Why is Spain ready to talk about Perejil but not about Ceuta and Melilla?
When it gave up its protectorate over parts of Morocco in 1956, Spain kept more than its city enclaves. It kept a string of small islands and islets associated with them of which Perejil/Leila is just one. Others include the three volcanic islands of Chafarinas, off Melilla, which are a fishing and nature paradise. Spain’s claim to Perejil, however, is not pressed as hard as its claim to the enclaves on the mainland. Perejil is not mentioned in the treaties between Spain and Morocco though Ceuta and Melilla are. The island’s links with Ceuta are somewhat tenuous given that nobody actually lives on it. This is probably why Spain is content for neither side to occupy it and why Morocco chose it to publicise its case. Morocco has certainly got international attention, perhaps its real aim all along. How come it was left to the Americans to get the troops removed? The United States intervened because the European Union, which had offered mediation, proved ineffective. Spain did not want me
