PPS secretary-general Mohamed Nabil Benabdellah has condemned the tearing of a Moroccan flag by Spanish far-right activists in Madrid, calling the act “unacceptable” and a provocation against Moroccans.
Speaking at a PPS meeting in Driouch on Saturday, Benabdellah said the incident risked creating tension between Morocco and Spain.
“We express our firm indignation at the scandalous behavior of certain chauvinist and Spanish far-right circles towards our national flag,” he said.
Pedro Chaparro and Gonzalo Martín, president and vice-president of the far-right Democracia Nacional party, tore a Moroccan flag outside Spain’s Congress of Deputies in Madrid on September 2.
“Tearing the Moroccan flag, the symbol of the country, is an act that expresses hatred and seeks to create division, tension and anger between the Spanish and Moroccan peoples,” Benabdellah said.
The PPS leader also used the Driouch meeting to restate his party’s position on Sebta (Ceuta) and Melilia.
“The truth and reality will eventually prevail,” he said. “The day will come when no one will be able to deny that Sebta and Melilia are two occupied Moroccan cities.”
Benabdellah nevertheless separated his criticism of Spain’s far right from relations with Spain itself.
He said Morocco wanted “good relations with Spain and the Spanish people” and attached importance to good neighborly ties between the two countries.
But targeting the national flag crossed a line, he said.
“To go as far as desecrating the national flag is unacceptable, because you are provoking the feelings of the Moroccan people.”
Benabdellah rejected retaliation in kind, saying Morocco would not fall into the trap of responding by “burning the Spanish flag."
