The president of the Moroccan Senate sees it as feasible to recover the "occupied" Ceuta and Melilla "without resorting to arms"

The Istiqlal leader encourages Moroccans in Spain to participate in national politics as a pressure tool

MADRID, 10 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Moroccan Senate, Enaam Mayara, considers that the cities of Ceuta and Melilla are "occupied" by Spain but sees it feasible to recover them in the future through negotiation "without resorting to arms."

The fourth highest authority in Morocco and a member of the leadership of the nationalist Istiqlal party spoke in this way in an act organized by the female branch of her formation precisely on the occasion of the first anniversary of the beginning of the new stage in the relationship after the meeting of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, with Mohamed VI in Rabat on April 7, 2022.

During the ceremony, Mayara stated that "Spanish colonization continues in Ceuta and Melilla" and that is why the Istiqlal "has not stopped and will not stop talking about colonization in the two cities and possible solutions to recover them."

In this sense, the also leader of the General Union of Moroccan Workers (UGTM, a union linked to Istiqlal) has said that his party is convinced that Morocco "will one day recover the two cities occupied by the negotiation without resorting to arms". .

Thus, he has pointed out that both autonomous cities "will not be subject to blackmail", according to the portal leDesk.ma, which echoes a video about the act 'One year after the new stage of Spanish-Spanish relations : Fundamentals and opportunities published by the organization.

The Istiqlal is part of the government coalition together with the National Grouping of Independents (RNI, for its acronym in French), of which Prime Minister Aziz Ajanuch is a member, and the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM). Its claim on Ceuta and Melilla is one of the key elements of its nationalist discourse since its foundation in 1944.

However, his statements contrast with the supposed compromise reached during the High Level Meeting (RAN) between Spain and Morocco at the beginning of February. Then, Sánchez said that both had assumed "a commitment to mutual respect, whereby in our discourse and in our political practice we are going to avoid everything that we know offends the other party, especially as it affects our respective spheres. of sovereignty".

Spain and Morocco have also committed themselves, added the President of the Government, "to transparency and permanent communication" and for this reason they will always resort "to dialogue and not to fait accompli".

On the other hand, Mayara also encouraged Moroccans residing in Spain to join Spanish political parties and to participate in the elections "to help bring the opinions of the two countries closer together and form a 'lobby' that helps defend all related issues to the homeland, Morocco", in an apparent allusion also to the question of the Sahara.

In his opinion, "the Moroccan community in Spain should be seen as a point of pressure and support capable of influencing the foreign policy of this friendly country." For Mayara, according to the Rue20 portal, "the role of the Moroccan community in Spain will be important in the coming years."