Marruecos denuncia actos de hostilidad de España

The Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has once again issued a statement on the current diplomatic crisis between Spain and Morocco. This time in reference to the trial to be held on 1 June, in which the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, is expected to answer for the crimes for which he is accused.

In this regard, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry has stressed that the root of this crisis does not depend on Ghali's future, but that "it is a question of broken trust between partners", since "the root of the crisis is a question of Spain's hostile ulterior motives with respect to the Sahara, a sacred cause of the entire Moroccan people".

Thus, Morocco has emphasised that "the serious crisis" between the two countries will not end with Ghali's appearance before the Spanish National Court, but rather when Spain "unambiguously clarifies its choices, its decisions and its positions" on the Western Sahara issue.

For the Alawi country, the Ghali case "has revealed the collusion of our northern neighbour with the Kingdom's adversaries to undermine the territorial integrity, hostile attitudes and harmful strategies of Spain towards the Sahara issue".

The statement goes on to add that, for Morocco, the so-called Ghali is nothing more than a reflection of the "Polisario". Likewise, "the manner in which he entered Spain, with a false passport, under a false Algerian identity and in an Algerian presidential plane, betrays the very essence of this separatist militia".

Brahim Ghali was admitted to the San Pedro Hospital in Logroño on 17 April for treatment after being infected with COVID, although some sources suggest that he was being treated for a colon-related illness. After his admission, the Spanish Foreign Minister, Arancha González Laya, subsequently attributed his presence in the country to "strictly humanitarian reasons". However, his reception has led to a series of diplomatic consequences that have aggravated relations between Morocco and Spain.

The communiqué concludes with examples that would attest to the good relations that Morocco has maintained, having shown itself to be "always in solidarity with Spain", and specifies that it "makes a distinction between the friendship of the Spanish people and the damage caused by certain political circles", which it has not named.

However, Morocco wanted to recall that "it has no problem with the Spanish, its citizens, its economic operators, its cultural actors and its tourists, as they are welcomed as friends and neighbours of Morocco because it will remain attached to its natural and genuine friendship with the Spanish people". 

Full text of the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 

STATEMENT BY THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS ON THE MOROCCAN-SPANISH CRISIS

This Tuesday, 1 June, the so-called Ghali will appear before the Audiencia Nacional.  While it is true that this appearance is a development which Morocco takes note of, it does not, however, represent the core of the serious crisis between the two neighbouring countries. 

I.    The appearance, a development of which Morocco takes note:

1.    First of all, the appearance of the so-called Ghali confirms what Morocco had said from the beginning: Spain has received on its territory, intentionally, fraudulently and concealed, a person prosecuted by the Spanish justice system on the basis of complaints lodged by victims of Spanish nationality and for acts committed partly on Spanish soil.

2.    Secondly, this appearance shows the true face of the "Polisario" represented by a leader who has committed abject crimes, who rapes, tortures, disregards human rights and sponsors terrorist acts. 

3.    This appearance also underlines Spain's responsibility towards itself, since the victims of the so-called Ghali are mainly Spanish. This appearance is therefore the beginning of a first recognition of the rights of the victims and of the criminal and penal responsibility of this individual. It is also the first time that the Spanish justice system has summoned this individual and brought him to justice for serious crimes. 

What about all the children, women and men who suffer the ravages of the "Polisario"? Inhuman treatment is inflicted daily on the people of Tindouf - the silenced of the "polisario" - without justice being done to them. 

II. However, this is not the root of the problem: 

1.    The root of the problem is a question of broken trust between partners. The root of the crisis is a question of Spain's hostile ulterior motives with regard to the Sahara, a sacred cause of the entire Moroccan people:  

- The crisis is not limited to the affair of one man. It does not begin with his arrival, nor will it end with his departure.  It is first and foremost a question of broken trust and mutual respect between Morocco and Spain.  It is a test of the reliability of the partnership between Morocco and Spain. 
- If the crisis between Morocco and Spain cannot end without the appearance of the so-called Ghali, it cannot be resolved by his hearing alone.  Morocco's legitimate expectations go further.  They start with an unambiguous clarification by Spain of its choices, decisions and positions. 

- For Morocco, the so-called Ghali is nothing more than a reflection of the "polisario".  The manner in which he gained access to Spain - with a false passport, under a false Algerian identity and in an Algerian presidential plane - betrays the very essence of this separatist militia.  

- Beyond the case of the so-called Ghali, this affair has revealed Spain's hostile attitudes and detrimental strategies towards the Moroccan Sahara issue.  It has revealed the collusion of our northern neighbour with the Kingdom's adversaries to undermine Morocco's territorial integrity.  

