VZCZCXRO5769
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHCL #1333/01 3621511
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 281511Z DEC 06
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7544
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 2846
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0722
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0232
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 3680
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT 2209
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 7804
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 1969

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CASABLANCA 001333 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/28/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL PREF SMIG MO
SUBJECT: RED ALERT FOR MIGRANTS IN MOROCCO 
 
REF: A) Casablanca 1310 
      B) Casablanca 0818 
 C) Casablanca 0634 
 
Classified By: Principal Officer Douglas C. Greene for Reasons 1.4 
(b), (d). 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: A recent spate of incidents involving Moroccan 
security forces and sub-Saharan migrants, refugees, and asylum 
seekers has stirred fear and anxiety throughout the sub-Saharan 
population in Morocco.  On December 23, Moroccan security officials 
rounded up more than 200 sub-Saharans, in three Rabat neighborhoods, 
and reportedly transported them to the Algerian border, 50 miles from 
the Moroccan city of Oujda.  Included in the sweep, according to 
UNHCR and local NGOs, were approximately 50 refugees and asylum 
seekers holding UNHCR identification papers.  Three days later, 
hundreds of illegal migrants stormed the 20 foot fence surrounding 
the Spanish enclave of Melilla, approximately 70 miles northwest of 
Oujda.  Moroccan state news agency reported that security forces 
arrested 40 sub-Saharans following the incident in Melilla.  End 
Summary. 
 
------------------ 
The Rabat Roundup 
------------------ 
 
¶2.  (C) According to Emmanuel Mbolela, president of the Congolese 
Association for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Morocco (ARCOM), 
police entered the homes of refugees and asylum seekers in the 
pre-dawn hours of December 23 and, ignoring their official UNHCR 
identification papers, apprehended approximately 50 people.  As 
evidence of their claim, ARCOM provided post with a list of names and 
UNHCR identification numbers of those who, they say, the security 
forces "kidnapped."  In addition, newspaper reports claim that police 
captured 200 sub-Saharans, presumably both recognized and 
clandestine.  By contrast, a Moroccan police contact told RSO that 
security forces rounded up approximately 230 clandestine sub-Saharan 
migrants, who had been living illegally in Rabat for more than 6 
months, and transported them to the Algerian frontier.  Authorities 
claim to have taken no one with UNHCR identification. 
 
¶3.  (C) While it is difficult to ascertain the exact number of people 
gathered up, it appears that a significant percentage of them were 
holding UNHCR identification papers.  Anne Triboulet, acting office 
director for UNHCR, estimates Moroccan security forces took between 
40-50 UNHCR recognized refugees and asylum seekers from their homes 
in Rabat and transported them to the frontier.  Triboulet told 
Poloff, from what she can ascertain, 200-400 sub-Saharans were taken 
into custody, herded onto six busses, and dropped off in the desert 
near the Algerian border. 
 
------------------------------ 
A little Help From Our Friends 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (C) Triboulet said that some of the refugees and asylum seekers 
have made their way from the dumping point to Oujda and are staying 
in contact with UNHCR by cell phone and through local NGOs.  The GOM 
has forbidden UNHCR representatives to travel to Oujda to check on 
the state of the refugees and asylum seekers.  Triboulet acknowledges 
that forged documents are a problem for the authorities in these 
types of situations.  She confirmed that she has offered her 
assistance to the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to help identify 
those sub-Saharans in the group who UNHCR has already recognized as 
legitimate.  According to Triboulet, there has not yet been a 
response to her offer from the MOI. 
 
¶5.  (C)  At this point, Triboulet is worried about the health and 
welfare of UNHCR's people of concern.  The temperatures in Oujda are 
dipping to the low 40s and the migrants are ill prepared for the 
cold.  In addition, an NGO, Refugees Without Borders (R.S.F.), 
reported that there are four ill women and six women with small 
children hiding out near Oujda.  R.S.F. claims women and children are 
part of the group who was forcibly removed from their homes in Rabat 
and dumped at the frontier.  Triboulet assures us that Doctors 
Without Borders and the French Church of Morocco are tending to the 
refugees and asylum seekers in the area.  She reported that there 
does not seem to be anyone in need of immediate medical attention at 
the moment.  This situation, however, could change dramatically 
overnight as forecasts predict temperatures will drop to the 30s in 
the next week. 
 
-------------------------- 
Fear and Loathing in Rabat 
-------------------------- 
 
CASABLANCA 00001333  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6.  (C) Word of the captures spread quickly through the refugee 
community.  Within hours of the early morning raid, the two leading 
NGOs representing refugees and asylum seekers in Morocco, ARCOM and 
R.S.F., were circulating emails about the roundup.  The emails warned 
all migrants to be on "red alert."  Moreover, ARCOM almost 
immediately called for a protest march to demonstrate solidarity. 
Rumors of more raids in two other Rabat neighborhoods, however, 
quieted the calls for a demonstration but the option was left open 
for a "public meeting or protest in the future."  It is clear that 
tempers are flaring and a sense of panic is on the rise in Rabat's 
migrant community. 
 
---------------------------- 
The Storming After the Storm 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Three days after the Rabat raids, hundreds of illegal 
sub-Saharans stormed the 20-foot fence surrounding the Spanish 
enclave of Melilla, less than 70 miles from Oujda.  The Moroccan 
state news agency reported that three waves of migrants stormed the 
fence, which resulted in the arrests of 40 sub-Saharans.  The 
assaults were reminiscent of a series of attacks that occurred in 
October 2005, which led to the deaths of 16 people. 
 
¶8.  (C) According to NGOs and UNHCR, as many as 10,000 illegal 
migrants are currently hiding out in the forests surrounding Melilla 
and Sebta, the other Spanish enclave on Morocco's Mediterranean 
coast.  These numbers are roughly the same as they were last year 
when migrants stormed the fences surrounding both cities in a 
weeklong string of assaults.  This year, like last year, worsening 
weather conditions and lack of water and firewood may have had a hand 
in prompting the assault.  There are those, also, who believe the 
recent push in Rabat to clear out the illegals may have added to the 
migrants' sense of desperation, giving them the added incentive 
needed to launch the attack. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (C) Comment: With the EU's southern flank tightening up and 
increased naval patrols in the waters off the Canary Islands, 
thousands of potential refugees, asylum seekers, and illegal migrants 
fleeing political violence and poverty are being stranded in Morocco, 
awaiting the opportunity to slip into the EU.  Morocco is caught in 
the difficult situation of balancing domestic security with 
fulfilling its international obligations to protect legitimate 
refugees and asylum seekers.  Part of this dilemma, however, could be 
resolved were Morocco to officially recognize UNHCR's mission and 
accept its proposal to establish a joint registration process for 
legitimate refugees and asylum seekers.  End Comment. 
 
GREENE