Spanish, Moroccan Politicians hail as 'historic' sending of troops to Haiti
Morocco-Spain, Politics, 7/29/2004

Political circles in Spain and Morocco have hailed as "historic" the decision of the two countries' Governments to send troops to Haiti part of the UN peacekeeping mission.

Rabat and Madrid on Tuesday announced they would send troops to the Caribbean country following phone talks between King Mohammed VI of Morocco, King Juan Carlos I and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain.

"Sending a Moroccan-Spanish joint contingent to Haiti is a historical and unprecedented mission," which proves that relations between the two countries have moved from tension to collaboration, commented, on Tuesday, first vice-president of the Spanish government, Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega.

This mission materializes the "restoration of trust between Morocco and Spain, she added, recalling the period when relations between the two countries were strained because of the dispute over the islet Tourah/Perejil.

"For the first time in history, two units, a Moroccan and a Spanish, will jointly participate in a peacekeeping mission (É). I think we should all hail this new policy based on dialogue, cooperation and trust," said De la Vega, underlining Zapatero's eagerness to boost cooperation between the two countries since he took office in March.

The same opinion was reflected by several Spanish political parties which pointed out that this policy of rapprochement is in contrast with the policy of tension conducted by the previous Spanish government of JosŽ Maria Aznar.

On his part, Morocco's representative to the United Nations, Mohamed Bennouna, told the second TV channel "2M," that the decision to send joint troops to Haiti translates a "fresh spirit" of collaboration and reflects the resolve to consolidate bilateral cooperation in all realms, "including the maintaining of stability and security part of the United Nations."

"Morocco has had a significant experience in this field since the sixties through its participation in several peacekeeping missions," Bennouna pointed out.

The Security Council decided to send the UN peacekeeping mission, led by Chilean diplomat Juan Gabriel ValdŽs, to Haiti last April 30.

Several countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, have already sent troops to the Caribbean nation where more than 8,000 international UN peacekeepers began deploying early last month to help rebuild the country after its president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted during a three-week rebellion in February.

The peacekeeping mission aims at helping the Haitian transition government organize free elections and set up democratic institutions.

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