Trivia Question: what was the Spain’s first military action in its territory in the 21st century? A correct answer could well be worth a cheese: thinking of a military confrontation hardly evokes an uninhabited islet barely 500 meters long. But that is how the Ministry of Defense described the Incident in Parsleya diplomatic crisis of the first order with Morocco that shook political life in the summer of twenty years ago.
On July 11, 2002, a endowment of the Royal Gendarmerie of Morocco occupied the islet of Perejil, 250 meters from the African coast and about 8 kilometers from the autonomous city of Ceuta, and placed two flags of the Alaouite kingdom. Spain sought to restore the the status quo prior to the “occupation”, as the Government described it, which allowed free access to that piece of land nestled in the Strait and that the Spanish Civil Guard used for control missions and persecution of smuggling, drug trafficking and immigration illegal. Although the islet had little physical or strategic value, Morocco’s decision to occupy it militarily was full of symbolism: it was one more episode in the long list of entrenched diplomatic tensions and disputes between Rabat and Madrid, two neighbors with a story of comings and goings.
Added to the continuous clashes over Western Sahara was the arrival to the throne of Mohamed VI, whose relationship with José María Aznar was marked by increased tensions. When the Civil Guard approached the isletMoroccan gendarmes threatened to fire their assault rifles “by mistake”. Morocco argued that its troops were there for an anti-drug operationbut he claimed sovereignty over the crag and insisted that he would not withdraw from it.
Just a few days later, Congress dressed up to celebrate its star plenary session: the debate on the state of the nation. Parsley slipped between the main issues and Aznar spoke from the rostrum: “We are making all diplomatic efforts to restore international diplomacy. Spain will not accept faits accomplis”. The opposition, with the PSOE at the head, closed ranks with the Prime Ministerbut it didn’t last long.
In the days that followed, NATO went from describing the events as a “strictly bilateral problem” to referring to them as an “unfriendly gesture” and demanding from Rabat “the immediate restitution of the status quo”. The EU also called for the “immediate withdrawal” of the troops from the islet and considered that the problem had been “created” by Morocco. On July 16, Morocco reinforced its presence in Perejil with marines who replaced the royal gendarmes and changed the tents for fixed structures. He even invited the press to visit the rock. The Spanish government considered it a provocation and called the ambassador for consultations to give him an ultimatum.
“At dawn and with hard weather of Levante”
One day after the debate on the state of the nation, the Romeo-Sierra military operation came to defend Spanish sovereignty, but the war never really broke out. Six days after the Moroccan action, the Foreign Minister, Ana Palacio, appeared in Congress to report that that same morning the Government had “been forced to order the eviction of the Moroccan detachment” in a successful operation in which no there had been “no casualties or injuries.” But the leading role in that appearance was not for Minister Palacio.
Federico Trillo, then head of Defense, earned a place in the newspaper library of the most bizarre appearances with his epic explanation of the operation: “At dawn and with hard weather…, with a strong wind, 35 knots of wind, five helicopters left, three Coughar helicopters carrying two special operations teams, with a total of 28 soldiers who arrived at Perejil Island.” The Spanish flag was hoisted… and everything returned to stay as it was.
The opposition, from support to discontent
Although the debate on the state of the nation served to close ranks, the military intervention ended up breaking them. Congress signed a resolution supporting the Government’s political action and rejecting the occupation, but the opposition parties, with the exception of CiU, considered that the Executive had not been faithful to that trust by launching its military intervention just 24 hours later. , as expressed by the spokesmen of the different parliamentary groups.
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José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, then general secretary of the PSOE, considered the manner in which the military action was carried out to be “excessive”. Another part of the opposition considered it “disproportionate”. Deputy Joan Saura of ICV registered a non-law proposal calling for the withdrawal of troops from the islet and describing the “military solution” by Spain as “irresponsible and rejectable”.
The economic cost of Operation Romeo-Sierra was 974,786 euros, of which 946 were for subsistence allowances for Army, Air Force and Navy personnel, as explained by the government in a parliamentary response. The survey conducted by the Center for Sociological Research After the crisis ended, it showed that three out of every four Spaniards supported the intervention of the Armed Forces to evict Perejil. Yes, there was another cost: that of the residents of the neighboring Moroccan cities who spent the day on the islet and fed their flocks there. In the ‘new old’ status quo after the conflict, no one can set foot in Parsley anymore.