The Moroccan health ministry has decided to organize repatriation flights from Portugal rather than Spain, due to “the lack of respect for health protocols” on the part of the Spanish authorities.
The Moroccan ministry did not spare the Spanish authorities, which it accuses of not offering “tangible guarantees concerning the respect of measures in accordance with internationally recognized recommendations and rules”. Continuing “The competent Spanish authorities are far from ensuring a rigorous control of the state of health of passengers during boarding at airports”, and considering that this situation represents “a danger to the health of Moroccan citizens”.
Strong protests from the Spanish authorities
In reaction to the Moroccan press release, the head of Spanish diplomacy quickly denounced the Rabat decision and ordered the convocation of the charge d’affaires of the Moroccan embassy in Madrid, Farid Aoulouhaj, to whom a protest was expressed.
“The public statement is not acceptable from the point of view of Spain, because it does not correspond to any reality”, reacted José Manuel Albares, during a press conference Tuesday in Madrid. “Spain meets all the international criteria in the fight against Covid-19, the government is working tirelessly on it,” he added. The minister specified that he had not been warned of the press release disseminated by the Moroccan authorities before its publication and assured that Spain is working “with all its goodwill” to maintain “the best relations with Morocco”.
It should be noted that several hundred Moroccans found themselves stranded in Europe after the authorities extended at least until December 31 the suspension of flights to and from Morocco due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
Recurring tensions between the two capitals
Last May, a major crisis had worsened relations between Rabat and Madrid after the hospitalization in Spain, following infection with Covid-19, of the President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), Brahim Ghali. It should also be recalled that the disembarkation of 8,000 Moroccan migrants last May in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, without the Moroccan authorities having taken effective measures to deal with this situation, had already caused great tension between Madrid and Rabat.
