MADRID/BARCELONA: Protesters wearing white masks and carrying signs reading “massacre” and “Europe responsible” marked the anniversary on Friday of a mass attempt to cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Melilla in which at least 23 migrants and refugees died.
Speakers from the Spanish umbrella rights organisation Caravan of Open Borders told a crowd outside parliament in Madrid that Moroccan and Spanish law enforcement officers had violated basic human rights in responding to the incident, and that not enough had been done to bring those responsible to justice.
“It was a day of pain and rage,” demonstrator Luisa Menendez, 73, told Reuters, referring to June 24, 2022. “A horrible day in the history of humanity.”
In a report released to mark the anniversary, Amnesty International accused Spain and Morocco of a cover-up for failing to properly investigate events at the Melilla border last year.
In the incident, around 2,000 migrants and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa attempted to enter Melilla from Morocco. At least 37 died and at least 76 are still missing, Amnesty said. –Agencies
