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Moroccan
Demos Against Spanish Invasion of Islands
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Moroccans
wave their flag in front of Leila in protest against Spanish
occupation of Leila, Cueta and Melilla
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JBEL
MOUSSA, Morocco, July 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - About 400
Moroccans rallied on a promontory near Leila Sunday, July 21, to
protest the Spanish occupation of several Moroccan islands, as 50
others staged a demonstration at a frontier post near Ceuta, chanting:
"Liberate this town."
Organizers
said demonstrators, waving protest banners, had come from all over
Morocco and included a caravan of buses from the capital Rabat, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) reported. No one made any attempt, however, to
take over the islet – known to Morocco as Leila and to Spain as
Perejil.
The
protest by Moroccan youth and other groups had been planned last week
and went ahead despite Saturday, July 20th agreement that the islet
returns to its pre-row status.
The
protest groups included the Moroccan Human Rights Association, the
Truth and Justice Forum and representatives of various Moroccan
political parties.
The
demonstrators protested Spain's behavior and – perhaps more
significantly – focused their attention on the nearby Spanish
enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, surrounded by Moroccan territory and
seen by Moroccans as hangovers from the colonial past, AFP reported.
The
protesters chanted "Ceuta and Melilla are Moroccan" and
"Good neighborliness between Spain and Morocco means
decolonization."
Meanwhile,
about 50 people also staged a demonstration at the frontier post at
Bab Sebta near Ceuta, chanting: "Liberate this town."
On
July 11, a handful of Moroccan soldiers arrived on Leila, officially
to set up an outpost against drug trafficking, international terrorism
and illegal immigration. This prompted Spain to send in troops that
drove the Moroccans off the disputed outcrop, escalating a row that
sucked in the European Union, Arab League and the United States.
Under
a Saturday, July 20 agreement that followed U.S. mediation, the two
sides agreed to return to the islet's pre-row status.
From
Spain's viewpoint, that meant the island would remain demilitarized
with forces of neither side occupying it.
But
Morocco released a brief statement announcing the departure of the
Spanish soldiers from "the Moroccan islet," implying it had
not given up its claim.
Morocco
and Spain were set to hold talks Monday, July 22, aimed at mending
ties after the row brought their already bad relations to their lowest
level in years.
Spanish
Foreign Minister Ana Palacio was to meet her Moroccan counterpart
Mohamed Benaissa in Rabat.
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