Morocco - Manifesto by immigrants in transit

Last august 29th 2005, two subsaharian immigrants who were attempting to cross the border between Melilla (Spain) and Morocco, appeared dead. According to testimonies by four colleagues of the deceased and by two persons of Moroccon nationality, the immingrans could have died once they had crossed the border fence, that is, inside Spanish territory, and after having been intercepted by the Guardia Civil (Border Police).

These testimonies point as well that the immigrants were brutally hit by some of the Guardia Civil officers and, afterwards, once of them was already dead and the other agonizing, their bodies were thrown into Moroccon territory.

Médicos Sin Fronteras (Doctors without Borders), which was able to see one of the corpses, found in it traces of violence, in particular the mark of a rubber bullet, such as those used by the Guardia Civil, in his chest.

Up to now, the Guardia Civil has admitted the existence of one of the deaths and has left in the hands of the Moroccon Gendarmerie the course of investigations.

Taking into account that:

 Morroco is not a democratic country, where investigation processes and juridical guarantees are alomost inexistent

 The good relationship between both countries estalbished upon the basis that the Spanish State gives large amounts of money to Morocco in order to militarize its border

 The large amount of verbal reports made to social organizations by the migrants about tortures inflicted on them by certain Guardia Civil officers

 Also, being so recent the unfortunate event in Roquetas (Almería), where a citizen died within the Guardia Civil station.

Therefore,

 We believe that neither the Moroccon police forces nor the Guardia Civil are prepared to clarify the events happened in the aformentioned night

 We ask for a comission formed by different political parties and international organizations to study the situation in the borders at Ceuta and Melilla

 We ask for the stoppping of all economic payments made to Morocco in order to finance migration control in its territory, until this country becomes one where migrants in transit rights and local citizens rights are guaranteed.

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