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This Sunday demonstrations are held in various cities in Spain to condemn the deaths recorded last Friday at the Melilla border crossing where, according to official figures, 23 sub-Saharan immigrants died, when they tried to massively jump the fence that separates the country from Morocco.
With slogans such as “no more deaths at the borders”, hundreds of Spaniards in Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Valencia, Seville, Granada, among other cities, mobilized on June 26 to reject the actions of the Moroccan police and the policies migrations that “kill”.
The activities are promoted by non-governmental organizations and human rights defenders such as Marea Migrante sin Fronteras, Somos Migrantes or the African Federation of Spain, who have called the events of last Friday “the massacre in Melilla”.
The NGOs denounce that the number of deceased offered by the Government is not real and that there are actually between 27 and 37 victims, for which they request an independent judicial investigation, both for the Moroccan and Spanish sides.
The Government raised the initial figure that it had presented to the press, after five people died in the afternoon in the hospital, where a member of the security forces and 18 sub-Saharans are recovering, some injured and others intoxicated by tear gas. .
The organizations also demand that the violent reaction of the Moroccan officials who threw stones with slingshots, rubber balls and gas be investigated, within the framework of the extensive operation that tried to prevent the passage of sub-Saharans, actions that were recorded in various videos circulating by social networks.
More than 12 hours waiting for assistance
After the tragedy, it took approximately 12 hours for the transfer of the wounded and the deceased, who had to wait for the ambulances lying on the ground inside a space surrounded by bars, many of them immobile and piled on top of others.
In March, Spain modified its policies on Western Sahara, supporting the proposal for autonomy over the territory of Morocco, a change that has attracted criticism from the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, who reacted to the incident on Friday by supporting the actions of the neighboring country. .
After the Spanish government pronounced itself in favor of the Moroccan national cause, diplomatic relations between the two countries that had been in crisis for a year were resumed when Spain allowed the entry of the Saharawi independence leader, Brahim Gali, a measure that Morocco responded to in May 2021, giving way to thousands of people to the Ceuta enclave.
Most of the immigrants who try to cross the Melilla border flee from war or misery in their countries of origin with the aim of traveling thousands of kilometers to cross into Europe by land or sea, in order to protect their lives.
This Sunday, the Moroccan security forces reported that they arrested 59 people who tried to cross who seized metal objects with which they intended to pass the fence, the detainees are under judicial guardianship and will be investigated to discover if they have any connection with networks irregular emigration.
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