Morocco: Force unavoidable
2005-10-10 21:30
Rabat - Morocco's government on Monday defended its use of force to prevent hundreds of Africans from crossing into Spanish enclaves on its northern coasts, and denied that it later abandoned hundreds of them in the desert without food and water.
Morocco has been criticised for its handling of a series of recent attempts by Africans to rush fences at the Spanish enclaves on its northern coasts.
Morocco's communications minister and government spokesperson, Nabil Benabdallah, acknowledged that Moroccan troops had caused "humanitarian problems", which he said were unavoidable if they were to succeed in stopping immigrants from reaching the enclaves.
He said it was a no-win situation for Morocco.
In the past, he said, Morocco was criticised for not doing enough to stem African immigration to Europe.
"Then when we used other means, including force, we created some humanitarian problems," Benabdallah told The Associated Press.
"It is not possible to fight this problem without causing humanitarian problems such as these."
He said Morocco was single-handedly dealing with the flow of illegal immigrants infiltrating its borders in their quest to reach the Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta.
The European Union and neighbouring countries, especially Algeria, he said, should shoulder some of the responsibility.
Algeria
"It is very difficult for us. You know we have maybe more than a 1 000km frontier.
"How can we? We have no electronic surveillance, so how can we control the frontiers?" Benabdallah said.
He accused Algeria, with which Morocco has tense relations, of leaving its borders with Morocco "completely open", hence allowing "this large number of immigrants to enter Morocco without any surveillance".
"I think Algeria doesn't want to take responsibility," said Benabdallah, adding that Morocco did not want to have another diplomatic crisis with its neighbour because of the latest immigration problems.
Benabdallah denied charges that Moroccan authorities abandoned some Africans in the desert, after Spain expelled them.
"We are giving them strong support.
"We provide them with food, water and we transport them in our own vehicles," he said, although he added that the numbers involved are so large that he could not say for certain if all were receiving water and food.
He said Africans being deported - about 300 were being sent back to Senegal on Monday - volunteered to go home.
Benabdallah said the fate of those not wishing to return will have to be determined after concerned countries - including Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast, as well as Senegal, Mali and Mauritania plus Algeria and the EU - reach an agreement for dealing with the crisis.
"We need maybe a global discussion... We cannot find a solution on our own," he said. "There's no easy solution."
- AP