Harsh Words from the King of Morocco

I reported yesterday on the visit by the king and queen of Spain to the “occupied territories” of Melilla and Ceuta, two Spanish cities on the southern coast of the Mediterranean adjacent to Morocco.

Today the king of Morocco is doing a little scimitar-rattling aimed at the Spanish government. According to Afriquenligne:

Moroccan Monarch denounces Juan Carlos’ visit to Ceuta and Melilla

King Mohammed VI of Morocco has denounced the official visit of the Spanish king Juan Carlos to Ceuta and Melilla in the northern coast of the Alawite Kingdom, saying “it undermines the feelings of Moroccans”.

“We firmly condemn and denounce this visit,” protested the Moroccan King in his message Tuesday evening to a meeting of Moroccan Ministers here.

The Spanish King visited Ceuta Monday and Melilla Tuesday despite Moroccan objection and last week Rabat recalled its Ambassador to Madrid as a sign of protest against the trip.

According to King Mohamed, the visit is “a counter-productive step” that “undermines” the patriotic feelings that are firmly deep-rooted in the Moroccan people.

Oh, the feelings of those Moroccans! So easily hurt!

Al Jazeera has this detail:

“Spain must understand that its colonial era is over and for good,” [Moroccan prime minister Abbas] El Fassi said.

So the era of Spanish colonialism is over. What about the era of Arab colonialism?
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Will the Arabic-speaking occupiers withdraw from the Berber territories of the Maghreb and leave them to the original inhabitants?

Will the Alawite dynasty in Damascus return the nation of Syria to its rightful Christian owners?

Is the Muslim regime in Pakistani willing to return Punjab to the Hindus?

How about the Chaldean Christians in Mesopotamia — shall we return the Land Between the Rivers to them?

Anybody want to propose a UN resolution to that effect?

ANSAmed has more:

Condemning unequivocally the trip of the king of Spain, which he deemed “a nostalgic act of a dark and definitely concluded era”, the Alawi king warned Madrid in a message read during the government council: if Spain “does not want to endanger the future of the relations between our countries”, it must envisage “an open, honest and frank dialogue”, which “guarantees our sovereignty and the interests of Spain” in the territories claimed by Morocco.

Morocco has virtually no muscle with which to back up its newly-found bluster, so one can only assume that King Mohamed VI — in the wake of the terror attacks in Madrid and the subsequent accession of a Socialist government — took the measure of Spain’s manly fortitude and found it lacking.

Prepare for an independent international commission sponsored by the UN and charged with looking into the “legitimate grievances of the Moroccan people”.

Expect pressure to be exerted on Spain to make concessions and “trade land for peace”.

Shuttle diplomacy. Roadmaps. Special envoys. The cycle of violence. “Both sides”.

Why don’t we get tired of the same old song? Who wants to call a different tune?


Hat tip: insubria.