Morocco halts fresh food shipments to Spanish city

[August 18, 2010]  MELILLA, Spain (AP) -- Truckers who transport food from Morocco to this Spanish enclave in North Africa suspended shipments of perishable goods on Wednesday amid a simmering dispute over alleged brutality by Spanish police.

But the threat of a lengthy commercial blockade could be easing with a reported agreement by Moroccan protesters to suspend it until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The decision by truckers to stop hauling goods into Melilla came in response to demands by Moroccan protesters who blocked them from entering for a brief period Tuesday night. It was the second time in a week that Melilla faced shortages of fish, fruit and vegetables.

Spanish media reported that the protesters had reached a deal with traders who sell the food in the city of about 70,000 to allow the trucks to resume shipments Thursday, putting off the prospect of a long-term blockade until September.

A spokesman for Spain's Interior Ministry in the city confirmed that no trucks carrying food or fish had arrived at the Moroccan side of the border with Melilla on Wednesday. He said some 20 protesters gathered at the Moroccan side were only allowing empty trucks to pass through.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with ministry policy, said that after a brief blockade Tuesday night, dozens of trucks carrying construction materials had been allowed in.

Morocco supplies the Spanish enclave with perishable products, and about 35,000 Moroccans cross daily into Melilla to work or shop.

Morocco claims the city and another North African enclave of Spain, Ceuta, as its own, and the protesters backing the blockade also want Spain to cede control of the cities to Morocco. But Spain rejects any talk of giving them up.

Morocco has made five complaints over the past month alleging Spanish police mistreatment of, and racism against, Moroccans crossing into Melilla. Moroccan officials also accused the Spanish coast guard of finding, then abandoning, a group of ailing migrants in a boat off the Moroccan coast. Spain has denied the claims.

Spain and Morocco are key allies, cooperating closely on fighting Islamic terrorism and preventing illegal immigration. Relations between the two countries have been generally good in recent years, despite periodic bouts of tension.

The most serious break came in 2002, when the nations edged close to armed confrontation after a handful of Moroccan soldiers occupied a rocky Spanish island off the Moroccan coast inhabited by goats.

The conservative government of then Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar sent in Spanish commandos to oust the Moroccan troops, and ties between the two nations plunged.

Aznar flew to Melilla on Wednesday to tour the city amid claims by his opposition Popular Party that Spain's ruling Socialist Party has bungled efforts to reduce tensions between Spain and Morocco over Melilla and halt the commercial blockades.

But the Socialist Party said Aznar's visit could end up hurting Spanish-Moroccan relations just ahead of a visit Monday by Spain's Interior Minister to the Moroccan capital, Rabat, aimed at defusing the tensions and discussing bilateral issues like terrorism and immigration.

"His presence does not help and he knows his presence does not help," Spanish Development Minister Jose Blanco told reporters.

Blanco added that Spain's government is "working on the problem and it will be sorted out very soon, despite the Popular Party."

[Associated Press; By DANIEL WOOLLS]

Associated Press writer Ciaran Giles contributed to this report from Madrid.

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