Was Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos right when he described developments in the relations between Rabat and Madrid as not having reached a crisis-point? Or was he playing down the repercussions of the misunderstanding, which has led to an initiative of openness? In any case, dealing with the growing crisis through a working session that gathered Spain's interior minister, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba and his Moroccan counterpart Taieb Cherkaoui was a sound solution. On the one hand, the issue is being called by Rabat a domestic matter that involves some of its citizens being roughly treated by the Spanish border police at crossings to the occupied city of Melilla, in the north of the country. On the other, the Spanish were freed of having to submit to the status quo and were prompted to resume the raising of political and security issues, which include the repercussions of illegal immigration, the war on terror, and confronting drug trafficking. This is even though it is difficult to arrive at a global approach to confront the challenges without discussing the future of the two occupied cities, Ceuta and Melilla. At the least, the two cities attract the hordes of Moroccan emigrants, as they are the gateways to Europe. However, this crisis is different. It springs from a heritage of fighting imperialism, even if this is not imminent, which leaves the impression that resorting to dialogue can constitute the beginning of the journey, and that it is not required to solve all of the problems in one go. It is abundantly clear that demanding the return of the two occupied cities has moved from recognized diplomatic channels and stabilized at the banks of a calm revolution led by civil society, through non-governmental entities that have overturned traditional formulas of politics. But the opening that has achieved short-term goals, in terms of retuning to the status quo ante, prior to the tension, is not the end of the matter. As much as these stances have stabilized around seeing dialogue and understanding win out, they also require true courage in dealing with pending issues, without splitting them into various components. Experience shows that the most sensitive issue for Moroccans in their relationship with Spain is one issue, connected to the unnatural status of the two occupied cities, Ceuta and Melilla. It sufficed that Moroccan activists prevented the passage of trucks of fruits and vegetables, to see the region suffer from true deprivation when it comes to consumer goods. Events might lead to a ban on supplying water, if the pressure continues. The Spanish have realized that the two cities have no future outside one of coexistence with their surroundings. Field reports indicate that the demographic composition of the cities is headed toward a radical change, as the children of Spanish settlers have begun moving their gaze away from Spanish cities, due to the financial and economic crisis that has caused a collapse of economic conditions in Spain. This is not all. Prior to the recent crisis, local authorities in the two cities posed the idea of abolishing visas, to encourage Moroccan visitors to shop in the two cities, which are the center of free trade. Meanwhile, the Spanish are looking on with anxiety and surprise at the huge projects being carried out by Morocco in northern regions, which will reduce the economic and commercial importance of the two cities. Good intentions alone do not make policy. Morocco insists on confronting what Foreign Ministry statements describe as stooping to racist behavior has moved the Ceuta and Melilla issue in the foreground, quite forcefully. Meanwhile the return to an awareness that Spanish sides have indicated their unhappiness with a policy of escalation against Morocco reflects the beginning of a change in quasi-modest dealings with the two cities. Perhaps the message that these sides wanted to communicate to Rabat involves a rejection of putting the Morocco issue to political use during the Spanish elections. However, arriving at an agreement with Rabat to overcome the current disputes does not necessarily mean that the issue will end here. And it does not appear that what the Socialist Party has been unable to achieve, namely taking power, will be feasible if it moves to the opposition. The problem, first and last, is a Spanish one, and the most that Morocco can do is not become one of the sides in an inter-Spanish struggle.
