Spain rejects Morocco’s call for Ceuta talks

Spain has rejected Morocco’s call for talks on the future of the North African Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

Spain’s Foreign Ministry poured cold water on the idea on the weekend, Euronews reported, after Morocco had said it wanted bipartisan negotiations about the tiny enclave that was swamped by between 72,000 and 78,000 migrants between July 29 and July 31 in attempts to claim asylum and enter the European Union.

After the breach, Spain criticized Morocco for allowing large numbers of people to approach its border and Morocco insisted it did all it could to prevent the incursion.

Three weeks on, Spain has responded to Morocco’s renewed call for Ceuta and the Spanish North African enclave of Melilla to eventually come under Rabat’s control.

Spain’s Foreign Ministry said the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had conveyed to Morocco its “categorical rejection” of Rabat’s claims over Ceuta and Melilla, saying both enclaves are integral parts of Spain and of the European Union.

The response followed Morocco’s Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi telling the public television channel 2M on Friday that his nation had “historical and geographical” rights to both autonomous cities.

Ouahbi said Spain and Morocco should set up a dialogue mechanism to address outstanding issues around the cities, with the talks leading to a “definitive solution” that would include the integration of Ceuta and Melilla into Morocco.

Ouahbi made similar comments on Aug 12, when he told reporters the enclaves’ sovereignty remained “on the table”.

Rabat has made similar claims dating back to when Morocco gained independence from France in 1956.

As the latest exchange between the countries played out, Spain buried the bodies of 18 migrants in Ceuta on Friday. They were among the more than 90 people who lost their lives in drownings and stampedes during the mass encroachment at the end of July.

The bodies had all remained unidentified and were laid to rest in Ceuta’s Muslim cemetery in plots marked with numbers, interim cemetery director Said Mohammed told Associated Press.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights has criticized the burials of migrants taking place in Ceuta and called on Spain to pause them while every effort is made to identify bodies and return them to loved ones in Morocco.

But the two countries have also disagreed on the details of the burials, with Morocco insisting it wants victims of the tragedy returned and Spain saying such repatriations have been blocked by the Moroccan authorities.

While the vast majority of the 72,000 to 78,000 people who entered Ceuta alive in late July have since returned to Morocco, between 5,000 and 10,000 are thought to remain in the city of 83,000 people, posing a potential humanitarian crisis as the authorities struggle to house and feed them.