Morocco and Spain: partners against human rights, migrants and Western Sahara

The friction between Spain and Morocco occurs within the framework of a shared complicity against the human rights of African migrants and the self-determination of Western Sahara. The mobilization of the people marks the way forward against oppression. It is necessary to regroup the revolutionaries and advance in the construction of new left-wing alternatives.

By Florencia Salgueiro

He 24 of June 37 people were killed and hundreds were injured when trying to enter Spain through Melilla. The repression was carried out by the Moroccan security forces and those of the Spanish State.. The representatives of both countries justified their actions and distanced themselves from the political responsibilities that correspond to them.. A new diplomatic episode opened that put three issues on the table: human rights, the status of Ceuta and Melilla and the positioning regarding Western Sahara.

They violate basic human rights

In relation to the repression and massacre of Melilla, Moroccan authorities stated that there was only"false information" e“organized immigrants” who acted with"unusual violence". On the Spanish side, at the time, Minister Marlaska expressed: "It is evident that we are talking about an episode of violent attempted irregular entry that is unjustifiable". They are not words said in passing, since the government of"Progressive coalition" PSOE- Podemos executes"Hot returns" of migrant people. The justifications come from those who violate the human rights of the Sahrawi population and from those who, with your silence and inaction, they endorse the repression, imprisonment and torture in the occupied territories.

About Ceuta and Melilla

The Alawite kingdom sent a letter to the UN mentioning that Morocco"it does not have land borders with Spain", but with"simple access points", and that Melilla"It is still a busy prison."The Spanish President, Pedro Sánchez, responded from Congress by reaffirming that“Ceuta and Melilla are Spain.”Later, given the dimension that the events took, A senior official from the Moroccan Foreign Ministry backtracked and pointed out that between the two countries there are also«land borders».The truth is that Ceuta and Melilla are the only Autonomous Cities administered by a country that is part of the European Union despite being located on the African continent.. Y, Besides, The origin of their status dates back to the conquest and division of Africa by European colonialists.. The current counterpoint on sovereignty is developing with impunity while they deny the sovereignty of Western Sahara.

They deny the self-determination of Western Sahara

The relationship between the kingdoms of Spain and Morocco develops with permanent friction that appears and disappears according to political situations..  Nevertheless, The dominant thing between both countries is complicity. Morocco acts as a border gendarme in the south of the EU and Spain compensates with“financial aid”and trade agreements“within the framework of frank cooperation between two partners and friends.”With variable intensity, they feel a position on the belonging of Ceuta and Melilla at the same time that they are unaware of thesovereignty of Western Sahara on their own territories, promoting the autonomy plan of Mohamed VI against Sahrawi self-determination. The regimes of Spain and Morocco display unlimited cynicism that is also expressed in the area of ​​human rights.

Punishment of those responsible for the massacre

Even if they wash their hands, the authorities of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Spanish State, They have a shared complicity for the Melilla massacre. On both sides of the fences, guard the project“Fortress Europe” racist and anti-immigrant. Because, Both deployed a racist and criminal operation on desperate people who tried to enter Spain and, that way, to the EU. We demand an Independent Investigative Commission, formed by human rights organizations and thepunishment of the political and material responsible for the loss of lives and injuries.

Demonstration for a Free Sahara

Against the backdrop of the position on Western Sahara, We will continue to defend your right to self-determination, denouncing the violation of human rights, the repression and persecution carried out on the Sahrawi people in the occupied territories. For this reason we support and call to participate in the demonstration that will take place on 12 November in Madrid They will not silence us! Free Sahara already!

For a socialist solution

When addressing situations involving Europe and Africa, It is necessary to highlight that it is the powerful who plunder territories, They exploit workers for capitalist profits and oppress people to govern as they please..  Only the mobilized unity of the people will defeat the imperialists, bourgeois governments, dictators and monarchies and will be able to open the way to liberation. It is an indissoluble struggle within the framework of the strategy that the workers and socialism govern.. You have to turn around, and this requires advancing in the international regrouping of revolutionaries and in the construction of new left alternatives in all countries of the world..