Activists Reject Spain’s Continuous Attempt to “Europeanize” its Political Crisis with Morocco (Hashtag)

Through the online form of protest, Moroccan Twitter users reacted to the harsh criticism of the European Parliament against Morocco’s actions during the Ceuta crisis. 

With different hashtags, mainly #Boycott_Spain_Products, #Ceuta_and_Melilla_Moroccans, #Spain_protect_criminal Moroccan activists expressed their anger against Spain. They were seeking to pressure the international community in order to initiate negotiations with Spain over the status of the two Spanish enclaves Ceuta and Melilla.

The conflict started when Spain hosted “Ghali” the head of the separatist Polisario Front, to be cured from the Corona virus with a “False identity” on April 21, 2021. Morocco responded by striking the nerve of “Immigration”. Thus, allowing more than 8,000 migrants - many of them minors- to cross the borders “Illegally” to Ceuta in northern Morocco between May 17 and 20, 2021. Worth to mention, that Ceuta and Melilla are historically and geographically Moroccan cities, but politically they are autonomous cities administered by Spain.

 

Moroccan Enemy with Fake Identity

In Morocco, messages circulated on social networks attacking Spain for its support for Ghali. "Spain protects criminals" with the hashtag: "# España_protege_criminal", "#Spain_protects_criminal" or # إسبانيا تحمي المجرمين -in Arabic-, accompanied by the name and phone number of the hospital where he was admitted.

Morocco’s foreign minister accused Spain of trying to turn a political crisis between the two countries into a European problem by focusing on migration and ignoring the root causes.

 

 

Mehdi Msaddeq Journalist of the Al-Arabi Aljadid newspaper tweeted "A neighbour so well-located and cooperative deserves a full partnership, one of honesty and good faith" - 

 

Ceuta Borders

Moroccan Twitter users stressed the need for negotiations over the status of more than 8,000 irregular migrants to Ceuta.

The influx of more than 8000 people into the tiny Spanish enclave in Morocco has sparked tense exchanges between Rabat and Madrid.

Tomas Zdechovsky Member of the European Parliament published on his official twitter account: Madrid is doing everything to destabilise the only stable and peaceful country in the region.

The Sanchez government by pushing aggressively for adoption of an EP resolution against Morocco which only seeks to hide its successive mistakes, involving the EU in this dangerous path.

The new Arab newspaper Tweeted “A geopolitical battle between Rabat and Madrid simmers under the surface of the so-called 'migrant crisis' in Ceuta and Melilla”

 

From its side, the Middle East Monitor newspaper published on twitter that the Moroccan Parliament denounces European Parliament’s resolution on migration crisis with Spain

 

Ending the Spanish Occupation 

With hashtags like #Ceuta_and_Melilla_Moroccans or #Free_Ceuta_Melilla, Moroccans are drawing the attention of the international community to Spain’s continued colonization in northeastern Morocco.

More than 12,100 users have shared the Hashtag on Twitter calling for deploying the same efforts as those in the Moroccan Sahara affair to regain sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla.

The launch of the hashtag campaign follows a series of tweets in which the former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont criticized Spain’s presence in Ceuta and Melilla. Puigdemont affirmed that the two enclaves are not Spanish and stressed the need for a dialogue on their status.

Ursula von der Leyen president of the European Parliament Committee tweeted:

The EU stands in solidarity with Ceuta and Spain. We need common EU solutions to migration management. This can be achieved with agreement on the New Pact on Migration. Stronger partnerships based on mutual trust and joint commitments with key partners like Morocco are crucial.