The Hindu : Spanish troops oust Moroccans from disputed island

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 18, 2002

International

International

Spanish troops oust Moroccans from disputed island

By Vaiju Naravane

Paris July 17 . What began as a minor spat between Spain and Morocco a week ago — the occupation by a handful of Moroccan gendarmes of a disputed Mediterranean islet, a small, uninhabited sandbank — has now become a full blown diplomatic crisis, with the European Union (E.U.) and the Islamic Conference Organisation (IOC) taking sides in the matter.

On Wednesday, Spanish forces stormed the tiny sandbank of Perejil near the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in Moroccan territorial waters, and dislodged a dozen or so Moroccan troops who had occupied it last week. There were no casualties.

Spain said it was "forced to order Moroccan forces to abandon the position they had established on the island of Perejil". Moroccan soldiers who had established a camp and planted a Moroccan flag on the islet were handed over to their own border authorities. Morocco says it set up the outpost in order to discourage illegal immigration into Europe, an explanation the Spaniards reject. Spain sees the Moroccan act as an attempt to take possession of the island by changing the "status quo". The island's final status was not properly defined when the Spanish protectorate of Morocco ended in 1956. Morocco claims sovereignty over the islet while Spain says the agreement calls for both sides keeping the island uninhabited.

On Tuesday, Spain recalled its Ambassador to Rabat but gave no sign that it was preparing to mount an offensive. The island is one of several disputed Spanish enclaves in Morocco, including Ceuta and Melilia. Morocco says Spain cannot claim Gibraltar from the British contending the rock lies in its territorial waters while refusing Morocco's sovereignty over Spanish enclaves located in Moroccan territorial waters. The islet of Perejil is just 200 metres away from mainland Morocco and is 500 metres long and 300 metres wide. Locals say a cave on the island is used to drop off drugs and as a hideout for illegal immigrants being smuggled in from north Africa into Europe.

NATO and the E.U. have both supported Spain. The Organisation of the Islamic Conference said it backed the Moroccan position.

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