The known images of the assault on the Melilla fence, where the corpses of the migrants stand out, and the treatment received by the Moroccan gendarmes, compromise the position of the Government. The crudeness of what was seen forces the Executive to “regret the loss of human lives”, but it avoids criticizing the actions of the Moroccan agents.

Moreover, from La Moncloa they reiterate that they appreciate “the collaboration in the defense of our borders with the Moroccan authorities”. Moncloa has also prevented United We Can, in the person of Minister Irene Montero, from speaking out on this matter at the press conference after the Council of Ministers. A condition that it has assumed and accepted. Circumstance that, say sources from both sectors of the coalition, was what was fixed and agreed upon in advance.

The consequences of the attempted assault on the Melilla fence and Morocco’s actions in this matter force the Government to tread carefully. Measure every word, every gesture. The NGOs speak of at least 37 deaths, while the neighboring country reduces the figure to 23. This explains why from La Moncloa, either through Pedro Sánchez himself or through the spokeswoman Isabel Rodríguez, the human drama is lamented but ignore any criticism of the Moroccan action, placing the focus of blame on “the mafias that traffic in people.”

And that explains why at the press conference after the Council of Ministers – held on Monday for the NATO summit that Madrid hosts this week – spokeswoman Rodríguez assumed the answer to the questions asked about the assault on the Melilla fence. Despite the fact that on five occasions the questions were expressly addressed to Minister Irene Montero, who appeared for the approval of the trans law. Isabel Rodríguez, in an unusual gesture, bent down to agree with Montero that she would be the one to answer all the questions. Montero, despite the fact that her face showed the opposite, has accepted and assumed the silence imposed by La Moncloa.

United Podemos government sources argue that they wanted to respect the purpose of the spokesperson assuming the position of the Executive because, they argue, there are no doubts about her position and, in fact, almost at the same time the parliamentary spokesman, Pablo Echenique, He appeared in Congress expressing his “horror” about what happened and presented an initiative for an independent investigation. The purple sources argue that the ministers of United We Can express their position outside the table of the Council of Ministers in different acts and interventions in the media, but that they have wanted to abide by what was established by the government communication services.

The investigation demanded by United We Can is not the only one that has been requested. The African Union has also called for an investigation. “I call for an immediate investigation into this matter and remind all countries of their obligation under international law to treat migrants with dignity and prioritize their safety and human rights, as well as refrain from excessive use of force,” the president said. of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Moussa Faki Mahamat, in a statement.

From La Moncloa they admit that it is a complex matter and point out that since Melilla is a border of Europe, they will act in the margins that the European Union dictates. Therefore, they rule out undertaking or requesting an investigation on their own initiative.

The Executive assumes that the images “move and hurt us. They shrink the soul and the heart.” Rodríguez has taken the opportunity to show solidarity with the injured and the families of the deceased. But the position is to “mark out where the problem is”, this is not in Morocco’s action but in the existence of “mafias that traffic in human beings that cause these tragic situations. It is what must be combated with force from the countries with alliances to prevent human trafficking”.

“We are horrified.” United We Can has formally demanded this Monday the opening of an independent investigation to clarify the causes of the “human tragedy” that occurred on the Moroccan border with Melilla in which 37 immigrants died on Friday afternoon, according to the latest count prepared by various NGO.

However, from the confederal group, although it is admitted that it is still “in shock” at what happened, it avoids publicly assessing the initial position of Pedro Sánchez, who called the assault on the fence “violent” and considered that it had successfully resolved the operation to manage the massive entry of some 2,000 people of sub-Saharan origin.

In this way, the purples react to what happened at the Melilla fence and distance themselves again from the roadmap established by the coalition government.

United We Can, through the Non-Law Proposal registered this Monday in Congress, seeks to “derive the corresponding political and criminal responsibilities in collaboration with the diplomatic delegations of the European Union present in Moroccan territory”, but also highlight the “failure” of the migration policies of the European Union. In addition, they demand that the Government “collaborate” in the identification of corpses and ensure that they receive a “dignified burial.”

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