MADRID, Aug 18, 2010 (AFP) - Moroccan demonstrators blocked trucks from entering Spain's north African enclave of Melilla Wednesday to protest alleged abuse of Moroccans by Spanish police, media said.
It was the second such protest in a week and comes amid growing tensions between Madrid and Rabat over Melilla and Ceuta, another disputed Spanish north African enclave.
About 20 demonstrators blocked the Melilla border post of Beni-Enzar from 7:00am (0500 GMT), carrying placards with photos of Spanish police and messages condemning racism and colonialism, Spanish media said.
The protest was initially scheduled to last until Sunday, but was cut to just one day following talks between the organisers and Melilla traders.
"After four hours of talks with (the demonstrators) there is agreement to call a halt until the end of Ramadan as it's a holy month for Muslims, it's the time when we consume the most vegetables, the most fish," Yusef Kadur, head of the Melilla traders association, told Spain's Cadena Ser radio.
Moroccans from the National Committee for the Liberation of Ceuta and Melilla staged a similar protest on August 12.
They are angry over recent alleged abuse, including beatings, by Spanish police against Moroccan nationals at the border posts of Melilla and Ceuta.
In one case last month, Morocco accused Spanish police of badly injuring five of its citizens trying to enter Melilla by beating them for carrying a Moroccan flag.
Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba is to meet his Moroccan counterpart Taieb Cherkaoui on Monday to discuss the chill in relations between the two countries.
Rabat and Madrid traditionally have close ties but tensions have simmered over Melilla and Ceuta, on the north coast of north Africa bordering Morocco.
Madrid in May reaffirmed Spanish sovereignty over the two tiny enclaves after the Moroccan government called for a dialogue on the matter.
A low point in Spanish-Moroccan relations was a dispute in 2002 when Spanish troops expelled a group of Moroccan soldiers from the disputed Mediterranean islet of Perjil.
Tensions again rose in November 2007 when King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia visited Ceuta and Melilla.
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Copyright AFP 2010.
