Imperial gunboat diplomacy is alive and well — and working! Spain’s armada of warships, special forces and helicopters has done the trick: the island of Leila or Perejil has been recaptured, Morocco’s forces vanquished and Rabat forced to concede that in return for a Spanish offer to pull out its troops, it will never attempt to take over the island by military force again. Presumably the inhabitants must be over the moon. The fact, however, that it took a military force to expel just six Moroccan policemen, that the island concerned, 180 meters off the Moroccan coast, is an outcrop of rock no larger than a football pitch and that the inhabitants are goats puts this invasion on to the level of the ridiculous.
However, the urge to fall into helpless laughter at such a display of toy-town imperialism has to be tempered by the seriousness of it. Morocco’s foreign minister, despite agreeing to Spain’s terms, has called it an act of war and the Moroccan government is unlikely to leave it at that. The Moroccan public is incensed. Far from ending the matter, Madrid’s gung-ho response to a problem that should have been solved diplomatically is going to inflame demands in Morocco that Spain’s enclaves in the country be expunged once and for all.
What makes Spain’s anachronistic action all the more incomprehensible is that this clash could have been resolved diplomatically — and to Spain’s advantage: Morocco is keen to have good relations with the EU for the sake of its economy, and that requires good relations with its northern neighbor. Ignoring this, Madrid opted for force. It is totally out of character with the dynamic, democratic and progressive Spain of today. Such action is inexplicable, unless the Spanish government seriously imagined that Morocco was testing the water for an invasion of Ceuta and Melilla. It was a crack of the whip, an attempt to show who is master — but it will not work. Instead, there is now a serious risk that relations between the two neighbors, already bad, are going to get much worse.
One of the wisest comments of Morocco’s late king was the observation that the two neighbors were "condemned to get on with each other". That has not been happening of late, as arguments over drug trafficking, illegal immigrants, fishing rights and now territory sour the relationship.
But if Spain’s present imperious behavior has added to the difficulties, Morocco must accept its share of the blame. Its decision to seize this worthless Mediterranean rock and precipitate a crisis makes no sense. Inevitably, it has raised questions whether it was a nationalist, flag-waving exercise, calculated to reinforce support at a time of high expectation of political and social change which have yet failed to materialize.
Attempts to divert public attention with adventures abroad are always dangerous; they rouse passion which then has to be placated, while failure risks a backlash. Thus the Moroccan people are now angry at Spain’s highhanded action. They would demand a tough response. There are options, none of them good for either of the parties or the world at large.
Common sense should tell the two sides to step back from the brink and heed the wise words of the late Moroccan king. Sadly, there is too much national pride involved.
