Melilla Residents Protest Border Delays as Morocco Prioritizes Diaspora Travel

While Melilla residents are only entitled to one access lane to Morocco, four lanes are open to facilitate the transit of Moroccans residing abroad (MRE) as part of the Marhaba Operation. "We are marginalized," complains a resident of the autonomous city waiting at the border to enter Morocco, deploring the inaction of the authorities to facilitate their passage.

The local or government authorities must take their responsibilities and contact Morocco to allow the residents of Melilla to freely travel to Nador in Morocco to spend the weekend, rather than paying for a ferry ticket to go to the peninsula. The residents of Melilla could abandon the Morocco destination if the situation at the border persists, which would deal a blow to the revival of tourism in the two countries.

The residents of Melilla feel they deserve better treatment from Morocco, after Pedro Sanchez agreed to support the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara. They also call for the reopening of the commercial customs to revive the goods traffic and boost the economic development of the autonomous city.

According to the government delegation, 360,000 people and 90,500 vehicles have crossed the Beni Ensar border in both directions since the reopening. Out of 250 requests for renewal of permits for border workers, only 84 have been processed.