By Tito Drago
MADRID, Jul 17 2002 (IPS)

Spain and Morocco appear to be nearing a rupture in diplomatic relations after Spanish forces disembarked Wednesday on an island in the Strait of Gibraltar, displacing six Moroccan soldiers who had occupied the contested piece of land last week.

The island, which Spain has dubbed Isla Perejil and which Morocco calls Leila, is a rocky outcropping with an area of 13.5 hectares located 200 metres from the north African coast and 14 km from mainland Spain, and eight km from the city of Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast.

The Moroccan government has demanded that Spain “immediately and unconditionally” withdraw its forces from the island that a Moroccan military detachment occupied last Thursday.

In response to what it considers an act of aggression, the kingdom of Morocco urged the immediate withdrawal of Spanish forces, as “the island is an integral part of Moroccan territory,” said the Ministry of Foreign Relations in a statement.

Spain’s action violated Morocco’s airspace and territorial waters and is a use of force that violates international law, according to the communiqué.

The government in Rabat also stated that the armed intervention by Spain occurred when the Perejil/Leila incident had already been at the negotiating stage for 72 hours, “with the support and collaboration of ally countries”.

Mahjoubi Aherdane, leader of the co-governing National Popular Movement and former defence minister under the late King Hassan II, said Spain’s action was “a declaration of war and a mistake (which) breaks relations with a country that we considered a friend.” He demanded “the immediate rupture of relations”.

Morocco and Spain both claim sovereignty over the island Perejil/Leila, invoking historic events, although since 1956, when Morocco won its independence, neither of the two had sent troops to the site.

This week’s incidents come at a time when tensions are already running high between the two countries as a result of immigration disputes and claims to fishing rights in area waters.

After the Spanish forces occupied the island Wednesday, taking the Moroccan troops captive Wednesday without firing any weapons, the José María Aznar government called a special session of Spain’s Congress of Deputies for a report and draft of responses to the related incidents.

After the newly-named foreign relations minister, Ana Palacio, and defence minister, Federico Trillo, presented their report, spokespersons for political opposition groups made their positions known.

The official explanation for the events on Perejil/Leila received backing from the leading opposition force, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), in statements by its secretary- general, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

Also backing the government’s stance were other parties, such as the United Left coalition and the Catalonian nationalists, though they stated that bloodshed must be avoided at all costs and absolute priority given to dialogue and diplomatic negotiations.

The Basque Nationalist Party, which has five deputies out of a total 350 in the lower house, was the only group to explicitly criticise the country’s military intervention and urged immediate dialogue with Morocco.

Luis de Grandes, spokesman for the ruling Popular Party (PP), made it clear that the Aznar administration had exhausted all diplomatic means towards finding a solution to the conflict.

However, he said, the government maintains confidence in the treaty of friendship and cooperation signed with Morocco and in Spain’s development aid and programmes of which that country is the primary recipient.

Minister Palacio said the government’s objective is to re- establish the reign of law and the status quo on Isla Perejil to negotiate with Morocco candidly and constructively.

She stressed that in such a dialogue, no mention would be made of Ceuta and Melilla, the two Spanish enclaves on the Moroccan coast over which Rabat is claiming sovereignty.

Morocco, meanwhile, is demanding the immediate repatriation of the six soldiers, with their weapons, detained by Spanish troops on the island.

Rabat Abdelkrim Khatib, of the Justice and Development Party, of moderate Islamist leanings, said the incident marks an attack against Morocco and its territorial integrity. “Morocco must break all political and economic relations with Spain,” he said.

Spain’s military actions will have “inevitable consequences for relations between the two countries,” agreed a spokesman for Al- Adl Wal Ihsane, an Islamist association that is not legally recognised but is considered the leading group of the Moroccan Muslim movement.

Spain has the support of Romano Prodi, currently president of the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union. He further expressed his willingness to facilitate dialogue between the two countries.

On Wednesday, Madrid also won the backing of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), of which Spain is a member.

For its part, Morocco submitted the case to the United Nations, to the Arab League and to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, and, according to the official communiqué, is maintaining high-level bilateral contacts with several “brother” countries, which are following the evolution of the situation.

Diplomatic sources told IPS that the only Arab country that has not aligned with Morocco on the matter is neighbouring Algeria.

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