Thursday, 8 August, 2002, 10:47 GMT 11:47 UK
By Stephanie Irvine
Rabat
BBC News
Moroccan police have arrested a number of Islamists they accuse of carrying out a series of murders. Ten people were detained in Casablanca and about 20 more in other parts of the country.
The police say they are members of the radical Islamist group, Salafiya Jihadia and Takfir Wal Hidjra.
Analysts say these groups preach holy war and the strict application of Islamic law against Muslims perceived to be infidels.
Judicial sources talk of six murder victims. They include a 31-year-old legal clerk from Casablanca, who went missing in September, and whose remains were found at the bottom of a well last month.
Newspapers report the victims had their throats cut.
Al-Qaeda
The Moroccan secret services and police have been carrying out raids against suspected Islamic extremists across the country over the last few months.
The raids follow the arrest in May and June, of a group of Saudis and Moroccans, accused of being members of al-Qaeda and of plotting suicide attacks against Nato warships in the straits of Gibraltar.
Islamic activists complain the raids are part of a campaign of state harassment against them. They say this is aimed at proving Morocco's anti-terrorist credentials to the United States, and at discouraging people from voting for Islamists at the forthcoming parliamentary elections in September.
Michael Slackman, Los Angeles Times
Monday, July 15, 2002
Cairo -- It may end up as a mere footnote in the annals of military history, but Morocco's decision to send 11 armed men, a few tents and a flag out to a small spit of land just off its coast is being called the first invasion of Western European territory since World War II.
Spain is so angry, in fact, that it has sent gunboats to the region.
The tiny island in dispute is really just a big rock with some lizards, bugs and wild parsley. Spain says it owns the rock, which it calls Isla del Perejil, or Parsley Island. Morocco says no, it owns the rock, which it calls Leila.
Until recently, no one really cared much who owned the rock, because no one lives there. Then, on Thursday, a small band of Moroccan civil guard police ferried out to the islet, set up camp and raised the Moroccan flag.
Morocco says it has set up an observation post to help ward off illegal immigrants and aid in the war on terrorism. But Spain -- and apparently, much of Europe -- believes that Morocco has invaded sovereign territory.
"In a secret operation carried out by sea, Moroccan soldiers took the Spanish-owned Isla del Perejil late on Thursday, hoisted their country's red and green flag from its highest point, set up camp and waited for the Spaniards to try to take the land back," said an article in London's Guardian newspaper.
Suddenly, there is a new clash between the West and the Arab world.
The Arab League has lined up behind Morocco. "The position of the League is to support Morocco in its dispute with Spain over this island," said the group's general secretary, Amr Moussa.
The European Union is backing Spain. "This clearly is a regrettable incident," European Commission spokesman Gunar Wiegand said at a news briefing last week. "It constitutes a violation of Spanish territory."
Spain and Morocco have had strained relations since Spain's colonial days, when it controlled much of the North African coastline. Spain continues to control two small enclaves on the coast, named Ceuta and Melilla, both of which Morocco claims as its own. Isla del Perejil -- or Leila -- is about 4 miles from Ceuta.
But the animosity has taken on even broader significance in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as moderate leaders in the West and the Arab world have tried to neutralize extremists who have declared that there is a clash of civilizations, a fundamental battle between the Islamic world and the Judeo- Christian West.
Historically, Morocco has had very close ties with the United States and has helped in the fight against terrorism. But the tense atmosphere and the memory of Argentina's decision to seize the Falkland Islands in 1982, sparking war with Britain, have raised concerns that this could become a crisis.
By Sunday, both sides were calling for calm, although neither was willing to give in. "We believe there is an exaggeration on the Spanish side," Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohammed Benaissa said in a telephone interview. "The whole island is only as big as a football stadium. It has never been inhabited. We are not the ones making a big issue."
In an interview with the daily newspaper El Mundo, Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio said that Spain had done what it had to do when it dispatched three gunships to the vicinity of Ceuta and Melilla.
"Now, we'll see what happens," Palacio was quoted as saying. "There is a language here of symbols that we all understand," she said, adding that the incident could be "resolved reasonably."
Monday, 15 July, 2002, 18:11 GMT 19:11 UK
BBC News
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has warned Morocco that Spain will not allow it to keep troops on the disputed Mediterranean island of Perejil. "Spain will not accept these facts on the ground," Mr Aznar told parliament on Monday.
Morocco responded defiantly, saying it had no intention of pulling its troops off the island, which it calls Leila. "Morocco will not for the time being withdraw the observation post from island Leila," said Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa. But he added that Morocco wanted "to use all diplomatic channels to resolve this dispute".
Morocco sent a dozen soldiers to the uninhabited island last week, in what it said was an effort to crack down on terrorism and illegal immigrants. But Spain claims the soldiers have violated Spanish sovereignty.
The European Union called on Morocco to withdraw its troops on Sunday - a reaction Mr Benaissa said was disproportionate.
The 22-member Arab League has voiced its support for Morocco.
