Spanish Cops Harass Moroccan Reporters At Mellila Border Post

Four Spanish police officers have harassed two Moroccan journalists at the border post in the Spanish-held Mellila city which Morocco claims as its own territory, APA has learned.

The two journalists were among a ten-member delegation representing the civil society and were violently pushed and threatened by Spanish guards, one of whom nearly crossed the border, according to the state media reports of Tuesday.

This incident, which took place on Monday, comes four days after a visit to Morocco by Spanish Prime Minister José Louis Zapatero during which he stated that relations between the two kingdoms were “excellent.”

According to reliable sources, Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi reminded his Spanish counterpart “that the two Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Mellila held by Spain since 1497 belong to Morocco.”

Last November the two cities sparked a “serious diplomatic row” between Rabat and Madrid following the visit by King Juan Carlos of Spain to the two cities that hold key positions on the Mediterranean.

Morocco recalled its ambassador in Madrid for consultation for over two months in protest against the visit which it described as “provocative”.

In 1987 Rabat had called for the establishment of a task force to solved this old decolonization issue, a proposal that has yet to materialize.

Source African Press Agency

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