- After a record number of illegal West African migrant arrivals to the Canary Islands this weekend, the Spanish government hardens its tune towards African governments. Spain would "not tolerate" more arrivals and that West African countries "ignore bilateral agreements" on how to stop the migration flow.
During this weekend, a record number of West African migrants illegally reached the coasts of the Spanish Canary Islands, located off Africa's north-western coast. A total of nine boats with some 1560 asylum seekers reached the archipelago during less than 48 hours. A large number of the arrivals were under-age and most reached Spain in a terrible shape.
The record number immediately reignited Spain's inflamed political debate on how to treat the growing problem of illegal immigration from West Africa. The autonomous government of the Canary Islands has demanded strong actions from the central government in Madrid, which has spent the last year trying to oblige West African nations to assist in controlling the migration flow.
In an urgent need to demonstrate forcefulness, Madrid's First Deputy Prime Minister, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, today made a strong statement at a meeting of Spanish ambassadors in Madrid, saying that Spain would "not tolerate" that illegal migrants "keep arriving" the Spanish coast.
She especially addressed the alleged cool cooperation by West African states in stopping migration. "It is necessary to let the countries of origin of these immigrants know that we will not tolerate that they keep arriving, that we will not accept that they don't comply with bilateral and multilateral agreements and that we are disposed to act with the needed strength," Ms Fernández told ambassadors, expecting them to pass on the message.
The Spanish deputy also issued a message to the many West Africans still considering making the dangerous and costly expedition to Spain. She "guaranteed" that "everybody who enters Spain in an illegal way sooner or later will leave Spain again."
Earlier this year, Spanish authorities met with strong criticism from the Senegalese government over the humiliating way illegal migrants had been treated in the Canary Islands and how they had been deported back to Senegal. It is believed that these humiliating scenes, reported by the Spanish and West African press, widely discouraged regional governments, regarding an ample cooperation on stopping illegal migration.
The Madrid government however intensified its diplomatic efforts in West Africa since this PR blunder. Diplomatic initiatives have included a West African roundtrip by Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and the widening of bilateral cooperation with hinterland countries such as Mali and Guinea, seen as principal sources of migration efforts towards Spain and Europe.
Meanwhile, illegal migrant numbers continue to rise. Arrivals at the Canary Islands during the last week equal half of all arrivals in 2005, local authorities inform. So far in 2006, more than 20,000 African migrants have arrived the archipelago illegally - if not more, who have escaped authority statistics.
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