The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, is in Ceuta this Wednesday, where she is holding a meeting with the president of the autonomous city, Juan Jesús Vivas, at the City Hall headquarters. Her visit comes after several days of high tension in the city due to the massive arrival of people from Morocco.
Upon her arrival at the City Hall square, several citizens expressed their rejection of the Government’s management of the migratory situation. The reproaches came from different points in the square. Some of the citizens who confronted the minister were at a certain distance from her, while a woman stood in front of Robles and directly addressed her with several insults, including “shameless”.
The woman was able to remain in the place and continue expressing herself without the agents intervening to remove or restrain her. Robles looked at her intently and nodded at some point, without entering into a discussion with her. The minister then continued inside the City Hall.
The reception also had other very different moments. A citizen approached Robles and held a conversation with her in a calm and polite tone. The minister stopped to listen and talk with him for a few moments.
Soon after, an elderly woman approached visibly emotional. The woman began to cry and explained to Robles that she was afraid. “I am very afraid”, she repeated to her. The minister tried to calm her while other people gave her water.
The different scenes occurred while the city continues to face the consequences of the arrival of a large number of people in recent days. The situation has forced the deployment of police and military resources and has generated significant mobilization of public administrations.
During the protests, statements about the Army’s actions were also heard that do not match what has been verified on the ground. One of them claimed that the military had remained for 48 hours “tied hand and foot” in the barracks. However, the deployment at the Tarajal border began the same day as the massive arrival, and the Army arrived at the facilities around six in the afternoon.
The atmosphere in the square showed the different reactions the crisis is provoking. Protests against the Government coincided with citizens who directly conveyed their concerns to the minister and with people who openly expressed their fear about the situation.
The visit is therefore taking place in a city where there is strong social pressure after several days of massive arrivals and where the authorities must simultaneously manage the people who have entered, care for minors, security, and the functioning of public services.
Read more Moroccan nationalists take their claim about the city all the way to the door of Ceuta City Hall