Madrid has sent four warships to protect its North African enclaves of Ceuta - just east from Perejil - and Melilla, further along the coast. On Thursday, about a dozen Moroccan troops set up camp on the island and raised the Moroccan flag.
In his annual state of the nation speech in parliament on Monday, Mr Aznar did not threaten the use of force. He said the government was making every diplomatic effort to restore what he called international legality. He also made the point that Spain had important trade and aid relations with Morocco.
That is a hint that economic sanctions are an option - perhaps through the suspension of a 1991 co-operation and friendship treaty, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Barnaby Mason.
Historic dispute
The dispute with Morocco over Spain's remaining possessions in and off the north African mainland has never been settled. Under a 1956 agreement - when Morocco gained independence - Spain has kept the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which it had held for centuries.
But Morocco strongly disputes Spanish control over several rocky islands. The current holder of the EU presidency, Denmark, said it was concerned at the situation created by Morocco and was in full solidarity with Spain regarding the island.
The uninhabited island is just 200 metres (220 yards) off the Moroccan shore in the Straits of Gibraltar, and is roughly the size of a football field.
July 14, 2002 Posted: 4:54 PM
EDT (2054 GMT)
CEUTA, Spain (Reuters) -- Spanish patrol boats circled the tiny, mist-shrouded island of Perejil on Sunday as Spain considered trade sanctions to persuade Morocco to withdraw troops from the disputed territory off its Mediterranean coast.
Despite mounting calls from Spain and its European partners for Morocco to withdraw from the barren outcrop, Rabat insists that it set up an "observation post" on Perejil to tackle illegal migration and terrorism in the 12-mile (20-km) Straits of Gibraltar separating Spain from North Africa.
Morocco deployed a surveillance team of up to a dozen soldiers and raised its flag over the uninhabited rock on Thursday.
Government sources in Morocco said because of the three-day festivities for the wedding of King Mohammed it was unlikely any official response would be forthcoming before Monday.
Spain's Secretary of State for Security Pedro Morenes told a news conference in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, some 4 miles (6 km) from Perejil, that he believed Rabat's silence was a sign it was reconsidering its position. "I think this situation will be quickly solved because I understand that Morocco is quickly re-appraising the action it has taken and is going to correct it immediately," he said.
Spain has sent a naval frigate to Ceuta and two corvettes to Melilla, a second Spanish enclave further along the coast, near the Algerian border. Madrid stopped short of claiming full sovereignty over Perejil -- named after the wild parsley that grows on the island -- but it has called for a return to the "status quo."
Relations between Madrid and Rabat have already been strained in recent months by acrimonious disputes over illegal immigration, drug trafficking and fishing rights.
Spanish government sources said Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar was in regular telephone contact with Foreign Minister Ana Palacio and Defense Minister Federico Trillo. "They are still considering our next move, but there will not be anything made public until after the state of the nation speech on Monday," one official said.
If Morocco refuses to withdraw its troops, sources familiar with the situation said Spain may suspend a 1991 bilateral cooperation and friendship treaty. It could then impose commercial sanctions in coordination with the European Union and tighten requirements for Moroccans entering Spain.
If the problem persists, Spain could break off diplomatic relations and as a final resort Civil Guard troops could attempt to remove the Moroccan troops by force, the sources said.
The European Union, meanwhile, toughened its stance toward Morocco's occupation of Perejil. A statement from the current EU president Denmark on behalf of the 15-member group expressed its full solidarity with Spain and called "for Morocco to withdraw its troops immediately."
European Union Commission President Romano Prodi also telephoned Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane El Youssoufi on Saturday to express his "grave concern." "The Moroccan Prime Minister undertook to keep the situation under control without further escalation, working for a very quick solution," a European Commission press release said.
The European Union is by far Morocco's largest commercial partner, with Spain accounting for much of that trade. Spain is also Morocco's biggest donor of foreign aid. Some 200,000 Moroccans live in Spain, while a further 1.5 million regularly pass through every summer on their way to Morocco from other European countries.
Local residents say usually the only visitors to Perejil, a whitish barren rock some 200 meters (yards) off the Moroccan coast, are herdsmen who use it to allow the goats to graze. But a cave on the island is also rumored to be a hideaway for smugglers trafficking people and drugs to Europe.
The proximity of the wealth of Europe leads thousands of illegal immigrations from Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa to cross the treacherous Straits of Gibraltar in ramshackle boats each year. Hundreds die in the attempt.
"Clearly we are delighted that Moroccan authorities should want to combat illegal trafficking of people and drugs," Morenes told the news conference. "On the other hand, there is also the status quo and we believe the two should not be confused."
The land dispute dates back to the end of the colonial era, when Spain and France relinquished their North African possessions. Under a 1956 agreement, Spain kept Ceuta and Melilla, which it had held for centuries. But Morocco strongly disputes Spanish control over several rocky islands. The dispute comes as Spain is locked in complicated negotiations with Britain over the future of the disputed colony of Gibraltar, which lies on Spain's southern coast.
