Morocco renews need for transparent and balanced ties with Spain
Morocco-Spain, Politics, 12/12/2001

Moroccan secretary of state for foreign affairs and cooperation, Taieb Fassi Fihri, renewed on Tuesday that the Moroccan government is keen on having transparent relations with Spain in order to build sound and balanced ties likely to help face shared regional challenges.

Talking at the question time of the chamber of advisors (upper parliamentary chamber) he said the Moroccan decision to recall its ambassador in Spain for consultation reflects the kingdom's dissatisfaction with Spain's repeated stands that are hostile to Morocco and to its vital supreme interests.

He went on that Morocco made the decision after a series of practices that accumulated since the breakdown last April of Morocco-European Union negotiations on fisheries. Part of these practices, he said, Spain threatened to freeze financial and economic assistance to Morocco, called the EU to enforce sanctions on Morocco, adopted a hostile discourse against Morocco in the issue of illegal migration, denigrated Morocco's institutions, spoke about the Spanish-occupied cities of Sebta and Melilia and tried to make an amalgam with terrorism.

Spain's anti-Moroccan stands have also affected the sacred issue of Morocco's territorial integrity and we have followed with great astonishment the Spanish contradictory and confusing attitude, mainly at the international scale, a stand that aroused legitimate questions on the credibility of Spain's alleged neutrality, the official went on.

He also noted that Spain's responses to Moroccan decision to recall its ambassador for consultation varied from expressing surprise to pretending that the decision is baseless to claiming that a third party or anti-Spanish lobbies in Morocco were behind the decision and that it was prompted by internal considerations.

This shows that Spanish authorities are trying to evade their responsibility in the deterioration of relations with Morocco and are still dominated by old superiority visions, which do not serve the mutual trust and respect atmosphere that should prevail in relations between two countries, the official insisted.

Previous Stories:
  Aznar must choose between Morocco and the Polisario   (12/6/2001)
  Rabat will not accept to open a new page with Spain unless Madrid takes Moroccan issues seriously   (11/30/2001)
  Moroccan association denounces Spanish police's repressive practices   (11/29/2001)

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