Perejil Island - History

History

In 1415, Portugal, along with the conquest of Ceuta, took possession of the nearby islet from Morocco. In 1580, Portugal came under the sovereignty of the King of Spain. When that Iberian Union split in 1640, Ceuta remained under Spanish sovereignty.

The islet's sovereignty is disputed by Morocco and Spain. Local Moroccan shepherds used it for grazing of livestock but the vast majority of Spaniards and Moroccans had not heard of the islet until 11 July 2002, when a group of Moroccan soldiers set up base on the islet. The Moroccan government said that they set foot on the island in order to monitor illegal immigration, which justification the Spanish government rejected as there had been little co-operation in the matter to that time (a repeated source of complaint from Spain). After protests from the Spanish government, led by José María Aznar, the Morocco replaced the soldiers with cadets from the Moroccan navy, who then installed a fixed base on the island. This further angered the Spanish government and both countries restated their claims to the islet. Almost all European Union member states fully supported Spain's objections, with the exception of France and Portugal, whose government issued a statement regretting the incident. Morocco's claims had official support from the Arab League, except for Algeria, which reinstated its recognition of Spanish sovereignty over the exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.

On the morning of 18 July 2002 Spain launched Operation Romeo-Sierra, a military attempt to take over the island. The operation was successful and within hours the Spanish had taken control of the island and custody of the Moroccan naval cadets, who had not resisted the Spanish commando attack force, Grupo de Operaciones Especiales III. The operation was launched in conjunction with the Spanish Navy and Spanish Air Force. The Spanish transferred the captured Moroccans by helicopter to the headquarters of the Guardia Civil in Ceuta, who then transported the cadets to the Moroccan border. Over the course of the same day, the Spanish Legion replaced the commandos, and remained on the island until Morocco, after mediation by the United States, led by Colin Powell, agreed to return to the status quo ante which existed prior to the Moroccan occupation of the island. The islet is now deserted.