Moroccan and Spanish intellectuals call for solution to problems
Morocco-Spain, Politics, 9/21/2002

A group of Moroccan and Spanish intellectuals issued a manifesto calling on Spain and Morocco to "overcome their differences and seek solutions to all their disputes through dialogue."

The signatories comprising such famed names as Moroccan writers Tahar Benjelloun and Edmond Amrane El-Maleh, former minister Mohamed Larbi Messari, head of the Moroccan writers union Hassan Nejmi, in addition to Spanish Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Jeronimo Paz, and others made the appeal in a "manifesto for dialogue and mutual respect between Morocco and Spain."

"Spain and Morocco cannot afford to ignore each other. United and divided by history, by proximity that require encounters and absence of encounters, by societies sharing commonalties and even closer than ignorance might imply, (the two countries) should overcome divergences and seek solutions to all disputes through dialogue without leaving rancor sequels," the document stresses.

"Lack of encounters has been frequent in our history of the last decade. In the last years, this tendency has been reversed with a remarkable cooperation, developed exchanges in various fields and a large understanding, which implied eventually that we had taken the right path." However, much remains to be done says the manifesto which cites the present state of bilateral relations.

More efforts are needed to rid the collective sub-conscience of a vision marked by topical matters, says the signatories who argue that the two societies ought to better know each other, cooperate and exchange. "Together we require our governments to dialogue and reach new agreements so that the discourse of confrontation and threats be substituted by understanding and that the present phase of lack of encounters be overcome to meet the interests of the majority in each of the two countries."

The Moroccan and Spanish intellectuals also urge their societies to ponder on their real interests and on the need to consolidate friendship between Morocco and Spain, bringing a firm and good willed contribution to any rapprochement efforts between the two countries.

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