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Tensions Grew High Between Morocco & Spain over Island
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The disputed island |
RABAT,
July 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Spain and Morocco were
locked in a heated military standoff Friday over a disputed troop
presence on a small uninhabited island in the Mediterranean Sea, only
200 meters off the Moroccan coast. The European Union, meanwhile,
jumped into the dispute Friday, siding with Spain.
For
its part, Madrid announced it was strengthening its military presence
on islands near Morocco. The move came after Rabat sent a dozen troops
to the disputed island of Perejil, known as Leila in Morocco,
saying it was a mission to watch for illegal immigrants and
terrorists.
Morocco
rejected Spanish and EU demands that it withdraw its troops from the
rocky outcrop, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
A
Moroccan government official said the troops had "every
right" to be there, insisting that the island has been under
Moroccan sovereignty since it was "liberated" in 1956, when
the Spanish protectorate came to an end over the northern part of the
kingdom.
The
decision to set up an observation post was "neither a provocation
or a threat towards Spain," the official said.
However,
Spanish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Miquel Nadal said the
issue was "serious and worrying," further souring relations
between two countries that spent this last year embroiled in several
disputes.
Clandestine
immigration to Spain from Morocco's coastline, the non-renewal of an
EU fishing accord with Morocco, differences over Western Sahara and
the prospecting for oil off Spain's Canary Islands are just some of
the issues that pitted the two countries against each other in the
past year.
Morocco's
military presence on the island of Perejil is a "violation of
Spanish territorial integrity" and a "sovereignty
issue," said Gunnar Wiegand, a spokesman for EU External
Relations Commissioner Chris Patten, AFP reported.
But
the spokesman added that the dispute reached a "delicate
stage" and that it should be resolved by Rabat and Madrid
directly.
Spain
protested the arrival Thursday of about a dozen soldiers who set up
tents and raised the Moroccan flag over the tiny uninhabited island.
"It
is not the role of the Commission, at this particularly delicate
stage, to make public declarations," Wiegand said.
But
he hinted that the European Union was ready to intervene if a solution
is not found.
"A
discussion within the European Union may become necessary if there is
no bilateral solution found between Spain and Morocco," he said.
The
13.5-hectare (33.5-acre) isle is normally uninhabited and Rabat
regards it within its own territorial waters.
Another
EU official said he did not expect the dispute to get out of hand.
"I
think that this can happen quickly," said Leonello Gabrici, the
spokesman for Antonio Vitorino, the commissioner responsible for
justice and interior affairs.
Relations
between Spain and Morocco badly deteriorated in the past year, and in
October 2001 the Moroccan ambassador to Spain was recalled. He has yet
to be replaced.
The
Spanish government said it had issued a formal protest over the
presence of Moroccan troops, which it described as "a
modification of the status quo and does not correspond to the wish to
maintain friendly relations."
Spanish
Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and Defense Minister Federico Trillo,
have held in-depth talks on the issue, leading Madrid daily newspaper
El Pais reported.
The
international status of the isle remained ambiguous since European
states began decolonizing their African territories.
The
island was once attached to the now-Spanish enclave of Cueta when the
territory was in Portuguese hands.
When
the enclave received autonomy from Madrid in the 1980s, the island was
left out at Rabat's insistence and its sovereignty has been left
clouded ever since.
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