Ceuta rallies: PP targets Sánchez after arrivals
Town halls across Spain are set to hold rallies backing Ceuta on Wednesday, 2 September, after mass migrant arrivals in the autonomous city at the end of July. The Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces has called the gatherings to coincide with Ceuta Day. The opposition People’s Party, or PP, is urging people to attend.
Speaking in Madrid, PP parliamentary spokeswoman Ester Muñoz said the rallies were intended to support Ceuta and its people. She criticised the governing Socialists, or PSOE, for withdrawing from the call, while the PSOE said it saw the initiative as party-political.
Muñoz said some Socialist mayors would defy their party’s line by attending events or arranging their own gatherings. She did not name any municipalities.
PP demands answers from Sánchez
Muñoz said Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez must explain events in Ceuta when he addresses Congress on Thursday. She wants answers on who, in her view, “attacked Spain”, what intelligence services knew, measures to prevent a repeat and Morocco’s role.
Those are claims and demands from the PP, which says ministers have offered conflicting accounts. Muñoz accused Sánchez of putting the interests of another state before those of Spain, referring to Morocco.
The party is calling for a declaration of security and national interest, a single command structure and assistance from Frontex, the European Union border agency. It also wants Congress to debate the PP’s proposed reform of Spain’s immigration law.
Ceuta unity praised amid row with Vox
Muñoz also rejected what she called political manoeuvring in Ceuta after Vox urged the city’s president, Juan Vivas, to stop relying on local Socialists. She said public order and security were the autonomous city’s immediate priorities.
She praised the cross-party unity shown in the Assembly of Ceuta in recent weeks, including Socialist representatives whom she said had put Ceuta ahead of party interests.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com