(9 Feb 2019) Asylum-seekers and human rights activists marched towards Spain's border with Morocco on Saturday to protest Europe's strict migration policies.
The march started in the centre of Ceuta and stopped at the border fence at Tarajal beach separating Spain's North Africa enclave with Morocco.
The demonstration also marked the fifth anniversary of the Tarajal tragedy when 15 people drowned trying to reach Spanish territory.
The migrants who died were part of a larger group of 200 people swimming to the border at dawn. They were met by Spanish civil guards who shot rubber bullets and teargas to keep them away.
Human rights representatives from Italy, Greece and Croatia also joined Saturday's march to denounce the EU's tougher stance, especially criticising the Spanish government which has radically changed its politics regarding migration.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had made the plight of migrants one of his banner causes when he took office in June.
His government has allowed several aid boats that rescued migrants at sea to dock after they were rejected by Italy and other countries taking a hard line against immigration.
But it has since progressively changed position.
In January Sanchez's government blocked the Spanish aid group ship Open Arms from leaving the port of Barcelona, saying it violated maritime regulations on previous trips.
Spain now has become the busiest point for migrants entering Europe illegally. The European Union border agency says about 57,000 unauthorised crossings to Spain took place in 2018 — double the figure for 2017 — while migrant arrivals for Europe overall reached a five-year low.
Crossing the Mediterranean in unseaworthy smugglers' boats is still a dangerous journey — around 2,300 people died last year trying to reach Europe that way, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
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