In last month's e-newsletter, we talked about Spain demanding Gibraltar back from the British, and how odd this was when they themselves had two territories in Morocco, (Ceuta and Melilla) that the Moroccans would like back.
You may have noticed in the news that a couple of weeks ago, on July 11th, a small band of Moroccan soldiers landed on the unoccupied Spanish owned, but jointly claimed Island of Perejil (Spanish) or Leila (Arabic) or Parsley (English) – unoccupied but for goats, that is, and just 25 metres from the Moroccan shoreline.
They set up tents and put a Moroccan flag. The arrival was said to be to celebrate the King of Morocco's wedding. About a week after that, Spanish troops arrived on the island, escorted by full naval battleships and gained control from the Moroccan army. Now the Spanish troops have withdrawn from the island and all is well again: foreign ministers of Morocco and Spain have finalised a US-brokered (the EU was snubbed in helping here) resolution to their dispute over the Mediterranean island of Perejil. Although both countries claim the island, Spain says it had an understanding that neither side would erect a permanent camp there. The return to the status quo does not mean that Morocco has given up its claim to sovereignty of Pereji.
Morocco was also hoping to take the opportunity to talk about all the issues of contention between the two countries. These include the Western Sahara, clandestine immigration and fishing, as well as the future of the Spanish sovereign enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. Spain said it was willing to talk about anything except the enclaves.