hundreds of officials on the ground to help process and repatriate illegal immigrants faster. Morocco will also cooperate with Spain on immigration issues, and since the EU also relies on Morocco for intelligence to combat extremism, the two countries agreed in exchange for regular training for its police and army.
In addition, although Spain does not grant Moroccan asylum status, unaccompanied child migrants are allowed to remain in Spain legally under the supervision of the government.
Beijing News reporter Luan Ruoxi intern Zhang Yuan
Edited by Lei Zhang Proofreader Lucy