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Spanish government and opposition at odds over crisis with Morocco

Other News Materials 17 August 2010 19:37 (UTC +04:00)
The Spanish government and opposition were at odds Tuesday over incidents on the border of Spain's North African enclave of Melilla, which have created diplomatic tension with Morocco
Spanish government and opposition at odds over crisis with Morocco

The Spanish government and opposition were at odds Tuesday over incidents on the border of Spain's North African enclave of Melilla, which have created diplomatic tension with Morocco, dpa reported.

The conservative opposition accused Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government of not defending Spain's interests firmly enough.

Socialist representatives said the opposition was "adding fuel to the fire" and trying to worsen the problems with Morocco in order to promote its political interests.

Rabat has protested alleged Spanish police brutality against Moroccans trying to enter Melilla, an enclave of 70,000 inhabitants.

However, Morocco has not directly raised its long-standing claim to sovereignty over Melilla and Ceuta, another Spanish enclave further to the west.

Moroccans have staged demonstrations on the Melilla border, blocking goods traffic and displaying placards which Spain saw as denigrating its police.

Spain denies any wrongdoing by its police. Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba is due to travel to Rabat to settle the dispute on August 23.

Melilla regional premier Juan Jose Imbroda, who belongs to Spain's opposition conservative People's Party (PP), accused Zapatero of not preventing Moroccan demonstrators from entering the neutral border area.

Rabat was taking advantage of the "weakness" of a Zapatero grappling with Spain's economic crisis, Imbroda claimed.

PP representative Esteban Gonzalez Pons then visited Melilla on Tuesday, describing the situation there as "very tense" and claiming that a "conflict" could erupt any time.

Socialist representative Antonio Hernando said the PP was "magnifying" the incidents with Morocco against Spain's interests.

Moroccan activists meanwhile pledged to continue blocking trucks transporting foodstuffs and construction materials into Melilla. They were also planning to extend the protests to Ceuta, according to the daily El Pais.

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