Sidi Ifni
Sidi Ifni | |
|---|---|
| A street of Sidi Ifni A street of Sidi Ifni | |
| Country |  Morocco |
| Region | Souss-Massa-Draâ |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 20,051 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (WEST) |
Sidi Ifni (Arabic: سيدي إفني) is a city located in southwest Morocco, next to the Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of 20,000 people. The economic base of the city is fishing. A Spanish enclave dating back to the 15th century, Sidi-Ifni was formally administered by Spain from 1860 to 1969, when it was ceded to Morroco.
Description
Sidi Ifni is the main town on the Atlantic coast between Agadir and Tan-Tan. It belongs to the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region and to the Tiznit province. Its inhabitants are mainly Berbers from the Ait Baamrane tribe. In 2000, an important fishing port was concluded, which serves as a base for fish exports.
History
In 1476, an enclave in the region of present-day Sidi Ifni was occupied by Spain, which named its settlement there Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña. It remained in Spanish hands until 1524 when it was captured by Saadian rulers.
Historically, Sidi Ifni is claimed to be the location of Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña, which had been for long pursued by Spain who built a small coastal fortress there in the 15th century. Although the existence of the fortress is widely documented, historians could not determine its exact location along the coast between Agadir and Tarfaya. In 1860, following the Spanish-Moroccan War, Morocco conceded Sidi Ifni and the territory of Ifni to Spain as a part of the Treaty of Tangiers. During the period often termed the "Scramble for Africa" in 1884, Spain acquired what is now Western Sahara. Spain administered Sidi Ifni and Western Sahara jointly, although the latter was formally known under the name Spanish Sahara, or Río de Oro and Saguia el-Hamra.
Morocco attacked Ifni in 1957 leading to the Ifni War but failed to occupy the region. In 1969, mostly due to international pressure, Spain relinquished Sidi Ifni to Morocco.
Ifni Protests
In June 2008, violent protests took place in Sidi Ifni; according to the first media reports 8 people were killed by police forces, but this claim was later not substantiated.
On May 30, dozens of unemployed workers started to block the port as to protest against not having been employed there. Unloading of fish was hindered. The following day, barriers were erected around the port. Several mediation intents with local officials gave no result. On June 6, around 500-600 people protested in the town and, moved by rumours that a police force from Tiznit or Agadir was to arrive, in the first hours of June 7, several entrances to the town were blocked by protesters. A local official was severely harassed by the protesters. At 6:30am on the same day, a police force composed of some 8.000 agents entered the city, dispersed the protesters employing rubber bullets and reopened the port[1] Many of the protesters fled to the surrounding mountains. The police then entered houses in the neighbourhoods of Boulaalame and Lalla Meryem and started to arrest people in a violent way. Abuse, harassment and theft took place. Around 182 people were detained and all but 10 were liberated later that day. 12 cases of torture leading to up to 30 days of temporal incapacity and around 35 cases of aggression or harassment were proven the by Moroccan Human Rights organisation OMDH[2].
On June 7, the Qatar owned TV chain Al Jazeera stated that between 8 and 10 people had been killed during the police intervention. This claim was never substantiated and is not longer uphold on web sites that support the protester's views[3]. The relation between the Moroccan government and Al Jazeera was seriously deteriorated[1] and in July, Brahim Sbaalil, a spokesperson for the islamist-leaning Centre Marocain des Droits Humain (CMDH) that had echoed the claim, was condemned to 6 months in prison for "spreading false accusations".[4].
References
- ^ a b Tel Quel Nº329. June 21, 2008
- ^ Rapport de la commission d’enquête de l’OMDH sur les événements de Sidi Ifni
- ^ Association Ifni Ait Baamrane
- ^ Yabiladi