Spanish forces on Wednesday pushed Moroccan soldiers off a tiny uninhabited Mediterranean islet after a week long spat, a government representative told AFP.
Nobody was hurt in the operation, which came after Spain withdrew its ambassador to Rabat indefinitely, the representative said.
A government communique said that Madrid had ”found itself forced” to give the orders to dislodge the Moroccan troops off Perejil and that it had informed the United Nations and its international allies.
But it reaffirmed its wish to ”maintain friendly relations and cooperation” with Rabat and said it was ready to engage in talks to that effect.
The crisis blew up a week ago when Morocco sent about a dozen troops to the islet, which lies some 200 metres inside Moroccan territorial waters near Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta. Rabat justified the move as part of a campaign to clamp down on illegal immigrants leaving for Europe, an issue that has already caused tension with Madrid.
Spain also holds dominion over the mainland enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, and the islands of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas and Penon de Velez de la Gomera.
Spain, backed by the European Union, demanded that Rabat immediately withdraw the soldiers, maintaining their presence violated Spanish sovereignty over the island.
Madrid late on Tuesday recalled its ambassador to Morocco for consultations.
Ambassador Fernando Arias-Salgado, who arrived in Ceuta at dawn on Wednesday, told journalists that his recall was a signal to Morocco of the ”seriousness” of the crisis.
According to Spanish television network CNN+, the retaking of Perejil was launched at 0415 GMT, around an hour and a half after the ambassador’s arrival on Ceuta. It said Spanish navy and air force units were involved in the action, in which six Moroccan soldiers were arrested.
The Moroccan communications ministry was meanwhile planning to go-ahead with a press trip to the islet on Wednesday for accredited foreign reporters in Rabat, but said the visitors would not be allowed to approach the island situated less than 200 meters from the north African coast.
The status of the 13,5 hectare islet, which Morocco calls Leila, has been ambiguous since the Spanish protectorate over Morocco came to an end in 1956.
Madrid maintains that for the past 40 years both sides have adhered to an agreement not to occupy the islet. But Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa said on Tuesday that the islet was not covered by that agreement and insisted that the issue of who owned it had never been settled.
In recent days Spain has reinforced its military presence in its enclaves of Ceuta and Meililla and sent several warships into the region.
On Tuesday, Spanish deputies almost unanimously backed a motion of support in parliament for the government’s handling of the crisis. The spat has caused international ripples.
On Tuesday European Commission President Romano Prodi called for a ”rapid return to the status quo” and urged Morocco to adopt ”a constructive approach.” Nato has also expressed support for Spain’s position.
But the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), to which Morocco belongs, slammed the EU’s ”haste” in backing Madrid while the Arab League also sided with Rabat.
A difficult year for Spanish-Moroccan relations – a chronology
April 26, 2001: Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar says Morocco’s position on negotiations with EU fishing ministers is unacceptable and could adversely affect relations between the countries.
August 22, 2001: Spanish authorities arrest 800 clandestine immigrants from Morocco sparking a diplomatic row between the two Mediterranean neighbours.
October 28, 2001: Morocco recalls its ambassador to Madrid, citing ”a certain number of Spanish attitudes and positions concerning Morocco”. Spain says it cannot understand the move.
October 30, 2001: Morocco postpones a long-awaited summit with Spain, deepening the crisis between the two countries.
November 18, 2001: Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique says in an interview with a Moroccan paper that Spain’s territories in north Africa claimed by Morocco ”have been Spanish for centuries and will stay that way”.
November 25, 2001: Morocco protests to Spain after four Moroccan journalists are prevented from covering a demonstration in the southern city of Seville and deported.
January 31, 2002: Morocco says proposed Spanish oil prospecting off the Canary Isles near the Moroccan coast is an ”unfriendly” act.
April 4, 2002: Aznar says crisis with Morocco is Rabat’s responsibility and that Morocco can decide ”whether or not” it wishes to re-establish its ambassador in Madrid.
May 7, 2002: Spain says Morocco’s expanding occupation of disputed Western Sahara is making the problem harder to solve.
June 24, 2002: Moroccan press attacks Spain over its policy on clandestine immigrants at the EU summit in Seville.
July 6, 2002: Morocco protests at Spanish warships cruising too close to its coast.
July 11, 2002: Morocco sends around a dozen soldiers to a disputed rocky islet in the Mediterranean, which Spain calls Perejil and Morocco calls Leila, prompting protests from Madrid and a military build up.
July 16, 2002: Spain decides to withdraw its ambassador to Morocco for consultations over the islet dispute. – AFP
