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Rabat — Spanish politician Álvaro Pérez, leader of the The Party is Over (SALF) organization, has sparked controversy by displaying three massive 4-meter Spanish flags on a Spanish-occupied island near Al Hoceima, Morocco.
The provocative act reignites tensions over territories that Rabat considers to be occupied Moroccan lands.
Pérez, whose far-right group won three European Parliament seats in recent elections, reportedly smuggled the flags into Morocco in a suitcase undetected, despite his known hardline stance against Morocco.
The incident has renewed discussions over these disputed coastal territories.
However, Pérez’s reckless move comes at a particularly sensitive time and can potentially significantly escalate tensions between Spain and Morocco.
This comes mere days after Spanish fact-checking platform Newtral denied recent reports that Spain had removed its national flag from two small islets near the Moroccan coast, describing them as “not accurate.” Yet Newtral’s denial was in response to converging media reports from Spain suggesting that Spanish authorities had removed their flag from uninhabited islands known as “El Bar” and “El Bahar,” which is located off the Mediterranean coast of Morocco near Al Hoceima.
Pérez’s gesture is particularly inflammatory given the historical context of Spain-Morocco tensions over these territories.
Previous incidents include the 2002 Perejil Island crisis, when Moroccan forces occupied an uninhabited island. This led to Spanish military intervention, showing how quickly such symbolic acts can escalate into serious diplomatic or military confrontations.
Pérez’s unilateral flag-raising, done without government authorization and amid already strained bilateral relations, risks undermining delicate diplomatic efforts and could provoke Morocco into retaliatory measures.
Morocco has expressed political aspirations over these territories since its independence in 1956, making any provocative gestures particularly destabilizing to regional peace.
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