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Africa North
Spanish kingÂ’s visit to enclave angers Morocco
2007-11-06
CEUTA, Spain - SpainÂ’s King Juan Carlos on Monday started a controversial visit to the disputed enclave of Ceuta which has sparked a major diplomatic row with Morocco. Ceuta and another city enclave on the Moroccan coast, Melilla, have been in Spanish hands for centuries but are claimed by the north African country which recalled its ambassador to Madrid last week in protest at the kingÂ’s first visit to the enclaves.

Juan Carlos arrived by helicopter to cheers of ‘Long Live Spain’ and ‘Ceuta is Spanish’ from tens of thousands of residents. He was given a 21-gun salute. The two-day visit to the enclaves by Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia is the first in his 32-year reign. It also comes against the backdrop of new Al Qaeda threats against Spanish, French and US interests in north Africa.

‘I have an engagement to honour face to face with Ceuta, with the Ceutans, with the Ceutan authorities but also with myself,’ Juan Carlos told the city assembly in a speech. ‘I did not want to let any more time pass without coming to Ceuta to express to you our approval and our support,’ he added—without mentioning directly the row the visit had caused with Morocco. Spain ‘cultivates a sincere friendship with its neighbours,’ he added.
Posted by:Steve White

#6  It could have pushed Franco in Hitler's arms and that would have meant losing the Battle of Atlantic

No. It would have meant no battle of the Atlantic, settling scores with the Japanese first, and then showing Hitler what a real bomber like the Peacemaker could deliver. And then all the Euros could goveretye po russkim yazikim until Reagan came along.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2007-11-06 18:29  

#5  Es freut mich sehr, so perfekte Deutch zu lesen.
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-11-06 17:16  

#4  My two favorite enclaves. I think of them every time Spain whines about Gibraltar. Which is British.

The difference is that Ceuta y Melilla were never in Moroccan hands (Spanish and Portuguese since well before the founding of it). BTW, Gibraltar does not sit well in Spain. It could have pushed Franco in Hitler's arms and that would have meant losing the Battle of Atlantic und jetz würden Sie Deutsch sprechen.
Posted by: JFM   2007-11-06 17:12  

#3  The question is : will the moroccan teevees air movies about the crusades (seen from the Master Religion's point of view), like that last time when there was a dispute about a tiny rocky island near one of those enclaves? This was very subtle.
Posted by: anonymous5089   2007-11-06 15:07  

#2  The Spanish got these fair and square. They beat the Moroccans in battle. Several times.

This is a major source of illegal immigration from North Africa to Europe, however.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins   2007-11-06 14:19  

#1  My two favorite enclaves. I think of them every time Spain whines about Gibraltar. Which is British.
Posted by: Excalibur   2007-11-06 10:14  

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