Vivas attacks the Government for its "unacceptable" response to the Ceuta crisis and points to hidden interests

The president of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, insinuates that there could be “hidden and unconfessable reasons” that are not yet known and that would help explain the “incomprehensible and unacceptable behavior of the Government” in the face of the migratory crisis registered on July 30 and 31 at the Ceuta border. In an interview on Antena 3, reported by Europa Press, Vivas was asked about the Executive's lack of forcefulness against Morocco, and defended that what happened cannot be described as an ordinary migratory episode. “We have always said that Morocco was behind what had happened and that this was not a migratory crisis, that it was a violation of Spain's territorial integrity for political purposes,” he stated.

The president of the autonomous city has insisted that the reaction of the Spanish Government is, in his opinion, “unacceptable and absolutely incomprehensible”, and has opened the door to the existence of motives that have not been made public and that could explain this attitude. Vivas has also highlighted the permanence in Ceuta of between ten and fifteen thousand people who entered after the border episode, a situation he has described as “absolutely unsustainable”. “Ceuta lives under a pressure cooker that can explode at any moment. It has been more than 50 days since the invasion and we have not had any significant progress in the return of the people who entered,” he complained.

The EU, called to promote an immediate action mechanism

On the occasion of the visit to Ceuta of the president of the European People's Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, the Ceuta leader defends that the involvement of the European Union (EU) in migratory matters is “essential” to guarantee the security of Ceuta's borders, and has maintained that the European character of Ceuta and Melilla has been ratified, “emphatically and indisputably”.

In this vein, he has called for an “immediate action” mechanism against “attacks on territorial integrity through the use of migratory pressure”, and has asked the European Union for a “special role” in the autonomous city, with more presence in border control and with the configuration of its own legal framework to respond to this type of situation.

Response to the Committee for the Liberation of Ceuta and Melilla

On the other hand, the president of the Committee for the Liberation of Ceuta and Melilla, Yahya Yahya, stated this Monday that a visit by Felipe VI to the two autonomous cities would have negative effects and could call into question the Spanishness of Ceuta. Faced with these statements, Vivas has responded that the sole intention of “this individual” is to “take advantage of the circumstances to gain some relevance and notoriety”.

“The recent pronouncement by the European Parliament, unequivocally stating that Ceuta and Melilla are Spain, that they are Spanish borders and that not respecting these borders means not respecting Europe and its integrity, seems to me to have historical value and a much more important character than the statements of this individual,” Vivas stressed.

Despite this, Juan Jesús Vivas has recalled that Morocco's position on the two autonomous cities “is not new” and has insisted that there is no “legitimacy” for this claim, because “Ceuta and Melilla are Spain because the law accredits it, because history supports it and because its citizens want it. However they pray,” he remarked.