chronicle.gi
Moroccan Government has called the Spanish Ambassador Alberto Navarro for consultation following the announcement by Madrid that a detachment of Guardia Civil officers involved in anti-drug operations, will be permanently deployed in the Chafarina Isles as from August 1st 2012.
The Moroccan authorities have criticised what they view as “a unilateral move by Spain over which there has been no consultation.”
The decision was made public during a visit to the Spanish North African enclave of Melilla by Spain’s Minister for the Interior Jorge Fernández Díaz, who further stated that the Guardia Civil deployment in the three isles – which have been part of Spanish territory since 1848 – is aimed at the control of illegal immigrant traffic and drug smuggling activity. In recent weeks there has been an upsurge of illegal immigration.
Sr Fernandez Diaz has been touring north Morocco in a private visit that has been widely criticised by the Moroccan press because of his choice of itinerary, which included emblematic locations of the Spanish colonial era.
Diplomatic sources said that the Moroccan Foreign Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani, had called the Spanish Ambassador in Rabat earlier this week for consultation in relation to the Guardia Civil deployment, and expressed criticism that this had been carried out unilaterally.
However, the sources also assure that tension between the two countries has now been reduced and there is no conflict between the two neighbouring states.
The Chafarina Isles are located some 50 kms off the coast of Melilla.
