Spanish royals make sensitive visit to crisis-hit Ceuta

King Felipe's visit to Ceuta comes a day after the king presided over Spain’s traditional National Day military parade in central Madrid. (EPA Images pic) CEUTA: Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia make a diplomatically sensitive visit to Ceuta on Tuesday in support of a city mired in crisis since July's migrant rush from Morocco.

Their trip will mark the first royal visit since 2007 when a diplomatic crisis erupted with neighbouring Morocco, which claims sovereignty over Ceuta and Spain's other North African territory of Melilla.

More than 70,000 migrants streamed into the small city of around 80,000 inhabitants in an unprecedented surge on July 30-31 that left scores dead.

Most of the migrants returned in the following hours, but thousands have remained for weeks in often dire conditions, sleeping rough in the streets or on the beach.

The crisis has angered locals and eroded Socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez's standing before a Nov 29 general election in which migration will feature prominently.

The flags of Spain and Ceuta hung from balconies along the streets leading to city hall, where Felipe and Letizia are due to begin their visit by meeting local authorities at 12.30pm (1030 GMT).

Toni Jimenez, 56, a nursing assistant who had waited outside city hall since 9am wearing a T-shirt bearing the royal couple’s picture, said she hoped the visit would send a clear message to neighbouring Morocco that Ceuta and Melilla were Spanish.

"We’ve been waiting a long time for this visit," she said, adding that the migrant influx in July had left residents fearing for the future of the Spanish territory.

Others said the king should have visited sooner.

"The king should have come on the first or second day. And he should have come dressed as the captain general of the armed forces, which is what he is," said Susana Roman, a 57-year-old jurist who is part of the "Let's Save Ceuta" platform.

'It's terrible'

The government insists it must respect international law by assessing whether the migrants are entitled to asylum, while hundreds of unaccompanied children cannot be summarily deported.

The authorities have set up thousands of places in temporary shelters and cleared the main camps on the beaches, but some migrants continue to occupy the surrounding hills and the streets.

Ana Maria Diaz, a 69-year-old pensioner, said the king should have come earlier to see the makeshift migrant encampments – and should visit the outlying areas of Ceuta where migrants concentrate.

"You don't see it here, but if you go to the outlying neighbourhoods...it's terrible," Diaz, who was holding a Spanish flag, told AFP.

The royals will visit a cemetery where they will pay tribute to the migrants who died, most by drowning, as they tried to swim around a border barrier.

Felipe is also due to make a speech during a meeting with members of Ceuta's civil society before the monarchs travel to Melilla on Wednesday.

Diplomatic risks

The visit comes a day after the king presided over Spain’s traditional National Day military parade in central Madrid, where tens of thousands of flag-waving spectators lined the streets to watch military vehicles pass.

It also comes at a particularly sensitive time for Spain's historically delicate relations with Morocco, as rumours swirl over the potential role Rabat played in the rush.

The Spanish right has accused Morocco of orchestrating it for political motives, which Rabat and Sanchez have denied.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI broke his silence on Friday, condemning "the irresponsible statements made by certain political and media circles and their blatant instrumentalisation of the situation", in apparent reference to Spanish criticism.

Ceuta resident Mohamed Hamadi, 41, was unconcerned about the potential diplomatic fallout and hopes to see Felipe and Letizia.

"What business does the king of Morocco have here? Him and his opinion, if Ceuta has always been Spanish?" Hamadi told AFP.