Spanish government slammed over deadly border breach
4 Min Read
Europe's systemic violence does not have a place in "international" condemnation - as massacres were committed and not a word was spoken.
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People climbing a fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla (AP)
Spain's government came under fire Wednesday when the BBC aired a harsh report on major migrant attempts to enter Spain's Melilla enclave from Morocco in June, which resulted in the deaths of at least 23 people.
The Documentary titled "Death on the Border" revealed at least one dead body at the Melilla border post's entry, as well as more bodies being evacuated by Moroccan security agents.
Spanish authorities had confirmed this area was "under their control," as per the BBC.
The BBC's Africa Eye program, which aired Tuesday, stated that it was based on "dozens of public and private films" shot during the June 24 border breach, casting doubt on official government accounts.
The deputy leader of the main opposition Popular Party (PP) Cuca Gamarra urged that the BBC photographs be broadcast in parliament and that the Interior Minister be there to explain.
"We have to go all the way," she added.
The far-left party Podemos, the junior partner in Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's coalition administration, also demanded explanations.
"This report is a hard blow against the official version of the facts," said Jaume Asens, head of the party's parliamentary group.
He urged for the formation of a parliamentary investigating commission.
According to Spanish authorities, up to 2,000 migrants climbed the high fence that separates Melilla from Morocco, engaging in a two-hour battle with border officers.
While many individuals made it to the Spanish territory at the northern tip of Africa, Moroccan authorities say at least 23 people were killed in a crowd and others perished after collapsing.
Morocco's AMDH rights group reported that up to 27 migrants were slain, marking one of the most tragic crossings into the European Union in years.
At the time, both Madrid and Rabat justified their border police response.
However, videos shared on social media showed refugees barely moving on the ground as Moroccan police thrashed them.
The documentary sheds the light on Europe’s imperialist viewpoint of the world which comes as no surprise – the increasing militarization and systemic brutality of the continent’s armies are resurrecting grounds for fascist violence on its borders, as well as its neo-colonies.
More alive than ever today, European fascism (even the self-proclaimed leftist presidents) is waging a war on the east, their armies in the process of deploying the most brutal forms of repression against those standing in their way of imperial conquest.
Six months have passed, yet the magnitude of the crime is still unaddressed.
The Spanish government, in conjunction with the NATO Summit, will be pushing to designate border crossings as a “hybrid threat” alongside terrorism as part of NATO’s new strategy concept – very fitting for a country with a "leftist" president.
Europe has been taking on an anti-refugee concept – rigid and violent. Last winter, Poland left refugees to freeze to death in the forests on its border. In 2019, Italy’s Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, called on the EU to suspend all naval rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea, which left thousands of people to drown. “Progressive” Finland, with its application to join NATO, declared its intention to begin constructing barriers along its border with Russia to guard against any refugees being used as “hybrid warfare” by Russia.
This comes hand-in-hand with NATO’s latest strategy, which entails ramping up troop presence in the eastern flank of Europe from 40,000 to 300,000 troops and employing expansion strategies to counter Russia and China. With that being said, NATO very much hopes to expand in Africa in terms of its military operations – and that in itself entails violence.
Europe’s closest ally, the US, has lately seen a semi-truck trailer filled with scores of dead bodies – mainly undocumented Central American immigrants that were found on the Texan borders with Mexico.
This comes as a result of Biden’s anti-immigrant policies, not to mention ICE and detention centers on the borders.
History only seems to repeat itself, as Europe works day and night to continue creating and expanding the material conditions for racism, violence, and exploitation to counter rising emerging economies – which, today, is BRICS, spearheaded by Russia and China. In this case, refugees are collateral damage of this imperial race.
