During the trilateral meeting in Rabat between the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and the Interior Ministers of Spain, Fernando Grande-Marlaska and of Morocco, Abdelouafi Laftit, Brussels reiterated in Rabat its desire to to see the construction of reception centers for immigrants under a European umbrella take shape in the Kingdom. For Rabat, this is only the utopia of a pious wish, so this proposal is rejected for security and logistical reasons.
Notwithstanding this, during the meeting where we were not entitled to any media coverage except the official one, the accent was rather put on the reinforcement of the joint cooperation in the field of the investigations as for the migratory drama of Melilla. This trilateral partnership advocates mechanisms for combating the criminal modi operandi of human trafficking networks, with awareness of the dangers of illegal immigration, strengthening border police cooperation with European agencies, but no central reception of migrants.
In this regard, Abdelilah El Khoudari, director of the Moroccan Center for Human Rights, told MoroccoLatestNews that the proposal that leaked during the meeting to build reception centers for migrants in Morocco, is far from the reality on the ground. He added : ” Such a proposal implemented, will have repercussions and will generate significant social, legal and economic problems for Morocco in terms of security for its society.. The human rights defender, went on to explain that “ African immigrants today, through their integration in various cities and neighborhoods with Moroccan citizens, are far from the deadlock that is at the root of all the security problems and which intermittently provokes clashes and mass skirmishes with the security elements “.
El Khoudari looked at the dilemmas that the construction of these reception centers could represent. In what places ? ” We are already suffering from the rural exodus and the spread of marginal neighborhoods on the outskirts of cities which are springing up like mushrooms. Will these reception centers be built on the fringes of towns or villages already suffering from the dilemma of the absence of property rights (so-called “dynastic” or collective lands, etc.)? “. EL Khoudari felt that “ the mere fact of raising the construction of reception centers for migrants is for the thousands of Africans and others who are currently in the Kingdom, as well as for the prospects of arrivals, a fantasy and pushes for complexity of the crisis, not to a realistic solution “.
The director of the Moroccan Center for Human Rights stressed that ” the real solutions, which all these countries (mainly the EU) do not want to recognize or implement, are to allow the African peoples to govern themselves, in a free democratic framework, without affecting their will, and not to impose governments hostile to their peoples”. We must not be complicit with these countries by suppressing citizens’ aspirations to dignity and a decent life. End the exploitation and plunder of the continent’s vast natural resources “.
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