The Diplomat
The Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, yesterday demanded “respect” from Morocco and affirmed that “it is not acceptable” to use minors to “circumvent” the borders, in violation of international and humanitarian law.
“One of Morocco’s main supporters has been Spain, but we demand respect from Morocco and from any other country, these are the keys to coexistence in civilised and modern societies,” said Robles in an interview with RTVE on the occasion of Armed Forces Day.
The minister pointed out that Spain demands this respect because “it then gives it too” and insisted that something that “cannot be accepted” is that minors are “used” to “circumvent Spain’s borders”.
“I don’t believe that a neighbouring country can do what was done and use minors,” he said, while expressing his “pride” in the humanitarian work carried out by the security forces, the armed forces, NGOs and the entire population of Ceuta.
Robles was thus responding to the critical statements made against Spain by Moroccan authorities in recent days, including those of the Moroccan ambassador in Madrid, Karima Benyaich, against the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya. Rabat has accused Morocco, accusing the head of Spanish diplomacy of “calling into question the mutual respect and trust” between the two countries, and warnings have been issued that Morocco would act “accordingly”.
The Minister of Defence considers that in this crisis with Morocco, the military have shown that “they are where they have to be”, watching over Spain’s territorial integrity and supporting the most vulnerable, just as they did during the worst months of the pandemic or during the storm Filomena, for example.
He also recalled that the Armed Forces watch over “peace and security” in international missions such as those in Africa and, specifically, in the Sahel. “I believe that Spanish society is proud of its military”, he said, highlighting “their willingness to serve, generosity and dedication”.
Meanwhile, Spain has refused to participate in African Lion 2021, the most important military manoeuvres ever held in Africa, which will take place from 7 to 18 June in Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal.
Defence, according to El País, has declined the invitation from the US Africa Command (Africom), citing budgetary reasons, but government sources admit that the underlying reason is that a large part of these exercises, in which Spain has participated every year, will take place for the first time in the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara.
Sending Spanish soldiers there would legitimise Morocco’s occupation of the former colony. 45 years after the last Spanish troops left the territory. Rabat has chosen the areas of Tan Tan (in southern Morocco, opposite the Canary Islands, where it has a US-built manoeuvring camp), Mahbes (in the north-east of Western Sahara, just over 100 kilometres from the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria) and Dakhla (the former Villa Cisneros, in the south-west of the former Spanish colony).