July 14, 2002 Posted: 3:16 AM EDT (0716 GMT)
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Three navy ships have been sent to protect two Spanish enclaves after Morocco occupied an uninhabited Spanish islet.
Twelve soldiers landed on the half-mile diameter Perejil island, just off the Moroccan coast on Thursday, in what was described as an "act of hostility" by Spain.
The navy ships have been deployed to protect Ceuta and Melilla -- two Spanish city enclaves along Morocco's northern coast.
Perejil has been controlled by Spain since the 17th century but Morocco insists it inherited the island when it gained independence in 1956.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has been in permanent contact with his Defence Minister Federico Trillo, his deputy Mariano Rajoy, and Foreign Minister Ana Palacio since the Morrocan flag was planted on Perejil, a government spokesman said.
Morocco's Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi told reporters on Saturday he was committed "to avoid making the conflict more dramatic."
Spain believes Morocco is using Perejil to highlight other differences before the two countries separated at some points by just a few miles of sea.
Those problems include fishing rights, illegal immigration and the Western Sahara, which was annexed by Morocco from Spain in the 1970s and where the United Nations has ruled a self-determination referendum should be held.
Morocco has also frequently called on Spain to turn over control the two city enclave, which Spain maintains were Spanish for centuries before Morocco existed as a country.
Deputy Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy has warned the Moroccan government in Rabat to consider that Morocco is the biggest recipient of Spanish foreign aid and was a major trading partner.
By Isambard Wilkinson and Andrew
Sparrow
LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH
July 13, 2002
CEUTA, Spanish North Africa — Spanish warships headed for North Africa yesterday after a humiliating day for Madrid, with a dozen Moroccan troops invading a disputed island and Britain effectively shelving talks on Gibraltar.
The drama in the western Mediterranean began after the troops landed on the uninhabited island of Perejil, which has been regarded as Spanish for more than 400 years. Madrid has long struggled to justify its determination to hold on to its colonies while insisting that Britain withdraw from Gibraltar.
As darkness fell, the rocky outcrop was just visible from the coast less than half a mile away, where Moroccan police had sealed off access to the roads leading to the shore. There was no sign of the troops or the flags they had erected at each end of the island.
The Moroccan action seemed timed to coincide with yesterday's formal celebration in the capital, Rabat, of the wedding of the country's absolute ruler, King Mohammed, and Princess Salma. Rabat echoed to the sound of fireworks and parades through the flower-strewn Mechouar Square, where enormous pictures of the monarch were hung.
Spain responded furiously to the invasion, implicitly threatening military action. Newspapers in Madrid demanded a robust response.
If fighting does break out, Spain's navy is far larger, comprising an aircraft carrier equipped with Harriers, eight submarines and 15 major surface vessels.
Morocco's navy is led by a 20-year-old frigate backed by 27 patrol craft and gunboats.
Ana Palacio, Spain's new foreign minister, described the situation as "very serious" and demanded a Moroccan withdrawal.
The European Union also expressed concern, saying the invasion was "clearly a violation of Spanish territory."
But Morocco insisted that it had "every right" to occupy Perejil. An official in Rabat said the island was Moroccan and that the decision to set up an observation post there was "neither a provocation, nor a threat towards Spain."
The dispute blew up as British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw tried to put a positive gloss on the faltering talks over Gibraltar. He told British members of Parliament that the negotiations, which were intended to lead to a deal this month, would not resume until the autumn.
There were protests in the House of Commons when he announced that Britain and Spain accepted the principle of shared sovereignty for Gibraltar. This was one of the "many principles" on which they were in broad agreement, he said.
The Conservatives argued that discussing joint sovereignty, which is fiercely opposed by almost all on Gibraltar, was "shabby and dishonorable." But Mr. Straw's statement implied that the chances of the government striking a deal with Spain were limited and that the status quo could be preserved.
Madrid was more concerned with the possibility of further Moroccan action and reinforced its garrison on the Chafarinas, another small island group.
Mariano Rajoy, a government spokesman, said in Madrid: "A Moroccan patrol boat was seen carrying out maneuvers close to one of the islands, and as a result, the government has decided to strengthen the military, which is permanently based in the territories." Madrid increased the pressure on Morocco, noting that it was the biggest recipient of Spanish foreign aid.
A government spokesman said 200,000 Moroccans lived in Spain and that this summer some 1.5 million Moroccans would pass through the country or take vacations there.
El Mundo, a pro-government newspaper, urged Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar not to ignore the "hostile act," even if Perejil was not worth the fuel needed to send boats to patrol it. "The king of Morocco has chosen the path of confrontation with one of the great European democracies, and this should have a serious price for him," it said.
Spain has long faced a dilemma over what were known in classical times as the Pillars of Hercules. It owns the southern pillar, Mount Hacho, which dominates its Ceuta enclave, which Morocco claims. The northern pillar, Gibraltar, was granted to Britain in perpetuity by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, but it is claimed by Spain.