The question of the violation of human rights in the tragedy in Melilla, which cost the lives of around thirty migrants on June 24, must be raised in Rabat, said the Spanish Prime Minister on Sunday in an interview with the daily El Peace.
Read also Melilla tragedy: are we heading towards a new migration crisis?
Asked about the images of the tragedy that he said he had not seen during his last speech on Wednesday, on the subject, and about "
respect for human rights in such a situation
", Pedro Sanchez affirmed that "
it is the government of Morocco that should answer this question
”.
“
We have to talk about what we are doing in Spain
,” continued Pedro Sanchez.
However, he immediately qualified his remarks by saying "
recognize the effort made by Morocco, which suffers from migratory pressure, to defend borders which are not its own but those of Spain
" and evoking "
solidarity
" .
which, in his view, Spain and Europe must show vis-à-vis Morocco.
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The drama of Melilla is "an attack on the territorial integrity" of Spain, assures Pedro Sánchez
On June 24, around 30 African migrants died when around 2,000 people tried to force their way into the Spanish enclave of Melilla in Morocco.
Read alsoSpain calls on NATO to better respond to threats to the African “southern flank”
Footage released several hours later revealed acts of brutality, with bodies strewn on the ground, Moroccan police beatings and Spanish security forces firing tear gas at men hanging from fences, according to the report. NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Melilla is, with the city of Ceuta, one of the two Spanish enclaves located on the northern coast of Morocco, the only land borders of the European Union with the African continent.
For the Prime Minister, Melilla is "
the last episode of a tragedy that began long before, several kilometers away
", speaking again of a violent attack, with "
armed
" men, and of an orchestrated event by the "
mafias
", an argument that the Spanish government has never ceased to brandish since this affair.
The human toll of the tragedy is not yet officially known and for the moment, the authorities evoking "
thirty
" deaths, the heaviest ever recorded at the borders between Morocco and the two enclaves.
It provoked international indignation, with in particular remarks of rare severity from the UN, as well as the opening of two investigations in Spain and an information mission in Morocco.
Read alsoAlgiers breaks with Spain in “punishment” for its rapprochement with Morocco
This new migration drama at the gates of the EU comes after Madrid and Rabat normalized their relations in mid-March following an almost year-long diplomatic quarrel over the disputed territory of Western Sahara. .
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Land borders between Morocco and Spain reopen after two years of crisis
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