Sebta and Melilia - theSpanish soften their stance?,

On November 5-6, Spain's king Juan Carlos visited the Moroccan occupied cities of Sebta and Melilia, a move that incurred indignation and rejection in Morocco both at the popular and official levels. Following the official announcement of the visit, Morocco had decided the indefinite recall of its ambassador in Madrid for consultations. However, on Thursday the visiting Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, handed to his Moroccan counterpart, Taieb Fassi Fihri a written message addressed to king Mohammed VI by Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. This is all part of the Spanish attempt to lessen the damage done by the visit to Sebta and Medlilia by the Spanish King


Speaking at a joint press conference following his meeting with Mr Moratinos, Taieb Fassi Fihri noted that the working visit of the Spanish diplomat came -by mutual agreement- "two months after the deterioration of bilateral relations following the visit of King Juan Carlos of Spain to the cities of Sebta and Mellilia."

During the meeting, the two parties stressed the necessity to develop and improve "the privileged bilateral relation, thanks to peace and security in the region and for the benefit of the best interests of the nation," Mr.Fassi added.

For his part, Mr. Moratinos said he discussed with his Moroccan peer the "difficult situation" of bilateral relations, voicing hope that the two sides "can work together to move forward in these relations and maintain dialogue."

He also announced that he will take part in the upcoming meeting of the 5+5 countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Spain, France, Italy, Malta and Portugal), billed for January 20 in Rabat.

Remarking on king Juan Carlos' visit, King Mohammed VI strongly condemned this "unprecedented" visit, deeming it regrettable and a "yearning for a long-gone era of darkness". He called for a "frank, responsible, honest and forward-looking dialogue, which guarantees our sovereign rights and takes into account Spain's interests."

The two Moroccan cities, situated in the north of Morocco on the Mediterranean coast, had fallen under Spanish rule some five centuries ago, but the Moroccans have always called for their return. Hopefully we may all live to see this happen, but I wouldn't be holding my breath.


Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news