Vivas demands firmness against Morocco on Ceuta Day and warns: "If Ceuta sinks, Spain sinks"

Juan Jesús Vivas has taken advantage of Ceuta Day to deliver one of his toughest speeches since the massive entry recorded at the end of July. The president of the autonomous city has warned that Ceuta is "in danger" and has demanded a firm response to Morocco to protect Spanish sovereignty and prevent a similar situation from happening again.

"Sad, wounded, indignant, with its soul in suspense, but standing." This is how Vivas described the city during the institutional act held this Wednesday at the Revellín Auditorium Theater, which was attended by the leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and ministers Ángel Víctor Torres and Elma Saiz.

The Ceuta leader has placed what happened on July 30 and 31 in the realm of national security and has spoken of an "attack" against the territorial integrity of Spain. He has also argued that there are still numerous questions to be resolved and that knowing the truth will be essential to face the future of the city.

Vivas has attributed to Morocco an "unwavering objective of suffocation, harassment, and demolition" over Ceuta and Melilla. Faced with this pressure, he has asked the Government to demand from Rabat respect for Spanish territorial integrity "with due firmness and clarity".

According to him, the neighboring country has historically used different means to pressure the two autonomous cities. The migration crisis, he added, has demonstrated the need to strengthen Spanish and European capabilities so that border security no longer depends on Moroccan actions.

"Ceuta can't take any more"

The regional president has called for an urgent return to normality after an entry that has left Ceuta under enormous social, health, economic, and security pressure. "Ceuta must be taken out of the ICU", he insisted before warning that the city "cannot continue to live in a pressure cooker".

Vivas has estimated that more than 80,000 people crossed the border during those 48 hours, a quantity similar to the entire population of Ceuta. The Government has handled an estimate close to 72,000 entries, many of them by people who returned to Morocco a few hours later.

The head of the local Executive has demanded the return of those who entered irregularly and still remain in the city. "Everyone must be returned," he declared, considering that the permanence of a part of these people could fuel new attempts to use migratory movements as an instrument of political pressure.

Any return must be processed with the guarantees provided by Spanish and European legislation, individually addressing asylum requests and the situation of minors and vulnerable people.

Vivas has also asked that Spain and the European Union assume effective control of the border, with new infrastructures and more human, material, and technological resources. The proposed response includes reinforcing the State's presence in Defense, Security, Justice, Health, and Education.

To these measures, he has added investments in housing, equipment, and social inclusion, the improvement of Ceuta's Economic and Fiscal Regime, the reduction of communication costs, and a greater boost to vocational training. He has also defended a specific statute within the European Union that brings the city closer to the treatment of outermost regions.

The speech was interrupted on several occasions by the applause of the attendees, who even shouted "president" and "you are worth it." The government representatives present in the theater did not join these ovations, while the Government delegate in Ceuta, Miguel Ángel Pérez Triano, received several boos.

Felipe VI has spoken by phone with Vivas on the occasion of Ceuta Day and has conveyed the support of the Crown and of Spain as a whole. The King has also recognized the work of public servants, volunteers, associations, and representatives of the different religious confessions during the crisis.

Alongside Feijóo

Hours later, Vivas spoke again alongside Alberto Núñez Feijóo during a public event held in the Plaza de los Reyes. The president of Ceuta thanked the leader of the PP for his third visit since the beginning of the crisis and the effort made to reach the city after fog prevented his helicopter from landing and forced him to travel by boat from Algeciras.

In that second intervention, Vivas insisted that Spanish sovereignty forms an indivisible whole. "If Ceuta sinks, Spain sinks," he warned before Feijóo and the attendees. The popular leader defined Ceuta as "the heart of our nation" and asked for the support of the rest of the country for the concentrations called in defense of the city. "The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Spain is a whole that cannot be fragmented," he said.

Vivas also claimed the unity of the people of Ceuta above their ideas, names or beliefs. He presented the coexistence between communities as one of the main strengths of the city and assured that its inhabitants will continue to defend Ceuta "no matter how they pray, what they are called, or what they think."

The regional president also publicly expressed his confidence in Feijóo and assured that Ceuta will be one of his priorities if he reaches Moncloa. The national leader of the PP had moments before demanded a diplomatic response against Morocco and had accused the Government of Pedro Sánchez of ignoring the warnings prior to the massive entry.

"Ceuta is Spain from the origin of the Hispanic fact," Vivas remarked, who invoked history, law and the will of the people of Ceuta to defend the Spanishness of the city. His intervention ended with an embrace with Feijóo before the attendees.