The Minister of the Presidency and Justice has disavowed this Thursday the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, who on Tuesday stated in Congress that the CNI warned about what could happen at the maritime border of Ceuta with Morocco on July 30. “There was no prior or precise information about the magnitude of the entry of 70,000 people,” Félix Bolaños assured during his own appearance in the Lower House, thus imposing the narrative with which the Interior Ministry has tried to justify why security was not reinforced.
Furthermore, the Government has conveyed this Thursday “a message of confidence and calm” to the people of Ceuta amid rising tension in the autonomous city 28 days after the massive entry of 80,000 people from Morocco. “The State is fully committed to restoring normality as soon as possible,” said the Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, during his intervention in Congress to explain the management of this migratory crisis.
According to the socialist politician, the “situation is complex from all points of view” and “anyone who says it is solved in a snap has no idea what they are talking about, no idea, showing an unsurpassable ignorance.” This is despite the fact that the central government itself considered it under control a few days after the avalanche following the return in the first hours of around 90% of the foreigners who had crossed the border illegally by sea.
For its part, the PP has blamed the increase in social tension in Ceuta on the Government’s “inaction” in resolving the crisis. “You cannot ask the people of Ceuta for patience, but you have to give them answers,” emphasized Cuca Gamarra in statements in Congress.
For the popular leader, a month after the start of the crisis, the people of Ceuta “cannot take it anymore” and cannot be asked for calm while the Government is immersed in “inaction” and has gone on “vacation,” while the “invaders” are occupying public spaces and “limiting the freedoms and rights” of Spaniards living in Ceuta. “Inaction generates responsibility due to the lack of solutions,” she warned.
Therefore, the PP urges the Government to act “once and for all” and accelerate the process for a “fast and immediate” expulsion of migrants, first rejecting asylum requests and then proceeding with their departure from the country. It would be sending “a clear message that the only possible path is the return to Morocco of all those who invaded the autonomous city” and caused an “attack” on Spanish territorial integrity.
In addition to urging the Government to “act,” Gamarra has warned of the impact the people of Ceuta are suffering in their lives, with a limitation of their “rights and freedoms.” That is why she has supported not using sports centers to accommodate migrants because it would be the “height of absurdity” to also deprive the people of Ceuta of their “right to leisure.” The PP considers that the Government’s idea implies “turning” sports centers “into a CETI” (Temporary Stay Centers for Immigrants) and conveying “that all of Ceuta is a CETI.” For that, she said, there are State-owned buildings that can be used.
Meanwhile, in statements to the media before Bolaños’ appearance, the spokesperson for Vox in Congress, Pepa Millán, accused the Government of being interested in having “a social outbreak in Ceuta” to thus “justify its surrender to Morocco.”
For the leader of Santiago Abascal‘s party, the PSOE and Sumar government is “seeking” that social conflict and in response, she expressed all “respect” for a people who, she emphasized, “are giving a lesson of dignity to an absolutely unworthy Government.”
For Vox, the Government’s obligation is to return the migrants, but it lamented that instead of standing up to Morocco, it has rolled out a “red carpet.” Its conclusion is that there is a “submissive” Government before the “invader” and “arrogant” towards Spaniards.
“Distortion” of a ruling
In his appearance, Bolaños insisted on the official Government narrative of placing all responsibility for the massive entry of immigrants on a Supreme Court ruling “distorted” by human trafficking mafias and spread through social networks. “That distortion gave rise to two widely spread hoaxes: that the border was open and that if you entered Spain by swimming, you could not be returned,” he emphasized.
Regarding the contradictory versions between Defense and Interior about whether the CNI warned about what could happen in the autonomous city, the Minister of Justice limited himself to saying that since the July 30 avalanche “monitoring moved to a reinforced level, increasing contact with all responsible ministries, the available information, the frequency of assessments, and risk analysis.” This work, he said, favored “the mobilization of material and human resources” and particularly the deployment of 500 additional police and civil guards, reaching 1,700 personnel.
“The priority now is to locate, attend to, and begin the repatriation processes, family reunification, or asylum of people who remain irregularly in Ceuta, and the second priority is to guarantee the full functioning of the city and its prompt economic and social cooperation,” Bolaños added. He also pointed out that “the reinforced coordination through the unified command”—implemented almost a month after the crisis began—”will be maximum” and that “the necessary means will be used to achieve this normality as soon as possible.”
