Entering Fortress Europe
01 January 2004
The new year began with the discovery of two stowaways who died of asphyxia on a merchant ship that arrived in Spain from Dakar, Senegal. The first of them was discovered by the ship's crew on 12 December 2003 due to the smell released by his decomposing body. Despite this, during the ship's stop in the Canary Islands, it was authorised to continue its journey with the corpse on board, and the body was only disembarked and buried when the ship arrived in Ferrol (Galicia) on 2 January 2004. The complaints by the Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado (Spanish Commission for Assistance to Refugees, see Statewatch news online, December 2003) indicated that such a lack of respect for the dead person would not have occurred if the victim had been European. On the following day, 3 January, another dead stowaway was found in the same ship when it reached the port of Pasajes.
On 3 February, another two young African stowaways were found dead in the store of a German ship when it arrived in the port of Avilés, in Asturias. The death was the result of asphyxia, as the deceased had been in contact with the mineral zinc sulphur for some time.
Spain: Expulsions rise
The number of migrants that embark on vessels going to Spain is not diminishing in spite of the measures adopted. Figures provided by the Interior Ministry show that the number of migrants who have been detained in dinghies grew by 14% in 2003, reaching a figure of 19,000. The number of migrants who were expelled last year also rose to 92,679, a 20% increase compared to 2002. In the first two months of 2004, the number of migrants expelled has already reached 18,000. The number of migrants who were regularised last year was 323,000.
The Spanish authorities are taking the task of expelling migrants very seriously, to the point where the Interior Ministry has set up a police unit to provide security for flights expelling migrants. Thus, on 15 January 2004, a special flight departed to Romania with 70 expelled migrants and 160 police officers on board, which, among other things, is resulting in a very high expenditure for the ministry in question.
Spanish-Moroccan cooperation and joint sea patrols
Spanish-Moroccan cooperation was stepped-up in February, with the first patrol launches on the Canary Islands' coast in which police officers from both countries travel together in an attempt to reduce the arrival of dinghies. The following week, it was the turn of the guardias civiles (Spanish paramilitary police force) to do the same in Moroccan vessels off the Saharan coast, an activity that has been criticised by the Frente Polisario (movement for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco) as a violation of its sovereignty. The next step will be the appointment by Morocco of four liaison officers who will travel to Spain to stabilise the cooperation between the two countries.
A tragic consequence of this joint operation has been the shooting and killing of two sub-Saharan migrants who attempted to scale a border wall in the Spanish North African enclave of Melilla. Having been warned by the Guardia Civil, the Moroccan police opened fire, killing them. Another result of this cooperation has been that, for the first time, a group of 30 sub-Saharan migrants were re-admitted by Morocco. An agreement envisaging this measure was signed with the Moroccan authorities in 1992.