- How, in this context, can Morocco ever trust Spain again? How can we know that Spain will not again collude with the Kingdom's enemies? Can Morocco really count on Spain not to go behind its back? How can trust be restored after such a serious mistake? What guarantees of reliability does Morocco have to this day? In fact, this is tantamount to asking the fundamental question: what is Spain really looking for? 

2.    This crisis also raises a question of coherence. We cannot fight separatism at home and encourage it in our neighbour's house:

- It is in the name of this coherence, first towards itself and then towards its partners, that Morocco has never instrumentalised separatism. It has never promoted it as a bargaining chip in its international relations, particularly with its neighbours.

- In this sense, Morocco's policy towards Spain has always been clear. During the Catalan crisis, Morocco did not opt for neutrality, but was one of the first to side clearly and forcefully with the territorial integrity and national unity of its northern neighbour. 

- The question is legitimate: what would Spain's reaction have been if a representative of Spanish separatism had been received in the Moroccan Royal Palace? What would Spain's reaction have been if this representative had been publicly and officially received by its strategic ally, its important trading partner and its closest neighbour to the South? 

- Let us not have a short memory. In 2012, for example, when there was a visit to Morocco by a Catalan economic delegation, the programme was modified, at the request of the Spanish government, so that this delegation would not be received at a high level and that all interviews would take place in the presence of the representative of the Spanish Embassy in Rabat. 

- In 2017, the same consistency was given when Morocco refused the request for a visit and meeting of a major leader of Catalan separatism.

- Morocco has the right to expect no less from Spain. This is the very principle of a true partnership.

3. Morocco has always shown solidarity with Spain: 

- There are, of course, natural difficulties related to the neighbourhood, including cyclical migration crises. However, these difficulties should not make us forget that solidarity is to partnership what reliability is to good neighbourliness and what trust is to friendship.  

- This is the solidarity that Morocco has always shown towards Spain. Recent history shows us that there have been numerous gestures in this direction.

- In 2002, for example, when an oil tanker sank, Morocco generously opened its territorial waters to 64 fishing boats from the region of Galicia, when the fishing agreements were not yet in force.

- In 2008, when Spain was in the midst of the economic crisis, Morocco granted derogations to welcome Spanish workers and entrepreneurs with open arms and allow them to settle and work in Morocco.

- In the midst of the Catalan crisis, Spain has always been able to count on Morocco, which has unreservedly defended Spain's national sovereignty and territorial integrity through its actions (banning the entry of Catalan separatists into Morocco, banning all contact between the Moroccan consulate in Barcelona and the Catalan separatist movement) and its position statements (clear and forceful communiqués of support).

- The same spirit of solidarity has always prevailed in security cooperation and in the fight against illegal immigration.  Thus, migration cooperation has made it possible, since 2017, to abort more than 14,000 irregular migration attempts, dismantle 5,000 trafficking networks and prevent countless attempted assaults.  

- Cooperation in the fight against terrorism, for its part, has led to the dismantling of several cells with branches in both Morocco and Spain and the neutralisation of 82 terrorist acts. In addition, Moroccan services made a decisive contribution to the investigations into the bloody attacks in Madrid in March 2004. Cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking has also led to a fruitful exchange of information on some 20 cases related to international drug trafficking. 

- How, after all that has been said, can one seriously speak of threats and blackmail in the face of the statements made by His Majesty's Ambassador to Madrid? Frankness has never been a threat and the legitimate defence of positions cannot be equated with blackmail. 

4.    Morocco makes a distinction between the friendship of the Spanish people and the damage caused by certain political circles: 

- In this serious Moroccan-Spanish crisis, Morocco has always made a clear distinction between, on the one hand, the Spanish people and some far-sighted political leaders who value friendship with Morocco and good neighbourliness, and on the other hand, certain political, governmental, media and civil society circles that seek to instrumentalise the Moroccan Sahara and harm Morocco's interests.  Those who, in the comfort of their outdated stereotypes, continue to view Morocco with anachronistic approaches, without renouncing remnants of archaism inherited from the past.

- Morocco has no problem with Spaniards, its citizens, its economic operators, its cultural actors and its tourists, who are welcomed as friends and neighbours in Morocco. 

- Some Spanish citizens even work in the Royal Palace of Morocco long before the birth of His Majesty the King and Their Royal Highnesses, Princes and Princesses. This shows that Morocco has lost none of the density and solidity of the human ties between Morocco and Spain. 

- Morocco will remain attached to its natural and genuine friendship with the Spanish people. 

 The Moroccan authorities hope that this statement will be disseminated in full to enlighten Spanish public opinion with facts, data and figures.