The president of Ceuta, Juan Vivas, stated this Friday that the central government downplayed the warnings conveyed by the City about the increasing migratory pressure in the days prior to the massive entry of people from Morocco and affirmed that from Moncloa they even asked him to stop calling because he was becoming “very annoying.”
Read more Feijóo wishes the Catalans a good Diada and asks that Catalonia stop being a “bargaining chip”
He even stated that on July 27 — three days before the entry of about 80,000 immigrants — he tried to contact the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, directly, although he was not attended to and was directed to the Moncloa Chief of Staff.
During a public appearance at the Autonomous Palace, Vivas recounted the contacts he had with various instances of the central government before the migratory crisis and maintained that the response received was that the situation was under control and did not require extraordinary measures.
According to his explanation, on July 27 he conveyed in a meeting held at the Government Delegation the need to activate the national emergency, either under the Civil Protection legislation or the National Security Law, as well as to establish a unified command and reinforce the forces of the State Security Forces and Corps.
They gave him a “bad look” when he asked for the national emergency
Vivas stated that this proposal was not well received. “When I talked about national emergency in that meeting, they always gave me a bad look,” he said, before adding that the reaction he perceived was from those who thought the situation “was not that serious.”
The president of Ceuta also explained that he tried to speak with Sánchez that same day, although he was not attended to and the communication was channeled through the Moncloa Chief of Staff.
Read more The ‘fossar de les hòsties’
According to his account, from the Government Presidency they told him they were in contact with the different ministries and asked him to remain calm. “Nothing is happening, this is a summer storm, everything is under control. Morocco is cooperating and, therefore, there is no problem here,” he said they told him from Madrid in the days prior to the massive entry.
They responded: “Nothing is happening, this is a summer storm, everything is under control. Morocco is cooperating”
Later, when insisting on his warnings, he said he received the message to stop calling because he was becoming insistent and that all the information about the situation was with the Government Delegation in Ceuta.
Vivas also stated that he spoke with the Secretary of State for Security, Aina Calvo, to request again the declaration of national emergency, police reinforcement, and the creation of a unified command to coordinate the institutional response.
According to his version, the ministerial official initially told him that the request required a legal analysis and asked for 24 hours to study it. A day later she told him that the legal requirements necessary to declare the emergency were not met.
“This was Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning Ceuta was invaded,” the City president noted recalling the chronology of events.
Read more From Orriols to Von Papen
